There are indeed times when what happens before or after a race can overshadow what takes place in the heat of competition.
As impressive as Awesome Maria’s victory in the $250,000 Ogden Phipps Handicap may have been, Saturday’s race was overshadowed by a freak pre-race accident in the Belmont Park paddock that ended the career of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic winner Unrivaled Belle.
A high-strung 5-year-old mare, Unrivaled Belle reared up while waiting to be saddled and fell, fracturing her withers, which is the high part of her back.
A scary as the incident looked, the injury was not serious and under normal circumstances Unrivaled Belle might have been treated in hopes of returning to the races next year. But since she is scheduled to be retired at the end of the year to become a broodmare, the decision was made to give her several weeks of stall rest and retire her.
“She didn’t come down with a big thud, it was more of a soft landing, but when she got up I knew immediately she had broken her withers,” said her trainer, Bill Mott. “I’ve had horses come back and win stakes after they break their withers, but she’ll be retired and go on to be a broodmare.”
Without Unrivaled Belle in the starting gate, the Phipps became dramatically less of a challenge for Awesome Maria, who notched her first Grade 1 victory while pushing her 2011 record to a spotless 4-for-4.
Trained by Todd Pletcher and owned by E. Paul Robsham Stables, Awesome Maria pressed the pace of Absinthe Minded, and then forged to the front on the turn while followed by Life At Ten. She drew clear of her stablemate in the stretch and crossed the wire three lengths ahead of Payton d’Oro.
Super Espresso, who is also trained by Pletcher, finished third and Life At Ten faded to fourth, giving the ubiquitous Pletcher the first, third and fourth finishers in a field of five.
With the victory, Awesome Maria added even more star power to an older filly and mare division that may outshine the boys this year.
A couple hours after the Phipps, Blind Luck, last year’s 3-year-old champion filly, beat Switch by a half-length in the $250,000 Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park, showing that she’s back in top form after starting 2011 with three straight runner-up finishes.
With the likes of Awesome Maria, Blind Luck and Havre de Grace, not to mention Switch as well as Miss Match and St Trinians, who were third and fourth in the Vanity, either the Delaware Handicap at Delaware Park (July 16), the Ruffian Handicap at Saratoga (July 31) or Personal Ensign at Saratoga (Aug. 28) could emerge as a blockbuster showdown.
Meanwhile, the older males division seems just as muddled as the 3-year-old colts, based on Pool Play’s neck victory at 36-1 odds in Saturday’s $500,000 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs over a quality field that included Mission Impazible, Apart, Giant Oak, Duke of Mischief and Regal Ransom.
Stealing a page from the Animal Kingdom playbook, the Foster was Pool Play’s first -- but most likely not his last -- start on dirt.
Judging by what we’ve seen so far, Tizway has been the most impressive performer and could eventually emerge as the leader of that pack, provided he can maintain the form and speed he displayed in winning the Met Mile last month. Rest assured, that’s hardly a given in a whacky year like this one.
Looking ahead to next weekend, fillies and mares will be in the spotlight again at Belmont Park with a pair of Saturday stakes for the ladies. The Mother Goose, a $250,000 mile and a sixteenth stakes for 3-year-old fillies, is the main event.
The supporting feature is the $150,000 New York Handicap, a mile and a quarter grass test for fillies and mares.
There’s also some good news to report on jockey Ryan Curatolo, who experienced the highs and lows of racing this past weekend. On Saturday, the apprentice rider recorded his first stakes win, taking the Hill Prince with budding turf star Street Game.
Then on Sunday, Curatolo was tossed from his mount during the post parade for the first race. A native of France, Curatolo was taken to North Shore University Hospital, where x-rays revealed he came out of the fall with no broken bones.
Curatolo has been the in demand apprentice at Belmont’s spring-summer meet, currently ranking fifth with 26 winners. He’s expected to resume riding Wednesday.
Yes, it doesn’t happen often, but sometimes simply making the starting gate can be as difficult as landing in the winner’s circle.
As impressive as Awesome Maria’s victory in the $250,000 Ogden Phipps Handicap may have been, Saturday’s race was overshadowed by a freak pre-race accident in the Belmont Park paddock that ended the career of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic winner Unrivaled Belle.
