[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

Havre de Grace wasn't tossed into the Classic. She had already ran against--and defeated--males in the Woodward. After getting beat by division rival Blind Luck to ruin a run at a perfect season, the connections of Havre de Grace felt they needed to be aggressive and targeted both the Woodward and the Classic.

Blind Luck had won 3 straight across the country and knocked off not only Havre de Grace but also defending Distaff champ Unrivaled Belle. She was very much in the frame for divisional honors but ultimately imploded before the BC.


For what its worth, Midnight Bisou is targeting races against males next year (Saudi Cup, Dubai World Cup).

European fillies and mares routinely face males, as you well know. Not sure that's doing something different.

Yes, Blind Luck fell apart and I thought that wrapped up the division for Havre de Grace with her win in the Woodward. They could have chosen to take on Royal Delta again in the Distaff but instead chose the Classic. I’m looking back, it was kind of like the scenario you talked about earlier where a horse ducks their tougher competition for the supposedly tougher race.

When I say try something different, I mean step out of the traditional norms for American horsemen. All over the world, females face males throughout the year. I know a big part of that is due to purse disparities but it still happens. I also like how their sprint races during the second half of the year are open to horses age two and up. It’s not the norm but it’s also not unheard of to see 2yos compete in and win some of the major stakes in Europe.