2 posts tagged “ruffian”
Rags to Riches has just become the first filly since 1905 to win the Belmont. She was awesome! I was at the edge of my seat. She accelerated beautifully on the backstretch, came out four wide and then showed her moxie to battle Curlin to the wire and win by a nose. I hope this means we will see more fillies in the race next year. [Note: I would love to share a photo with you, but alas they are all copyrighted, but she is a beauty]
I am a lifelong horse fanatic and racing fan to boot. This was always
considered very odd in my family, as not too many "nice Jewish girls"
in Brooklyn are horse crazed. That said - it is in my bones somehow.
I faithfully record and watch the races, usually sentimentally rooting
for the underdog or local hero, the horse with the unusual story or
quirky personality. As a matter of fact, I often use the nickname
"Ruffian" as a username - which has led to a lot of confusion over
time. The nickname has nothing to do with my personality but more to
do with my love of the Thoroughbred Ruffian.
[that's her in the photo]. The winning-est filly of all time, with a
bittersweet story and the honor of being the only horse buried at
Belmont.
As if on cue (and to make this a perfect horse crazed media day for
me), the first ever made for TV movie about Ruffian is being shown
tonight on ABC. Reviews call it a winner.
I hope it is. Got my TIVO all set! If the story of Barbaro pulled at
your hearts strings - you better keep the kleenex nearby for this one.
It's a great day for the ladies..;)
This blog will now return to it's regularly scheduled programming.
Some of you may have seen how the word "ruffian" sometimes pops up in my online profile(s). I wrote about my connection with Ruffian a while back but people usually don't know the reference. She was simple an amazing horse that I saw run when I was really little. She was undefeated and really beautiful, and I fell in love with her and horses. I anticipate spring because of the road to the Triple Crown. I even get embarrasingly misty-eyed listening to Dan Fogelberg's "Run fof the Roses".
After Barbaro blew away the field in the Derby, I was really looking forward to The Preakness. So, on Saturday I made sure to put it on my "play list" when I left for the day and couldn't wait to get home that night to watch it. At 1am I curled up on the couch ready for a great race. When Barbaro pulled up lame all I could think about was Ruffian. Now they wll both always be linked in my mind.
Jane Schwartz who wrote this great book about Ruffian and she had a poignant piece in the NYTimes yesterday about why strangers get so upset seeing a racehorse injured.
Yup - I am a sap, but it really is a waste. They should spread out the races over a longer period.
I hope Barbaro makes it.
