This past year has been a thrilling one for the sport, reminding everyone that nothing is ever certain, or ever predictable, when it comes to horse racing. When 2017 started nearly everyone thought it would be the year of Arrogate. While the regal gray started out on a high note, his reign on top proved to be short lived and it wasn’t long before the stouthearted and determined Gun Runner took over as top dog. It makes you wonder how things will play out going into 2018, because as Gun Runner proved in 2017, not everything is as it seems and true greatness can emerge from anyone at any time.
While 2017 proved to be a highly satisfying year of racing from my perspective as a fan, I am also excited to move on to 2018 and see what else is in store in this riveting and mysterious sport that we call horseracing. I think there are a lot of interesting things to look forward to for the new racing season!
Always Dreaming heading off the track, photo by Chelsea Lowman
One of the things that I’m looking forward to in 2018 is the return of Kentucky Derby hero, Always Dreaming. His tour de force in early spring got cut short when a bad case of stomach ulcers showed up to spoil the party. They have since cleared and Always Dreaming has resumed training. I think that he has the potential to come back in a big way because as he proved in the spring, when he’s right no one can run with him.
Always Dreaming started out 2017 in style, running away from his competition to claim his first win by nearly twelve lengths. He then added a victory in an allowance race to his name before charging into stakes territory to run with the big boys. His first stakes race was the G1 Florida Derby, and to say his win was impressive would be an understatement. Always Dreaming lived up to his name and kept his owner’s Derby dreams alive by romping over the wire by five mighty lengths. Always Dreaming wasn’t only running against his competition that day, but was also running against history. He stopped the clock in a scintillating time of 1:47.47, turning in the fastest running of the race since 1978, when the legendary Alydar surged to glory on that very track.
Always Dreaming then stormed down the stretch of Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May with a mob of stampeding horses chasing behind him. None of them could keep up, no matter how hard they tried. With the iconic Twin Spires looming proudly above, Always Dreaming flew home to claim the roses as his own and added his name to the history books as the 143rd Kentucky Derby winner.
The rest of 2017 wasn’t quite as glorious for Always Dreaming. He faded to a shocking eighth in the Preakness Stakes. After that, he ran third in the Jim Dandy before putting forth his worst effort yet in the Travers Stakes where he staggered home in ninth place. His stomach ulcers were soon discovered after that and Always Dreaming took a well-deserved break to recover.
With his stomach ulcers now in the past, I have nothing but high hopes for the return of Always Dreaming. There’s no way to know for sure yet if he will come back to top form, but it is highly likely that Always Dreaming’s poor efforts on the track were simply a result of his ulcers. After all, it’s not like anyone would feel like running with a stomachache! Now that Always Dreaming is strong and healthy again, I think he has a real shot to come back with a vengeance. When I look back at his form in the beginning of 2017, I see a horse who knows no limits. He was a horse who had a passion for running and an undeniable drive to be the best. He ran with enthusiasm and courage and won without mercy. With his romping victories and blazing race times, he was a horse who had potential to become something great. Now that he no longer has any physical ailments to hold him back, Always Dreaming can finally get a second chance to show the world what he’s made of. But regardless of what he does or doesn’t do in 2018, there is one major thing about him that nothing can ever change, and that is that his name will forever be among the elite as a Kentucky Derby winner.
Unique Bella sprinting to glory, photo credit ©BenoitPhoto.com
Another thing that I am looking forward to in 2018 is the budding rivalry between Unique Bella and Paradise Woods. I have been a longtime fan of Unique Bella and have followed her from the very beginning. The big, beautiful gray started out 2017 as an unstoppable force and although she couldn’t find a foe to challenge her on the track, there was one thing that managed to stop her. That was ailments with her shins, and they knocked Unique Bella out of competition for a big portion of the year. Rivals that Unique Bella once dominated spent the rest of the year claiming all the major races in their division, while Unique Bella could only watch from the sidelines.
Unique Bella finally made her return in October, where she took on older mares for the first time in the L.A. Woman Stakes. Despite the long layoff, Unique Bella proved untouchable in her return. From there she went to the biggest race of her life, the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. Unique Bella broke from the gate in a frenzy and immediately went to the lead, setting unbelievably blistering fractions the entire way around. Not surprisingly, the grueling pace burnt the poor filly out and she fell back to seventh place. It was the first time in her life that she finished off the board. In fact, her only other loss came in her debut as a two year old, when she ran second.
The blazing hot pace of the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint proved to be Unique Bella’s undoing in that race. It was a bad run from a horse that was capable of so much more, and the intrepid filly has since come back to prove that her one bad race was simply a fluke. In her most recent start, the La Brea Stakes, Unique Bella not only reminded the world of her power but also showed hints of a possible rivalry with the highly talented runner up, Paradise Woods.
If each matchup to come between Unique Bella and Paradise Woods is anything like what they did in the La Brea Stakes, then we are in for a real treat in 2018. The pace in the La Brea was set by Princess Karen, but Unique Bella and Paradise Woods never let her out of their sight. After the first half of a mile was run, Paradise Woods was the first one to make a move and rose to the lead with brazen confidence. Unique Bella patiently tracked her foe, creeping closer as they went. By the time the field reached the turn for home, Unique Bella knew it was time to strike and thundered after Paradise Woods for a confrontation that would come down to nothing but determination and guts.
Unique Bella and Paradise Woods hooked up going around the turn with an epic stretch battle waiting ahead. There was no looking back for either of them as they hightailed it for the wire, stretching out their necks and kicking out their legs as hard and as fast as their bodies would allow. As they straightened into the lane, the two tenacious fillies matched strides, fighting each other tooth and nail with every urgent stroke of their legs. Neither one was giving an inch as they dueled toward the finish line. The atmosphere was electric as racegoers rose to their feet in excitement, hysterically cheering the gallant fillies home.
