Distaff

Last updated: 9/29/04 8:19 PM

Race No. 5 -- The Century Dream Distaff

(1 1/8M)

By Paul Buckley

Fourteen of the grandest fillies and mares to have graced the

Sport Of Kings in the 20th century parade onto the Churchill

Downs oval, and the overflow crowd grows eerily quiet as track

announcer Mike Battaglia delivers roll call. Here's the royal

field in post position order:

PP	HORSE	YEAR	AGE	WT	JOCKEY	TRAINER

1	DESERT VIXEN	1973	3	120	J. VELASQUEZ	T. ROOT
2	INSIDE INFORMATION	1995	4	123	M. SMITH	C. McGAUGHEY
3	PERSONAL ENSIGN	1988	4	123	R. ROMERO	C. McGAUGHEY
4	GO FOR WAND	1990	3	120	G. STEVENS	W. BADGET JR.
5	LADY'S SECRET	1986	4	123	P. DAY	D. W. LUKAS
6	BAYAKOA	1989	5	123	L. PINCAY	R. McANALLY
7	RUFFIAN	1975	3	120	J. VASQUEZ	F. WHITELEY JR.
8	GALLORETTE	1946	4	123	J. JESSOP	E. CHRISTMAS
9	REGRET	1915	3	120	J. NOTTER	J. ROWE SR.
10	TWILIGHT TEAR	1944	3	120	C. McCREARY	B. JONES
11	PRINCESS ROONEY	1984	4	123	E. DELAHOUSSAYE	N. DRYSDALE
12	BUSHER	1945	3	120	J. LONGDEN	G. ODOM
13	SUSAN'S GIRL	1972	3	120	V. TEJADA	J. RUSSELL
14	GENUINE RISK	1980	3	120	C. McCARRON	L. JOLLEY

Following are race records (year chosen and lifetime) for each

horse, as well as notable accomplishments and other tidbits:

DESERT

VIXEN

-	Champion Three-Year-Old Filly in 1973
-	Champion Handicap Female in 1974
-	Won 1973 Beldame S. (G1), defeating that year's Champion Handicap Mare Susan's Girl and equalling Belmont Park's track record of 1:46 1/5 for 1 1/8 miles
-	Won 1973 Post-Deb S. (G3), equalling Monmouth Park's track record of 1:40 1/5 for 1 mile and 70 yards

1973 Race Record:		11-9-2-0, $256,147
Lifetime Record:		28-13-6-3, $421,538

INSIDE

INFORMATION

-	Champion Older Mare in 1995
-	Won 1995 Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Belmont Park by 13 1/2 lengths in a time of 1:46

1995 Race Record:		8-7-1-0, $1,160,408
Lifetime Record:		17-14-1-2, $1,641,805

PERSONAL

ENSIGN

-	Champion Older Mare in 1988
-	Won 1988 Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Churchill Downs, defeating Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors by a nose
-	Retired undefeated and sound
-	Romero chooses Personal Ensign over Go For Wand

1988 Race Record:		7-7-0-0, $1,202,640
Lifetime Record:		13-13-0-0, $1,679,880

FOR WAND

-	Champion Two-Year-Old Filly in 1989
-	Champion Three-Year-Old Filly in 1990
-	Won 1989 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Gulfstream Park
-	Won six Grade 1 races in 1990
-	Finished second in the 1990 Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs
-	Stevens subs for Romero (who opts for Personal Ensign)

1990 Race Record:		9-7-1-0, $824,948
Lifetime Record:		13-10-2-0, $1,373,338

LADY'S

SECRET

-	Champion Older Mare and Horse Of The Year in 1986
-	Won 1986 Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Santa Anita
-	Won 1986 Whitney H. (G1) at Saratoga, defeating Ends Well, Skip Trial, King's Swan and Cutlass Reality
-	Won eight Grade 1 races in 1986
-	Won 1985 Maskette S. (G1) in 1:33 2/5, a record for the mile at Belmont Park by a filly or mare
-	Finished second to Precisionist in the 1986 Woodward S. (G1) at Belmont
-	Finished second to stablemate Life's Magic in the 1985 Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Aqueduct
-	Weighed only 900 pounds while racing

1986 Race Record:		15-10-3-2, $1,871,053
Lifetime Record:		45-25-9-3, $3,021,425

BAYAKOA

-	Champion Older Mare in 1989 and 1990
-	Won 1989 Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Gulfstream Park
-	Won seven Grade 1 races in 1989
-	Won 1990 Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Belmont Park