A high-strung 5-year-old mare, Unrivaled Belle reared up while waiting to be saddled and fell, fracturing her withers, which is the high part of her back.
A scary as the incident looked, the injury was not serious and under normal circumstances Unrivaled Belle might have been treated in hopes of returning to the races next year. But since she is scheduled to be retired at the end of the year to become a broodmare, the decision was made to give her several weeks of stall rest and retire her.
“She didn’t come down with a big thud, it was more of a soft landing, but when she got up I knew immediately she had broken her withers,” said her trainer, Bill Mott. “I’ve had horses come back and win stakes after they break their withers, but she’ll be retired and go on to be a broodmare.”
Without Unrivaled Belle in the starting gate, the Phipps became dramatically less of a challenge for Awesome Maria, who notched her first Grade 1 victory while pushing her 2011 record to a spotless 4-for-4.
Trained by Todd Pletcher and owned by E. Paul Robsham Stables, Awesome Maria pressed the pace of Absinthe Minded, and then forged to the front on the turn while followed by Life At Ten. She drew clear of her stablemate in the stretch and crossed the wire three lengths ahead of Payton d’Oro.
Super Espresso, who is also trained by Pletcher, finished third and Life At Ten faded to fourth, giving the ubiquitous Pletcher the first, third and fourth finishers in a field of five.
With the victory, Awesome Maria added even more star power to an older filly and mare division that may outshine the boys this year.
A couple hours after the Phipps, Blind Luck, last year’s 3-year-old champion filly, beat Switch by a half-length in the $250,000 Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park, showing that she’s back in top form after starting 2011 with three straight runner-up finishes.
With the likes of Awesome Maria, Blind Luck and Havre de Grace, not to mention Switch as well as Miss Match and St Trinians, who were third and fourth in the Vanity, either the Delaware Handicap at Delaware Park (July 16), the Ruffian Handicap at Saratoga (July 31) or Personal Ensign at Saratoga (Aug. 28) could emerge as a blockbuster showdown.
Meanwhile, the older males division seems just as muddled as the 3-year-old colts, based on Pool Play’s neck victory at 36-1 odds in Saturday’s $500,000 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs over a quality field that included Mission Impazible, Apart, Giant Oak, Duke of Mischief and Regal Ransom.
Stealing a page from the Animal Kingdom playbook, the Foster was Pool Play’s first -- but most likely not his last -- start on dirt.
Judging by what we’ve seen so far, Tizway has been the most impressive performer and could eventually emerge as the leader of that pack, provided he can maintain the form and speed he displayed in winning the Met Mile last month. Rest assured, that’s hardly a given in a whacky year like this one.
Looking ahead to next weekend, fillies and mares will be in the spotlight again at Belmont Park with a pair of Saturday stakes for the ladies. The Mother Goose, a $250,000 mile and a sixteenth stakes for 3-year-old fillies, is the main event.
The supporting feature is the $150,000 New York Handicap, a mile and a quarter grass test for fillies and mares.
There’s also some good news to report on jockey Ryan Curatolo, who experienced the highs and lows of racing this past weekend. On Saturday, the apprentice rider recorded his first stakes win, taking the Hill Prince with budding turf star Street Game.
Then on Sunday, Curatolo was tossed from his mount during the post parade for the first race. A native of France, Curatolo was taken to North Shore University Hospital, where x-rays revealed he came out of the fall with no broken bones.
Curatolo has been the in demand apprentice at Belmont’s spring-summer meet, currently ranking fifth with 26 winners. He’s expected to resume riding Wednesday.
Yes, it doesn’t happen often, but sometimes simply making the starting gate can be as difficult as landing in the winner’s circle.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Bob Ehalt
Bob Ehalt, who grew up a few furlongs from Belmont Park, has followed horse racing as either a fan, turf writer or owner since 1971. He has won three national Associated Press Sports Editors awards for his coverage of the sport and was the recipient of the 2009 Breeders' Cup media award for outstanding social media.
Paul Moran
Paul Moran is a two-time winner of the Media Eclipse Award, and has received various honors from the National Association of Newspaper Editors, Society of Silurians, Long Island Press Club and Long Island Veterinary Medical Association. He also has been given the Red Smith Award for his coverage of the Kentucky Derby.
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