Unique Bella and Paradise Woods were both running their hearts out, each in a pure display of determination and courage. It would be a desperately close finish, one that would not deserve a loser, but as the gallant duo dashed forward, the rage of the fight was beginning to cause fatigue. Paradise Woods was the first to give way and as her speed began to falter, Unique Bella’s speed seemed to grow. Amazingly, Unique Bella found more and swiftly put her foe away. Paradise Woods valiantly gave it her best shot all the way to the wire, but Unique Bella was simply too much. The mighty gray soared over the wire by three-quarters of a length in a solid final time of 1:21.49 for the seven furlong journey.
Photo credit to ©BenoitPhoto.com
Paradise Woods lost absolutely nothing in defeat. She was as game and determined as they come in defeat. In fact, she and her connections are already willing to take another crack at the big, gray beast. Both Unique Bella and Paradise Woods are targeting the Santa Maria Stakes in February and the Santa Margarita Handicap in March. Their first meeting went beyond its already high expectations, so I can only imagine the exhibition the two vivacious fillies will put on next. It will be thrilling to follow their riveting battles throughout 2018. Will Unique Bella maintain her spot on top, or will Paradise Woods find a way to turn the tables on her foe?
Union Strike, photo credit to ©BenoitPhoto.com
Another horse that I’m excited about seeing in 2018 is a horse that has never quite gotten the attention that the other horses I’ve mentioned have. That horse is Union Strike. Like Unique Bella, Gun Runner, and Always Dreaming, Union Strike is a horse that I have followed from the very start simply because I liked her breeding.
Union Strike showed potential from an early age, running a strong second in her debut before going on to break her maiden in the G1 Del Mar Debutante, which was only her second race ever. After running sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and fifth in the Starlet Stakes respectively, Union Strike took a short break before returning as a three year old. Her return to the races came with a convincing win in the Santa Paula Stakes, and from there this bay daughter of Union Rags took her show on the road. Her next start came in the slop at Churchill Downs where she ran a huge race in the Eight Belles Stakes, finishing second by only a nose. It was an unlucky loss, but her next start would prove to be even more inauspicious. When Union Strike broke out of the gate in the Acorn Stakes, she stumbled and lost not one, but two of her shoes, ruining her momentum and taking her off her game. She could do no better than fifth that day.
Union Strike has not been in a race since her unlucky run in the Acorn Stakes, but has returned to the work tab with regular workouts. Her connections have big plans for this flashy filly in 2018, and are even considering trying her on the turf. In fact, Union Strike is currently targeting the Megahertz Stakes to start off her four year old season. I think this filly has a big chance to make some noise this upcoming racing season. She has already shown talent, speed, versatility, and fight. She can run on a fast track or run in the mud, she doesn’t seem to mind what the surface is. I think Union Strike is a horse that will do just fine on the turf, but if for any reason she doesn’t excel on her new surface, we already know she’s a proven winner on the dirt!
Union Strike, photo credit to ©BenoitPhoto.com
I can’t end this without mentioning the 2018 Kentucky Derby. I am really looking forward to this race, as I do every year. It’s impossible not to be excited for the Kentucky Derby. There is just something enchanting about seeing twenty of the best three year olds competing for the ultimate prize on such a legendary track. It is a thrilling, iconic, beautiful event that always brings new hope for the sport. It brings hope for a new chance for a Triple Crown winner, and hope for racing’s next champion.
It is too early right now to have any clear favorites for the Kentucky Derby, but I do have a few personal favorites of mine that I will be cheering for, come spring. Those horses are Enticed, Engage, New York Central, Mississippi, and Believe in Royalty. I am partial to these young colts because I love their pedigrees. As someone fascinated by bloodstock, I often look through online catalogs for yearling and two year old sales and write down the horses who I expect to succeed based off of their pedigree. And the five colts I just mentioned above are all horses that I have had on my radar ever since they went through the sales ring. All of them are already winners, and Engage and Enticed are stakes winners, so I am looking forward to see what else they can do moving forward.
Good Magic running away in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, photo credit to ©BenoitPhoto.com
Another young Derby hopeful that I am excited to follow is Good Magic. Unlike the others I just discussed, Good Magic is not a horse that I followed from the start. However, his score in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile was convincing, and there is just something about him that I really like. This gorgeous red and chrome horse has a pedigree that suggests that he will be able to go the distance in the Kentucky Derby, and connections that know how to get him there. I think this colt has a bright future ahead of him for sure.
Other two year olds about to turn three that I have had on my radar since they were babies are Jody’s Song, Gidu, Rule the Nile, Biblical, Count Alexander, Pretty Lady, and Almond Roca. I am very excited to follow their careers as they mature and move onto bigger races. I am a little biased towards them since I have followed them for so long, but that’s not the only reason I am looking forward to their three year old seasons. Many of them have already shown potential when breaking their maidens, and some are even stakes winners or stakes placed. In fact, Almond Roca is not only a stakes winner, but a stakes record holder. She romped in the Sandpiper Stakes earlier in December, running away by almost ten lengths and claiming the stakes record as her own with a final time of 1:10.01 for the six furlong event. In my opinion, these are all certainly some names to remember moving forward.
There is so much to look forward to in 2018. I think that the new season of racing has a lot to offer fans of the sport. I am very excited to see how things play out for not only the horses I mentioned, but for all the horses in the sport. Anything can happen as 2018 unfolds, and there will be a lot of interesting horses to follow on this journey through the new year.
Good Magic, ©BenoitPhoto.com
Thank you to ©BenoitPhoto.com for providing the beautiful pictures of Unique Bella, Union Strike, and Good Magic!
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