The long, successful career of Russell Road is almost complete
Lost in the big performance set down by Cupid in the West Virginia Derby, was the running of a smaller stakes race on the same card. The $100,000 Northern Panhandle Stakes for West Virginia-bred 3-year-olds and up was never going to be a national headliner, but what happened in the race is certainly worth noting.
In the Fairway, a 6-year-old Posse gelding from the barn of Jeff Runco, won the race impressively, but this article is not about him. This article, rather, is about the horse who finished second last Saturday afternoon at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort. His name is Russell Road.
You may be familiar with the name, but then again, maybe not. Many moons ago, the son of Wheaton entered the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes as the leading money earner in the field of nine. He did not win. While I Want Revenge immediately became one of the early favorites for the 2009 Kentucky Derby, Russell Road went back home to West Virginia.
“We knew it would be a tough spot, but we wanted to try,” says Mark Russell, the longtime owner of Russell Road. “Once we got through it, we realized we had the opportunity for longevity, and a great career. We would give him winters off, and space his races out.”
He was purchased privately, “for about twenty-five thousand,” from a friend, Robert Lloyd, who had won the right to breed his mare, Roberta Grump, to Wheatfield. “He looked the part from day one, but as soon as we got him on the track, we knew we had a good thing for us,” said Russell. “Now it is just miraculous to see this guy compete at such a high level. He’s ultra-consistent.”
So consistent, in fact, that the 23-time stakes winner was looking for a stakes win in his ninth consecutive season. It was not meant to be in the Northern Panhandle, but there will be more chances for Russell Road. “Nothing is carved in stone, but we are looking at a few more races for him, like the Frank Gall [Memorial at Charles Town],” Russell told me. It’s a race that Russell Road has already won twice in six attempts. “After that, we’ll look at the West Virginia Breeders’ Classic, probably the seven-eighths race, one last time. That will be his final race.”
It does not seem to be quite enough to say that this will be a retirement well earned. Russell Road has earned way more than that for nine years on the track, and nine years of running very well. He’s more than a West Virginia legend, he is a horse that deserves national attention.
Before our phone call ended, Mark Russell wanted to tell me one more thing about his "one of a kind" horse. “Every year, when we give him the winter off and turn him out, he just can’t wait to get back to the barn. He loves to train. Whatever he does next [the plans are still being firmed up], he will need a job. Maybe dressage or something like that. He’ll need to have another career. Hopefully something close enough where we can go by and visit.”