A Distaff to Behold
The margins of victory, defeat and even decency in sport and life can be so narrow, so often that we are reduced to hyperbole or cliche in their description. Thank goodness we play the games and run the races, as daily living reaches for something beyond the mundane, “heart of a champion,” or whatever words follow the actual title earned.
No, Beholder and Songbird do not need one more soon-to-be-forgotten story left in the trail of their extraordinary quarter-mile duel in the Breeders' Cup Distaff. Neither magnificent filly or mare showed any desperation of effort, and their riders needed nothing more than to match the glide of their Thoroughbred's under their haunches through the length of the stretch and beyond.
This supreme confidence from human and equine reminded those watching in the seats at Santa Anita, in front of their televisions or their computer screens nationwide why this sport is loved so. Like it or not, horse racing is fringe sport more on par with the X-Games than the Olympics or Super Bowl that often comes up in comparison.
And like other sports that rely on devotion from less of an audience that tunes for a Thursday night football game, Thoroughbred gamblers and fans are a rabid bunch. Next time you head to the track just mention how much greater Zenyatta was compared to Rachel Alexandra (or vice versa) and you’ll quickly understand why European football hooligans and horse racing fans have lots in common.
This maleficence simply comes with the territory of wins converted to losses by the length of a fingernail in fifth of a second.
So it was with great anticipation during yesterday’s Breeders' Cup that all looked to the Distaff, which featured three champion females, Stellar Wind in addition to the one-two finishers and three other multiple, Grade 1 winning mares. Any fan who looked beyond his or her usually betting scheme for a moment recognized this race was special, amongst a weekend of million dollar plus purses.
For Songbird a perfect 11-for-11 in her well traveled racing campaigns and championship seasons, it was her first meeting of older fillies and mares. Whatever her two-year-old and three-year-old filly foes threw at her, she simply flashed her speed and beat them with ease, far in advance of the finish line. She never had to work hard for a win because she was simply so much better than her competition.
For Beholder, she became the matriarch of her division - a six-year-old who dispatched the up and comers, while also defeating the boys, before two, narrow defeats to Stellar Wind and one to California Chrome in her last three races. The Distaff was to be her last race and the presence of Songbird and the perception of a chink in her formidable running style, let her go off at a generous 3-1 odds.
As we know people make the odds, not the horses. Beholder knew she was a champion and her patriarch, Rich "Papa" Mandella knew he still had the rarest of gifts - a racehorse that consistently gave her all through five championship caliber racing seasons.
Once Beholder came to Songbird at the quarter pole, depending on your fandom, you we either going to be disappointed or thrilled. Watching and rewatching race nine from Santa Anita yesterday, it’s hard to imagine any lingering disappointment. To display effort, strength and athleticism this great, this rare among two elite runners while meeting on the sport’s grandest stage, well, it was something to behold.