1989 Race Record:		11-9-1-0, $1,406,403
Lifetime Record:		31-18-6-0, $2,785,259

RUFFIAN

-	Champion Two-Year-Old Filly
-	Champion Two-Year-Old Filly
-	Won career debut by 15 lengths, equalling Belmont Park's 5 1/2-furlong record of 1:03
-	Won other four starts as a two-year-old by a combined 30 lengths
-	Won Filly Triple Crown as a three-year-old
-	Only career defeat came in match race vs. Foolish Pleasure
-	Vasquez chooses Ruffian over Genuine Risk

1975 Race Record:		6-5-0-0, $179,356
Lifetime Record:		11-10-0-0, $313,429

GALLORETTE

-	Champion Handicap Mare in 1946
-	Won 1946 Brooklyn H. at Aqueduct, defeating Stymie (Champion Handicap Horse in 1945)
-	Won 1946 Metropolitan H. at Belmont Park
-	Won 1946 Bay Shore H. at Aqueduct
-	Finished second to Stymie in the 1946 Edgemere H. at Aqueduct
-	Won 1947 Queens County H. at Aqueduct, defeating Stymie
-	Won Whitney S. at Saratoga in 1948
-	Won Carter H. at Aqueduct in 1948

1946 Race Record:		18-6-5-2, $159,160
Lifetime Record:		72-21-20-13, $445,535

REGRET

-	Won 1915 Kentucky Derby in gate-to-wire fashion, in her 1st start as a three-year-old
-	Finished second by a nose to entrymate Borrow in the 1917 Brooklyn H. at Belmont Park, defeating Old Rosebud, Roamer, Omar Khayyam, Ormesdale and Chiclet
-	Set a new track record of 1:24 1/5 for 7 furlongs at Aqueduct in her final career start

1915 Race Record:		2-2-0-0, $12,500
Lifetime Record:		11-9-1-0, $34,093

TWILIGHT

TEAR

-	Champion Two-Year-Old Filly in 1943
-	Champion Three-Year-Old Filly, Handicap Mare and Horse Of The Year in 1944 (first filly to be named Horse Of The Year)
-	Won 1944 Classic S. at Washington Park, defeating Pensive (winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness S. in 1944)
-	Won 1944 Pimlico Special by 6 lengths, defeating Devil Diver (Champion Handicap Horse in 1943 and 1944)
-	Won 1944 Rennert H. at Pimlico, defeating Armed (Champion Handicap Horse in 1946 and 1947, and Horse Of The Year in 1947)
-	Set a new track record of 1:22 3/5 for seven furlongs in the 1944 Skokie H. at Washington Park

1944 Race Record:		17-14-1-1, $167,555
Lifetime Record:		24-18-2-2, $202,165

PRINCESS

ROONEY

-	Champion Older Mare in 1984
-	Won 1984 Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Hollywood Park in 2:02 2/5, a full second faster than the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), won by Wild Again. The Classic field also included Gate Dancer, Slew O' Gold, Track Barron, Desert Wine and Precisionist
-	Won 1983 Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs

1984 Race Record:		9-6-1-1, $854,791
Lifetime Record:		21-17-2-1, $1,343,339

BUSHER

-	Champion Two-Year-Old Filly in 1944
-	Champion Three-Year-Old Filly, Handicap Mare and Horse Of The Year in 1945
-	Won 1945 Arlington H. at Washington Park by nearly 5 lengths, defeating older horses
-	Won 1945 Washington Park H. in track record time of 2:01 4/5, defeating Armed (Champion Handicap Horse in 1946 and 1947, and Horse Of The Year in 1947)
-	Won 1944 Selima S. at Laurel Park, defeating Gallorette
-	Won 1945 Hollywood Derby, defeating colts
-	Finished second by a half-length in the 1945 Santa Anita Derby

1945 Race Record:		13-10-2-1, $273,735
Lifetime Record:		21-15-3-1, $334,035

SUSAN'S

GIRL

-	Champion Three-Year-Old Filly in 1972
-	Champion Handicap Mare in 1973 and 1975
-	Won 1972 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs
-	Won 1975 Matchmaker S. (G1) at Atlantic City, setting a new track record of 1:54 1/5 for 1 3/16 miles
-	Won 1972 and 1975 Beldame S. (G1) at Belmont Park
-	Won 1973 and 1975 Delaware H. (G1) at Delaware Park
-	Won 1973 and 1975 Spinster S. (G1) at Keeneland

