The Galloping Hat Rack

The first time I watched her I was not a fan.

Normally, I don’t like rooting for favorites, and that is the biggest reason why I did not favor Winter Memories in the 2010 Juvenile Fillies Turf event at the Breeders’ Cup. Instead, I was rooting for my Oaks filly, the Bluegrass Cat do-it-all daughter Kathmanblu. Coming down the stretch, it was Bobby Flay’s filly More Than Real who pulled off the upset, as the gray blur known as Winter Memories got trapped down on the rail to get second. Kathmanblu was a heroic third in a race normally dominated by European-breds. Truth be told, when I first watched Winter Memories, I had little interest in grass races. They were oddities compared to their distant dirt cousins, slow runnings on a fickle surface that varied from spongey to firm, climaxing in a harried and often jumbled dash to the wire when the stretch came into view. What was to love about these races that were won by unfamiliar faces?

It’s hard to decide who is going to be a good three-year-old or older horse watching the babies run, but it was pretty evident that no matter what became of her, Winter Memories was going to stay a fan favorite. Gray horses are not very common amongst Thoroughbreds, and Memories was an even less common type of horse. She was tall, long-legged, and had a neat, roan-like pattern that darkened her stark coat. Her intelligent facial expression was framed by a long black forelock, her eyes dotted with distinct roan “freckles,” and her ears always pointed forward, even in supreme effort. If that wasn’t enough, her pedigree spoke volumes; she’s by the prolific turf sire El Prado [IRE] out of a grade 1 winning turf mare, Memories of Silver. Coupled with the same trainer that taught her dam to run in veteran Jimmy Toner, it seemed as though the stars were aligning.

During her career, Winter Memories became the turf queen of New York, winning 6 races in the state while never finishing worse than fourth– and she only did so twice in 12 starts. Overcoming some sour feelings about poor jockey rides following her first off-the-board finish in the Lake Placid (II), she switched from Jose Lezcano to Javier Castellano to hopefully collect a better placing and her very first G1 in the Garden City Stakes (I) at the same distance at Belmont against similar rivals. However, getting less-than-ideal trips would soon become synonymous with Winter Memories…

I recall actually watching this race live on TVG. Memories was beginning to catch my attention after reading about her string of wins since turning 3 (stopping of course, after the Lake Placid fiasco), and found myself rooting for the filly who had her odds lowered to just about even money. Kathmanblu was in the field, but hadn’t been doing all that well lately and was in for a rough trip against some classy fillies like Euro shipper Theyskens’ Theory, Lake Placid victor Hungry Island, and BC Turf Juvenile Fillies victor More Than Real. It would mark the first time I watched her run that despite the doubt surrounding her, I fervently believed she could escape from the pack in time to win.

Castellano, I believed, would help the cause of Winter Memories, as in 2011 I had him pinned as one of the smartest riders I’d seen on the scene. But as Memories continued to drift from her position mid-pack to the rear of the field, I could almost feel the Belmont throngs ripping up their tickets. Was she fading, had she had enough? Hungry Island stayed tracking her like last time as More Than Real and an overeager Kathmanblu buoyed the front. She was still at the back at the clubhouse turn, still there as the field completed the turn. Castellano moved her up as the field began the turn for home, but by then every jockey’s worst nightmare came into view as every filly in the field lined up side-by-side to build an impenetrable, impassable wall of horses.

If tickets hadn’t been torn up on the backstretch, then surely a few more got ripped when Winter Memories looked trapped and had to check to the outside. Castellano shifted her out a path, but was trapped again by Hungry Island rallying to her outside. There was no place else to go. As if playing Mario Kart as opposed to piloting a horse at full-tilt-stretch-speed, the pair slammed on the brakes, swerved around the outside horse, and accelerated in a mad dash to the wire. Putting Ferraris to shame, Memories inhaled the field, bounding from last to first in the matter of no more than the length of the stretch. It was probably the most impressive turf race I’d ever seen, and one that was indicative of how great Winter Memories was as a racehorse in possessing raw talent, deep determination, and a heart to match the size of Belmont Park.

Winter Memories at Belmont Park - June 9, 2012

Getting to see Winter Memories in the flesh will always be one of my finest memories. Seeing Union Rags best Paynter in the Belmont Stakes later in the day was tough to top, but without a doubt Memories was my favorite active female runner. Seeing a favorite in-person is always pretty special, as television is rarely able to capture their quirks and never able to accurately portray the command of their presence. A lot of good horses were in the field for the day’s Just a Game (I), including Hungry Island, but no one really acted like they were the best quite like Winter Memories. While the others walked past the stands to the post, Memories was haughty with her head held high, buoyant with sheer swagger. A lot of good horses act anxious on their way to the gate, but it seemed as though she knew she was the one to beat. I had a $2 souvenir win ticket on her I still have today, but unfortunately, it was not to be. She made her move burning up the stretch, but it was not to be. I swear I saw her stumble slightly, as though maybe her foot slipped just a bit when she was unleashing another gear causing her to steady momentarily, but she could not reach pacesetter Tapitsfly in time. She got revenge on the bright gray Tapitsfly next out at Saratoga in the Diana (I), rolling over Hungry Island once again along with future Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (I) winner Zagora [FR].

Winter Memories’ defense of top turf female seemed settled after the Diana, proving the mare was just as adept at 9 furlongs as she was going 8. Like many great racehorses, she often proved how good she was not only when she won, but when she was beaten. When it was announced shortly after the Diana that she was going to be retired due to a degenerative bone disease, I was sad, but not on the same level of sadness I felt about the retirement of Union Rags. Winter Memories had already proven herself the best of her class and one for the books.

Later on in the same summer, I got to see Memories’ older sister La Cloche run in person at Saratoga in the De La Rose Stakes. I favored a Michael Matz horse in that race instead of her (Dancing To Town at 20-1 odds was 3rd, bested in the final 1/16 by Julie’s Love [GB] and Dealbata [IRE]), but it ultimately felt like I had come full circle between  seeing Winter Memories on TV for the first time and hearing word of her retirement. During that span I went from not caring for the grass to really enjoying it (now it is probably my preferred surface to watch and wager), from feeling destroyed about the premature retirement of my last favorite race filly Blind Luck to finding closure as a fan, because Winter Memories was able to prove her worth while she was still active.

Call me goofy, but I’m 98.9238% sure I will be telling later generations all about Winter Memories. She may not have won a Breeders’ Cup race, but she beat the gum out of those who did and made one racing fan proud to call this sport my own.