Go for Wand won the 7f Test in 1:21, which equalled Very Subtle's stakes record.
She came back nine days later and won the 10f Alabama in 2:00 4/5, setting a stakes record. To put it in perspective, the record for the Travers is 2:00 and her time has only been bettered twice in Travers history, by General Assembly (2:00) and Honest Pleasure (2:00 1/5) and equalled (Easy Goer and Thunder Rumble). Again, she did that nine days after that Test win.
She came back to beat older in the Maskette Mile then came back to win the Beldame in a stakes record 1:45 4/5, only 2/5 off of Secretariat's track record. Keep in mind this was a 3yo filly doing that.
Though she broke down in the BC Distaff (I thought she was going to win but we'll never know), let's not forget how good that horse was she was running nose and nose with. Bayakoa was a 12-time grade one winner (along with three grade two wins). She won grade ones in NY, California, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Florida. She was as good a filly as you'd want to see and was the defending Distaff and Eclipse winner.
Rachel is good. She's special. She could do things to surpass Go for Wand. But she's got a long way to go for that and I doubt she ever will. There's good and then there's great. Then there's the true superstars. Go for Wand is at that highest level to me.
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020)
Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine
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