The incredible RAPID REDUX and the feisty PERFECT SHIRL…
FROM WBAL TV
21 VICTORIES IN A ROW – simply incredible
Any racehorse that can win a bunch of races in a row, be it 5, 8, 10, is really doing something, no matter what you may say about the competition. There are always variables – track condition, pace set-up and what about how the horse feels when he gets up that morning?
It does not matter to RAPID REDUX, the speedy, gritty chestnut gelding by Pleasantly Perfect (out of a Storm Cat mare) who just won his 21st straight race and his 19th of 2011.
You cannot take anything away from this streak, this horse and anyone who does, well, does not really understand horse racing. Certainly, the greats like Citation beat better horses but a streak is a streak.
The footage above, taken during the course of yesterday afternoon, is neat, although it’s a bit sad that it seems like the whole event went off with not a lot of interest. People stood in front of the horse in the winner’s circle (?) and, well everyone was wearing jeans!
Hopefully this horse will get a chance to rest soon, it would be cool to get some media attention on him before he retires but then again, it was not until Zenyatta’s last 1 or 2 races before anyone outside the racing world started to notice.
LAUREL, Md. (AP) – Rapid Redux tied a North American Thoroughbred record for most victories in a calendar year, winning his 19th consecutive race Tuesday to match the mark set by Citation in 1948.
It may also have been Rapid Redux’s last race. His trainer would like to retire the 5-year-old gelding at the end of the year.
Rapid Redux, ridden by J.D. Acosta, led the 11/16 mile starter allowance race at Laurel Park from the outset and held off Awesome Rhythm to win by a half-length.
Rapid Redux has won 21 consecutive races dating to 2010. He broke the record for consecutive wins last month at Mountaineer Park with his 20th victory in a row. Citation had 19 wins in 20 starts in 1948, the year he won the Triple Crown.
Rapid Redux last lost on Nov. 18, 2010. Since the streak began, he has raced at seven different tracks and with seven different riders. Acosta has ridden him more than anyone else — seven times.
“He’s like Michael Phelps— you train him to swim,” the jockey said. “This horse — you train him to run.”
Owner Robert Cole claimed Rapid Redux at Penn National for $6,250 in 2010. He and trainer David Wells took advantage of a rule that allowed the horse to run in races for those that had been claimed. Rapid Redux won’t be eligible for those after the end of the year.
“I do not want to push him. I would like to stop at the end of the year,” Wells said. “Why not let him go out on top?”
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/horses/story/2011-12-13/rapid-Redux/51884866/1
AND HOW ABOUT THIS BIG CANADIAN RACING STORY?:
Saturday, San Isidro (Buenos Aires), Argentina
GRAN PREMIO CARLOS PELLEGRINI-G1, Ar$1,530,000
(US$357,682), 3yo/up, 2400mT
SC PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER
1 7 Anakin (Brz) Dancer Man (Brz) Duarte Nahid
2 21 Aristocity (Arg) City West (Arg) Menendez Sosa
3 24 Blues For Me (Arg) Missionary Giannetti Perez
3a 1 Sin Respeto (Chi) Caesarion (Ire) Ortega Gaitan
4 23 Calidoscopio (Arg) Luhuk Falero Cafere
4A 2 Mustang Force (Arg) Sunray Spirit Blanco Martucci
5 5 Candidato Unico (Chi) Election Day (Ire) Betansos Gaitan
5a 4 Dubai Next (Arg) Easing Along Costa Gaitan
6 18 El Seriote (Arg) Missionary Diaz Pellegata
6a 10 Veni Veni K Suave Calvente J Etchchry
7 16 Equal Pomelo (Arg) Equal Stripes (Arg) Hahn Panadero
7a 17 Flying Floo (Uru) Quinze Quilates (Brz) Halier Paez
8 13 Es Richard (Arg) Espaciado (Arg) Villagra Penna
9 19 Expressive Halo (Arg) Halo Sunshine Noriega Brunel
10 3 Inter Milano (Per) Interprete (Arg) Trujillo Suarez
10a 8 Jaguar Star (Per) Jaguar on the Run Herrera Suarez
11 6 Jumbalaya (Arg) Pure Prize Mendez Paez
11a 22 Video Game (Arg) Orpen Domingos Paez
12 14 Lloyd (Arg) Val Royal (Arg) Zacarias Gaitan
13 9 Perfect Shirl Perfect Soul (Ire) Velazquez Attfield
14 20 Sal Grosso (Brz) Our Emblem Cardoso Nahid
14a 15 Veraneio (Brz) Signal Tap Fernandes Petrochnski
15 11 Star Runner (Arg) Southern Halo Mendez Romero
16 12 Val Champ (Arg) Val Royal (Fr) Talaverano Valdivieso
The HONG KONG trip didn’t work, JAPAN trip didn’t work, so the 3rd pick by Charles Fipke for his homebred gal PERFECT SHIRL was Argentina, a place he has visited once before as a fan. It’s not a rich race, but it is a prestigious race and what a big field.
Will be seeking out if it’s possible to see our Canadian star (Kentucky bred but Canadian-owned and trained) on the TV for this race…stay tuned
RACING POST PREVIEW:
PERFECT SHIRL after Pellegrini glory
By Michael Burns
Preview: Argentina, Saturday
San Isidro (Buenos Aires): Gran Premio Internacional Carlos Pellegrini (Grade 1) 1m4f, turf, 3yo+
BREEDER’S CUP winner Perfect Shirl bids to add a second international success in South America’s most prestigious race on Saturday.
The four-year-old Perfect Soul filly, heroine of the Filly & Mare Turf on November 4 at Churchill Downs when denying Nahrain and seven other Grade 1 winners, headlines a star-studded field of 24 of South America’s top horses.
Eclipse Award winning jockey John Velazquez, who piloted Perfect Shirl to a three-quarter-length victory in the Filly & Mare Turf, has a return engagement on Charles Fipke’s homebred, who was assigned 130 pounds and will break from post nine in the 24-runner field.
