Remembering Azeri and her 2004 Spinster

Azeri

Remembering Azeri and her 2004 Spinster  

by

Murray D. West

March 24, 2012

     On March 17, 2012, the $150,000 Azeri Stakes was contested at Oaklawn Race Course, won in very fine style by Tiz Miz Sue.  It is altogether appropriate that Oaklawn should honor Azeri at their facility, for it was here that this great mare proved unbeatable while winning 3 renewals of the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Stakes.  The running of this race honoring Azeri triggered fond memories of the Hall of Fame mare when she visited Keeneland to compete in the 2004 G1 Spinster.  

     I remember it well, some aspects almost like it was just yesterday.  Indeed, how could one forget such an occasion?  It was a magnificent autumn day, basked in sunshine and warmth, the atmosphere electric from great expectation, one of those unforgettable Keeneland moments when time stands still and shimmers in the glow of perfection, when all in attendance, for just this brief interlude, feel sheltered from the turmoil and burden that is the reality of the outside world, secure within the confines of this aged stone enclave, a moment when Willie Koester famously turns with his great smile and softly and sincerely says to all who share his passion, “It just doesn’t get any better than this!”  And, as always, he would be correct with that assertion.

     It was most definitely special for on this day, October 10, 2004, Keeneland was once again host to royalty.  Oh yes, Queen Elizabeth II had been the guest some years earlier but this was, for the Thoroughbred enthusiast, even more special, more historic.  And while dignitaries and movie stars too numerous to recall had frequented the historic oval, they paled in comparison to this star.  This was a different type of royalty, one with whom we could readily relate, one who had earned her honors on the field of battle…for this was incredible Azeri!  This marvelous superstar mare, ultimately winner of 17 of 24 outings including a near unfathomable 11 grade one races, 3 Eclipse awards as Champion Handicap Mare, and 2002 Horse of the Year accolades, was on this day making her first and only visit to Keeneland Racecourse to contest the G1 Spinster Stakes, the final prep for her ill-timed attempt to become the first distaffer to win the Breeder’s Cup Classic, that race to be run some twenty days later at Lone Star Park.  I say ill-timed for, as great as she still was on this October day, she was without question no longer the race mare of her 2002 season nor likely even of her 2003 campaign, seasons in which a year end challenge to the colts might have proved more successful…but that is not for today’s discussion.  She was still Azeri, already at that time acknowledged as one of the all-time great race mares in the lore of the American Turf, still dominant as she raced in her 6^th year…and she was this day to bestow her grace upon us.

      I well recall walking to her barn prior to the race, sacrificing witnessing the preceding race so that I could document her walk from her barn to the paddock.  I had anticipated that the barn area would be replete with photographers, videographers, and turf  journalists, all as eager as I was to witness this historic moment.  I even remember equating this moment to Secretariat and the Belmont, recalling Tony Leonard’s famous photograph of Secretariat as he walked from his barn to the Belmont paddock prior to his historic Belmont Stakes victory.  As such, I had already decided that I would be certain to keep my distance from these professionals, recognizing that this was their work, their livelihood, and that as a mere fan and an amateur photographer I wished to be certain I did not interfere in their accomplishing their important  tasks.  It was thus with some great surprise, and no small amount of confusion, that I arrived at her barn and found no one…no one…awaiting her.  My immediate reaction was disbelief, that I had been given incorrect information and was at the wrong barn, and even now relive that brief instant of despair felt back then when I thought I had missed this opportunity to witness and document a special moment in racing, and particularly Keeneland, history.  Quickly, however, that feeling passed, for within an instant or two I saw her being led from her stall, walked down the shedrow and out into the sun.  Looking again, and still seeing no other cameras, I was amazed, and remain so today, that I alone was there to witness and document her walk to the paddock.  And what a moment it was.

leaving the barn

getting on the muscle

     

transformation ongoing!

     Leaving her stall, resplendent with her white bridle set against her deep chestnut coat, she walked calmly between the barns to the road leading to the track.  Moving backwards as nimbly as possible, I fired off salvos of photos, fully congnizant of the fact that at the time I was shooting film and thus had a finite number of shots available to me before I would have to reload.  What I witnessed was a near magical transformation, from Azeri leaving her stall as a very quiet, very tractable and seasoned mare, seemingly not the least interested in nor concerned  about  the fact that she was once again being led to compete, to Azeri the warrior, fully prepared for conflict, prancing and straining against restraint, head high and at attention, ears held rigid, at one moment erect as she stared to some distant place, in the next pinned to her head, eyes glaring in near anger, and her nostrils…oh those nostrils…flaring now in anticipation, devouring air as she snorted and danced and lunged in anticipation of what she now fully comprehended was forthcoming…Battle!

game face

ready!

