Since I was 5 when she won the Kentucky Derby, I didn't meet Winning Colors until about two years after her retirement. I was passing an afternoon at my grandparent’s house, flipping through some old magazines when I saw her. From the bottom corner of an old magazine stared a beautiful, elegant roan filly with intelligence in her look and fire in her eyes. Curious, I flipped to the article, which was a profile of her highly successful trainer, D. Wayne Lucas. But I only had eyes for her. This filly who could not only beat the colts, she could do it in track record time. And then, the Kentucky Derby. The ultimate boy’s game. The Holy Grail of horse racing. The goal for every one of the thousands of thoroughbred foals born every year. 130 boys have won. Only three girls. When Winning Colors became the third filly to win the coveted Derby, she was loose on the lead the whole way. She held off a late charge by the previous year's champion two year old colt. I had never seen anything like her. Sure, I'd heard the fairy tales of Secretariat and Man 'O War, but Winning Colors... she was real.
After that article, I craved more. I read every horse racing news article. I started checking out non-fiction horse racing books on my weekly library trips. I begged and begged to go to the racetrack, until my dad finally took me. I was the only eight year old with a racing form in one hand, and a program in the other, muttering about off track vs. fast track workouts. In second grade, we had to do reports on different kinds of books, including magazine articles. Guess which magazine article I chose?
Was Winning Colors the best filly ever to run? Well, not exactly. I remember guiltily shoving her to the back of my mind during 1994-1996, when I followed Serena's Song's every move. Madcap Escapade, Azeri, Silverbulletday, Excellent Meeting, Rags to Riches.... yes, I have screamed myself hoarse for many a filly. And I have become so familiar with Ruffian, Dahlia, Go for Wand, Personal Ensign, etc. that I often forget that I didn't see them run live. But it all started with Winning Colors, the first "real" racehorse, the first superwoman, I ever knew. And to my seven year old self, she was the best.
3 responses:
I never saw her in person, but she was a great one. I saw Lady's Secret win the Breeder's Cup in '86 and Winning Colors reminded me a little of her. Catch me if you can; they rarely did. She was big, she was quick, she had stamina. A true champion. When they win on the first Saturday in May, that says it all. We won't see one like her for a while. I'm sad, but so glad to have followed her career.
Ack! How could I have been so remiss as to forget Lady's Secret! She ranks up there right next to Ruffian with fillies I wish I'd seen run live. What an amazing girl she was.
Amazing! She was a beauty. Thanks for posting the video. Man they couldn't even catch her!!!
Great writing BTW.
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