My Favorite Oaks and Derby winners

Note: Today and tomorrow will be double posts.

We are a little over 48 hours and under 24 hours until this year's Derby and Oaks respectively. I thought it would be a good time to share some of my favorite Derby and Oaks winners from year's past. Please note, that the Oaks are very recent many applogies on that.

Oaks


2003: Bird Town (Cape Town)

I will always call Birdstone, her little brother. Sure he went onto win the Belmont and sire a Derby winner himself in Mine That Bird, but she is the filly who started a big weekend sweep for New York residents (which of course I'll be talking about later). She also won the Acorn which was more then enough to take 3yo filly honors. In the shed, she hasn't had the best of luck with only 1 foal to hit the track.

2004: Ashado (Saint Ballado)

What a talent she was, of course she would win the Coaching Club American Oaks and the Breeders' Cup Distaff to recieve 3yo Female honors. The next year, she won 3 G1's before ending her career with a 3rd place finish in the BCD. That was more then enough to win Older Female honors becoming the first filly since 2001 not be named Azeri. Much like Bird Town, she hasn't had success in the shed.

2007: Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy)

Many people thought that she should have been in the Derby and not the Oaks. Thanks to her pedigree though, it was righted in the Belmont where she had the now famous duel with Curlin. Her 3yo Championship win snapped a 2 year streak where the winner of the Oaks did not win 3yo filly honors. Unfortnally an injury suffered in the Belmont caught up to her and she was retired shortly before she was to begin her 4yo season. Her first foal Opulence had a setback and has not made her first start yet.

2009: Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d' Oro)

What's to say? Smashes the Oaks by 20 lengths, just off Bird Town's stakes record. Then of course sold, won the Preakness, Haskell and Woodward to take 3yo Filly honors and Horse of the Year. Although her 4yo season was disapointing, for any other horse it was solid with 2 stakes wins and 2nd in the other three races. Her first colt by Curlin was born this year.

Derby


1977: Seattle Slew (Bold Reasoning)

The first undefeated horse since Majestic Prince to win the Roses. Of course he is the only undefeated Triple Crown winner. Of course 3yo Championship and Horse of the Year honors where bestowed on him. He sired A.P. Indy, Swale, Landaluce, Flute among others.

1978: Affirmed (Exclusive Native)

Can't say Affirmed without saying his arch rival Alydar. They are only one of two sets of horses who finished 1-2 in each of the Triple Crown races (Secretariat and Sham being the other set). He wasn't as successful at stud as Secretariat or Seattle Slew, but he did sire Peteski who won the Canadian Triple Crown. Here in the US, he's most known as the sire of fan favorite The Tin Man. Like Seattle Slew he was 3yo Champion and Horse of the Year.

1990: Unbridled (Fappiano)

Carl Naftzger's first Derby win, and prob. the most insperational race call that he made to Unbridled's blind owner Mrs. Francis Genter. He would win the BCC for 3yo honors. He would go onto sire Unbridled's Song, Anees, Empire Maker, Grindstone, Halfbridled among others.

1998: Real Quiet (Quiet American)

"It's the Fish!" his trainer Bob Baffert exlaimed. His stablemate Indian Charlie was favored to win the race, but he was able to pull the upset. He of course would win the Preakness before a nose short in the Belmont. Still he had done enough to earn 3yo honors. His two best foals at stud ironcily where sprinters trained by Bob. Of course those two being Pussycat Doll and Midnight Lute.

2003: Funny Cide (Distorted Humor)

You really thought I was going to leave my all time favorite horse out? Of course not. Funny means alot to me as a native New Yorker. It was less then 2 years after 9/11 when he won the race, and the Preakness before coming up short at home in the Belmont. Still his two TC wins where good enough for 3yo honors. He lives today at Kentucky Horse Park in the Hall of Champions.

2006: Barbaro (Dynaformer)

The third year in a row, a horse from the PA/DE area was in the headlines for Derby glory. While Afleet Alex did a great job the year before to put my hometown track Delaware Park, in the spotlight, this guy put the track in the strosphere. To this day, I feel that Barbaro would have been the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed, had he not been injured in the Preakness. We'll have to see how well Union Rags (trained by Michael Matz) does in this year's Derby.

2007: Street Sense (Street Cry (IRE))

He almost had it! Hard Spun, the reason why I had skipped math class the November before almost had it. Except the 2yo Champ was able to get through on the rail and steal the race. This race also started a general public love affair with Calvin Borel as he would take down 2 Derbys after this (2009 with Mine That Bird and 2010 with who I'm talking about next). He is prob. the most well known jockey in this year's Derby for being the regular rider on Rachel and the little fight he had in the BC almost 2 years ago. Street Sense would go onto lose the Preakness by a nose, and win the Jim Dandy and Travers. He now lives at Darley with Hard Spun.

2010: Super Saver (Maria's Mon)

You knew it was coming. Todd Pletcher was going to win the Derby with one of his horses, and this cousin to Bluegrass Cat (who finished second to Barbaro) was my pick to do so. Why? He had Mr. Borel on him of course! Like Street Sense and Mine That Bird before him though, he couldn't win the Preakness (although Calvin wasn't on MTB that day). He would sadly never win another race. He currently stands at WinStar where his first foals have just hit the ground.