    

entering Keeneland paddock

    

paddock filled with admirers

     She stopped momentarily as she reached the entrance to the paddock and stared directly ahead at the stone arch leading into its confines, head high, ears upright with eyes staring intently…then she suddenly relaxed, became visibly calmer, lowered her head and moved forward into the vaunted enclosure that is the Keeneland paddock, ready now to greet her adoring fans, the entrance within filled with those professional photographers that I had anticipated seeing at the barn.  I preceded her through the gate and photographed her as she entered, then stepped aside as she passed by, taking the opportunity to fire off several shots of the “Queen” walking amongst the peons.  I took a deep breath as the sound of cameras firing away served as background music to her walk, and couldn’t help but chuckle as all the photographers scrambled for the best shots.  “Fire away, my friends,” I recall thinking, “but you’re too late.  The real show, the really special moment, has passed.”

D. Wayne Lukas and Azeri holding court in Keeneland saddling enclosure

     

The "Queen" and her court!

to the walking ring

Post Parade, with Pat Day aboard

dominant victory

    

     Azeri of course was victorious in this race, it proving in fact to be her final victory, her final Grade One.  Following her race I hurried down to the gap and photographed her leaving the track, then followed her to the Test Barn, where she was bathed and cooled out.  Again I was amazed that there were no professionals there to document this historic moment.  My final photos of this wondrous mare show her leaving and being led back to her own barn, her day’s work completed, a job exceptionally well done…but what else would ever be expected from this mare, without doubt one of the greatest fillies or mares to ever grace the American Turf? 

Azeri and Day as one

leaving the track after Spinster win

     

Spinster victory, leaving track

     More recently we have continued to witness the incredible run of exceptional female horses, too numerous to mention, culminating in three consecutive female winners of the coveted Horse of the Year award, these including Rachel Alexandra in 2009, Zenyatta in 2010, and most recently Havre de Grace in 2011.  Ever more distaff greatness appears before us, for at the moment of this writing a literal plethora of very outstanding ladies are preparing to do battle, not only with each other but with their male adversaries as well.  This is an exciting time in racing, with the promise of brilliance in abundance, but should she somehow magically reappear upon today's racing scene, surely none would overshadow the greatness of Azeri.  How special she was!  How rarely we will see her like!

Azeri

Azeri

to the Test Barn after the Spinster

well deserved drink of water

removing her wraps

bath time!

leaving the Test Barn and returning to her own barn to finsih cooling out

leaving the Test Barn

Going Home!  A job exceptionally well done!

Murray D. West

March 24, 2012

       

Remembering Mighty Rachel

Remembering Mighty Rachel

by
 Murray D. West

                                   Begot from a union of Fire and Wind -

                                        a fury to much behold -

                                   The demon of speed she stole from the Wind,

                                        from the Fire her courage bold.

                                   Sound of strong limb and deep with great girth,

                                        her strength she wrought from this storm,

                                   From the raging torrent of this tempest blast,

                                        THUS was great Rachel born!

Upon us again, the preludes to the Spring Classics conjure recollections of times past, of the great and the not so great, of some who proved their worth over the course of time and of others, those who teased, cajoled, then slipped off into the darkness, fond memories to their intimate few, reminders of the vagaries of racing fortune to others.

With the thrill of each stalwart stretch drive, of each courageous battle to the wire, of each fast closing near miss, comes the hope, the dream, that this may be the one, that special horse to demand attention, to grab the heart and soul of all who love racing and to give hope that elusive greatness has once more happened upon us. The course of time, unfortunately, will most commonly prove this to be false hope, greatness giving way to goodness, immortality to mortality…and so the search will continue.

Sometimes, however, on rare occasions when the racing gods smile upon us, our dreams are answered and the promise of early spring blossoms into the wonder of true racing glory. And so it happened for us in the early months of 2009, when a tall, powerful, dark bay filly with a most distinctive crooked blaze, happened upon us, and spellbound we witnessed the promise of her Golden Rod victory in November of her 2 year old campaign flourish beyond reasonable hope into the wondrous reality of unmatched courage married to brilliance beyond recent memory…and so we were given Rachel Alexandra!
So much has been written and spoken of this most special of all horses, her memory is rekindled at this time with the recent birth of her strapping Curlin colt, as well as by the very recent running of the G3 Rachel Alexandra Stakes at the Fair Grounds this February 25th. Memory drifts back to recall Rachel’s early sophomore campaign, with her facile victory in the Martha Washington at Oaklawn, a total domination of overmatched opponents in the Fair Grounds Oaks, followed then by a seemingly effortless win in the Fantasy, again back at Oaklawn. I had been fortunate enough to witness her maiden win at Keeneland as well as her very impressive victory in the Golden Rod at Churchill but, while recall thinking her an outstanding talent of considerable promise, make no pretense of anticipating her emerging as a 3 year old of such rare brilliance. Indeed, how could anyone have done so?

