I first saw Blind Luck run in the Alabama Stakes
(G1) at Saratoga last year. Though the trainers would deny it, it was
speculated to be a two-horse race between Blind Luck and the late Malibu Moon
filly, Devil May Care. Rather, it would prove to establish the rivalry between July
2010’s Delaware Oaks (G2) winner Blind Luck and the filly that she nosed out
for that win, Havre de Grace. They have met three times since, twice with Havre
de Grace besting Blind Luck—in 2010 Fitz Dixon Cotillion Stakes (G2) at Parx
Racing and the 2011 Azeri Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn. Unrivalled Belle made it to
the wire first in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (G1), but Blind Luck
and Have de Grace still battled each other, finishing second and third,
respectively, in that race. Now we anxiously await Saturday’s Delaware Handicap (G2) to see how these fillies will make it over the 1 ¼ mile course. Will this
race break the tie in their rivalry? Well, that, I couldn’t possibly predict.
What I will comment on though, is the tradition of rivalry
in this sport of kings. Inherently, every race is a rivalry—among the horses,
the owners, the trainers, the breeders. That’s kind of the point—to determine
the best in each division. Sometimes though, intimate rivalries develop between
horses, such as the one we are witnessing now between Blind Luck and Havre de
Grace. A little extra rivalry is never a bad thing, it simply adds a bit more
excitement to the game. Over the course of just this century there have been notable
rivalries between Seabiscuit and War Admiral, Gallorette and Stymie, Jaipur and
Ridan, Kelso and Gun Bow, Affirmed and Alydar, Alysheba and Bet Twice, Personal
Ensign and Winning Colors, Easy Goer and Sunday Silence, Silver Charm and Free House, Curlin and
Street Sense, and Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta. That’s by no means not comprehensive list, just some of the highlights! So let’s take a quick look at some of these
historic rivalries that so captured racing fans’ attentions over the years.
The 1930s: Seabiscuit
and War Admiral
In 1937 Seabiscuit had won 11 of 15 races and was the leading money winner in
the United States. In 1937, War Admiral had won the Triple Crown and captured
the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year. While both horses had Man O’ War
bloodlines, they could not have been more different. Seabiscuit was a horse no
one could handle and for a while, no one wanted to. War Admiral was the epitome
of the champion racehorse. While his race record and earnings were impressive, Seabiscuit’s
racing out West was considered not up to snuff in the East Coast circles where
War Admiral left his mark. The racing community and fans called for a match
race between the two to determine once and for all who the greater champion was.
After several dates had been set and then cancelled, the two horses finally met
on November 1, 1938 at Pimlico Race Course. They ran a 1 3/16 mile race. As I’m
sure the vast majority of you are well aware, it was Seabiscuit who made it to
the wire first. I love a good underdog story as much as the next person (and
yes, the cinematic version did make me cry) but there was no doubt that both these
horses were champions. This win, along with his remarkable record would earn
Seabiscuit the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year in 1938.
The 1940s: Gallorette
and Stymie
The champion filly Gallorette must truly have been something to behold. With
a pedigree of racing royalty and looks to match, she wasted no time breaking
her maiden; in her two-year-old year she finished third in her debut and then
won her next two starts. She made it pretty obvious from the get-go that she
was born to race. Stymie, on the other hand, was what one might call a late
bloomer. Though he had some good bloodlines to speak of, he was ordinary looking
and not very impressive. Claimed in his third race for a mere $1,500, Stymie would
not see the winner’s circle until his 14th try around the oval. He
wouldn’t win his first stakes race, the Grey Lag Handicap, until he was four,
but it would turn out to be the first of a total of twenty-five stakes he would
win in his career. When these two met on the track, the competition would pit
male against female, beauty against beast (so to speak), and older against
younger (Stymie was foaled in 1941, Gallorette in 1942). They met first in
1946, when as a four-year-old Gallorette would beat him in the Brooklyn Handicap.
This would be two of three occasions that year in which the filly would triumph over male
company, the other occasions being the Metropolitan Handicap and the Bayshore
Handicap. But Stymie would meet her again later that year in the Edgemere
Handicap and beat her to the wire. Nineteen-forty-seven would bring them
together again, and while Gallorette won the Queens County Handicap over rival
Stymie, he would defeat the filly in future meetings later that year. Regardless
of the record of their rivalry, both horses were extraordinary. Gallorette broke
the record for all-time earnings for a filly with her winnings of $445,535 and Stymie
retired as the richest racehorse in America, with earnings of $918,485.
The 1970s: Affirmed
and Alydar
No rivalry in horse racing history is probably better known than that between
Affirmed and Alydar. In fact, so memorable is their competition, that it it’s
rare to hear one mentioned without reference to the other. It is likely that
there is little I could add to the discussion that avid race fans such as you,
readers, don’t already know. Over the course of their racing careers the two
would meet ten times.Most notably, they met in all three races of the Triple
Crown, of which Affirmed would become the eleventh winner (and to date, the
last). Alydar became the first horse to ever finish second in all three Triple
Crown races. When their rivalry was put to rest, with the 1978 Travers Stakes at Saratoga, the final tally was Affirmed 7, Alydar 3.
Stay tuned for more historic rivalries to come!