1972 Race Record:		13-9-2-2, $352,678
Lifetime Record:		63-29-14-11, $1,251,668

GENUINE

RISK

-	Champion Three-Year-Old Filly in 1980
-	Won 1980 Kentucky Derby (G1)
-	Finished second in 1980 Preakness S. (G1) and Belmont S. (G1)
-	Won 1980 Ruffian H. (G1) at Belmont Park by a nose over Misty Gallore, with It's In The Air (Champion Two-Year-Old Filly in 1978) finishing third
-	McCarron subs for Vasquez (who opts for Ruffian)

1980 Race Record:		8-4-3-1, $503,742
Lifetime Record:		15-10-3-2, $646,587

Now, for the race:

RUFFIAN breaks alertly, and assumes command from the outset,

followed in earnest by LADY'S SECRET, REGRET and TWILIGHT TEAR.

BAYAKOA settles into fifth position, while DESERT VIXEN, INSIDE

INFORMATION, GO FOR WAND, GALLORETTE and PRINCESS ROONEY race

heads apart from the rail out. That group is tracked closely by

PERSONAL ENSIGN, BUSHER and SUSAN'S GIRL, with GENUINE RISK

bringing up the rear. Into the clubhouse turn, RUFFIAN leads by a

length over LADY'S SECRET, while BAYAKOA edges past REGRET into

third. DESERT VIXEN hugs the rail in fifth, with GO FOR WAND to

her outside, and TWILIGHT TEAR three wide. The rest of the field

remains tightly bunched, and they race around the turn without

incident.

After a quarter in :22 3/5 and a half in :45 3/5, RUFFIAN

extends her lead over LADY'S SECRET to a length-and-a-half, and

BAYAKOA maintains her position a neck back in third. During the

run down the backstretch, REGRET, without urging from Notter,

ranges up outside of LADY'S SECRET and BAYAKOA into second.

Meanwhile, TWILIGHT TEAR takes over fifth position, a half-length

ahead of GO FOR WAND to her inside, with DESERT VIXEN a neck

farther back down along the fence. INSIDE INFORMATION and

PERSONAL ENSIGN remain bottled up on the inside, while GALLORETTE

tracks TWILIGHT TEAR in the three-path.

RUFFIAN accomplishes six furlongs in a taxing 1:09 2/5, and

moves around the far turn with her lead over REGRET shrinking to

three-quarters of a length. There are few position changes, as

LADY'S SECRET and PERSONAL ENSIGN skim the rail, while TWILIGHT

TEAR, PRINCESS ROONEY and SUSAN'S GIRL race wide. Heading into

the stretch, the leader and trailer are separated by less than

seven lengths, and it's still anyone's race.

Vasquez has not yet asked the great RUFFIAN for her best, as

she clings to a half-length lead over Kentucky Derby heroine

REGRET after a mile in 1:34 3/5. LADY'S SECRET and BAYAKOA are

unable to make up any ground on the leaders, and TWILIGHT TEAR

edges past them into third with less than a furlong remaining.

Meanwhile, a determined GALLORETTE is making headway in the

middle of the track, passing DESERT VIXEN and moving to within

two lengths of the lead with a sixteenth of a mile to go. The

undefeated PERSONAL ENSIGN explodes through an opening on the

rail as a tiring LADY'S SECRET drifts out slightly, but the wire

is rapidly approaching. RUFFIAN turns back the challenge of

REGRET, but GALLORETTE is cutting into her lead with every

stride. As they hit the finish line, it's ... RUFFIAN by a

diminishing half-length over GALLORETTE, with REGRET

three-quarters of a length farther back in third. Time for the

race is a swift 1:47 4/5.

Following is the complete order of finish:

FINISH	HORSE	MARGINS	COMMENT
1	RUFFIAN	1/2	Hung on gamely under pressure
2	GALLORETTE	3/4	Determined stretch run
3	REGRET	1/2	Couldn't stay with winner
4	TWILIGHT TEAR	no	Wide bid, evenly
5	PERSONAL ENSIGN	1	Steadied stretch, finished fast
6	DESERT VIXEN	hd	Saved ground, hung
7	SUSAN'S GIRL	3/4	Wide turns, closed late
8	BUSHER	3/4	Passed tired horses
9	BAYAKOA	1/2	Stalked, weakened
10	LADY'S SECRET	1	Pressed leader, weakened
11	GENUINE RISK	nk	Failed to threaten
12	PRINCESS ROONEY	nk	Wide trip
13	GO FOR WAND	1	Lacked running room, tired
14	INSIDE INFORMATION	-----	Faded inside

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