I vividly remember her walk over from the backstretch for the G1 Kentucky Oaks, she in her resplendent pink halter in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness day at Churchill. I hung over the rail as she approached, my camera firing salvos of shots to capture this special moment. A strapping dark bay with a marvelous sloping shoulder, her strikingly unusual white blaze was balanced by the white of her wall eye, so apparent as her gaze darted to and fro while she alertly scanned the huge Oaks crowd. While all present hoped for an exceptional display, no one could have anticipated the monumental feat given by Rachel that day. It is doubtful that any who bore witness to her race will ever forget the absolute majesty of her performance, where nearly 100,000 people rose and cheered as one in testimony to her wonder, she widening with every stride to establish a new stakes record while winning by some 20 lengths.

Her Preakness was a thing of beauty. Recall how she had to be used early from her outside post position, dropping over to wrest the lead from the formidable Big Drama as he, racing to her inside, drifted out slightly while floating her wide around the first turn. Racing as a team for the best part of the first mile, Rachel set fractions of 23 and 46.3 with the future Breeder’s Cup Sprint winner snarling at her throat. The very fine colt gave his all but finally could no longer match strides with the filly, slowly giving way as they approached the head of the stretch. Now, the wire in sight, Rachel’s incredible high cruising speed carried her to a 2 length advantage and here, overcoming her outside post and the constant pressure from Big Drama, she proved more than capable of repulsing the late charge of the Kentucky Derby champion, Mine That Bird, flashing across the wire a full length to the good.

Returning to race with her own, the Mother Goose proved another tour de force for Rachel as she broke Ruffian’s long standing stakes record, again her winning margin of near 20 lengths accomplished with seemingly effortless precision, with Calvin Borel easing her the last 1/16th mile. So impressive was her victory that there was little doubt to all bearing witness that the track record would have been seriously challenged had Rachel received the slightest encouragement from her veteran rider.

With Zenyatta as her only legitimate distaff competitor, and she residing on the West coast, Rachel again took on the boys in the Haskel, and here again she displayed absolute brilliance. Forced to race outside the very quick Munnings, and with Belmont winner Summer Bird running forwardly in third along the rail, Borel rated Rachel just off the leader in the early stages. Turned loose at the quarter pole, Rachel did not disappoint, quickly drawing off with consummate ease to win by 6 widening lengths in a very quick 1:47.1, again just missing the Monmouth track record, again leaving the impression that the record was well within her grasp had she been called upon to put forth greater effort.

The ultimate hurdle to an unblemished season was now thrust before her as Rachel attempted the very formidable challenge of becoming the first female to win the historic G1 Woodward Stakes. Anticipating history, it was a race I knew I simply could not miss and thus, with no pre-arranged accommodations, climbed aboard my chariot and drove the long 12 plus hours to Saratoga Springs. Through the kindness of friends, a consideration for which I am forever indebted, I was fortunate to receive a box on the finish line and paddock passes for the race. Fully cognizant of the potential historical ramifications of the moment, I readily recall my emotions as mighty Rachel, looking more an elegant princess than some fierce Amazonian queen, passed directly before me while departing the paddock on her way to the famed Saratoga oval, the moment having arrived for her to challenge, indeed to define, racing immortality. The rest, as they say, is history, and history on this day gave us a race for the ages, an encounter that will be discussed and cherished as long as men race horses and undaunted courage remains revered. Forced to taxing fractions of 22.4 and 46.2, Rachel in succession repulsed the challenges of Da’ Tara, Past The Point, Cool Coal Man, It’s A Bird, Asiatic Boy, Bullsbay and, finally and desperately, Macho Again. I wrote at length about this race some short days later, and I will quote from my article entitled, “Woodward Wonder”…

“As one by one she threw off her challengers, as she thundered down the stretch and moved away from Bullsbay, and then as the gray form of Macho Again loomed so threatening in the final approach to the wire, I firmly believe that all bets were off, that every man, woman and child, regardless of their wager, was now up and cheering her on, contorted faces, scrunched lips and fisted hands all testimony to their efforts to will her to victory, to carry her to the wire, for no wager seemed of any consequence in the face of such a spellbinding, historic performance. On their feet and cheering her victory, even those who participated in the race and gave their very best to defeat her stood in awe and applauded, for all knew they might never see her kind again, might never again witness such a coronation. In the stands or watching on television, whether an owner, breeder, trainer, jockey or groom of another in the race, whether betting for or wagering against, none of this was now of any importance, for all became winners through her victory, and all the racing world celebrated.”

It was my very good fortune that special day to be invited to join the victory celebration with Rachel and the Stonestreet connections following the Woodward. Standing within the crowded winner’s enclosure, I was but several feet from Rachel as she and Calvin were led in for the traditional winner’s photographs. As she entered my own camera was busy and my photos bear testimony to the extremes of emotion experienced by all at that moment. Hands raised to the heavens and tears streaming down the face of Calvin Borel spoke not only of his unsurpassed joy but also, I’m certain, to the profound relief felt when a tremendous burden of responsibility is suddenly lifted from one’s shoulders. Jess Jackson, while walking beside his filly in victory, bore a smile which without doubt spoke to his great happiness but also, I suspect, to great satisfaction that he had made the correct decision, that by pushing conventional bounds and challenging Rachel to grasp greatness he had forever raised the bar for all who might follow. And Rachel…well, my photos I believe bear testimony to the absolute exhaustion that overwhelmed this champion in the aftermath of her supreme effort. Her energy reserves fully consumed, she had nothing more to give, her very life blood left on the stage where she had prevailed in this most incredibly demanding race.

And of myself? Tingling skin, goose bumps, trembling hands, hoarseness, wonderment, thankfulness, appreciation, disbelief…and yes, perhaps even a tear, all testimony to the magnitude of this moment. This was the greatest race that I had ever personally witnessed, surpassing even my emotions surrounding the victory of Personal Ensign over Winning Colors in the Breeder’s Cup Distaff so many years ago. I, like Rachel, felt exhausted, she physically drained from her supreme physical effort, me emotionally drained simply from experiencing this most exhilarating of all races.

Just how great was Rachel? How demanding was her 3 year old campaign, and how does she compare with the immortals of previous generations? I have my opinion, but mine is a very small voice. Others, however, giants of the game, Hall of Famers with a wealth of experience extending over many decades, have been effusive in their praise of Rachel. Angel Cordero stated that Rachel was the best 3 year old filly that he had ever seen…and he had seen Ruffian and Go for Wand. John Nerud, the outspoken trainer of such champions as Dr. Fager and Ta Wee, was forthright and non-apologetic in his statement when he voiced that a new standard had now been established against which future generations of sophomore fillies must be compared. And Leroy Jolley, formerly of the opinion that Go For Wand was the greatest 3 year old filly he had seen, stated that the accolade now belonged to Rachel Alexandra…and do recall that Lee Jolley trained the great Genuine Risk to Kentucky Derby glory!

And my opinion, for what it may or may not be worth? I believe her to be the greatest sophomore filly I have ever seen or ever expect to see. Further, during that spring, summer and early autumn of 2009, when she was at her peak, I think she at least the equal of any filly or mare who ever lived, and doubt the distaffer of any age who might have defeated her in a true running of a race up to 1 1/8th miles. My opinion only but, agree or not with that opinion, surely there can be no doubt that Rachel Alexandra belongs in any discussion of not only the greatest sophomore fillies, but the greatest females of this or any other era.

She was, and will always remain, Rachel Alexandra…the Great!

                                                               Murray D. West
                                                               Paris, Kentucky
                                                                March 4, 2012



Addendum

 
The posting of this blog was delayed for two reasons.  The first related to my lack of familiarity with my new computer and the Window 7 format.  With help of family I am slowly overcoming that hurdle and hopefully this will not be a major issue delaying further posts.

The second related to the hope that I would be able to visit Rachel and her Curlin colt at Stonestreet Farm and, by so doing, incorporate some current photos of this special duo with the blog.  Thanks to the kindness of John Moynihan, and the efforts of my very good friend Ryan Mahan, that visit became a reality on the beauitiful Sunday afternoon of February 26, 2012.  We were given a most cordial welcome by farm manager Gary Megibben and he, with the able assistance of two of the farm workers, allowed us a very special and close up visit with the queen and her baby.  Especially for me, with my passion for Rachel, it truly was like a visit with royalty.  I'm not quite certain what I expected from Rachel, for when on the track she was always kept at a distance from fans and media, adoration, by necessity, kept at arms length.  Thus, although I had seen her on numerous occasions on the track and at her barn, I really had no idea of her personality.  To my delight I found her to be very kind, most gentle and, yes, still very regal.  From all reports, and from my observations on this day, she is a wonderful mother.

I have included a number of photos from my visit.  My thanks to those who made this visit possible and I hope I may return frequently to further follow and document the life of Rachel and this and subsequent offspring.  Special thanks to Gary Megibben for making us feel so welcome.  I know it was an intrusion upon his Sunday afternoon, but he made us feel like we were doing him the favor by being there.

My thanks also to the two gentlemen who kindly showed Rachel and her baby to us.  I fear I do not know their names, and for this I apologize, but please understand that your time and effort on our behalf was most appreciated.

Please enjoy these photos of the queen and her baby who, by the way, is some kind of specimen with an attitude to go with his looks!  He seems to know exactly who his mommy and daddy are, indeed!

Hot Dixie Chick with her Curlin colt