Legendary Racer Honored at Shenadoah's First Graded Stakes

On March 6, 2010 history will be made in Photo Finish. The greatest horse to ever set foot on the tracks will be honored in the first race named in his honor - G2 Revenge Stakes. In addition it is the first Graded Stakes race held at Shenandoah Downs - the lovely establishment in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia.

The setting couldn't be better for this inaugural race, nor could the timing of such a race. It is G2 race restricted to 3 year olds at 10 furlons on dirt with a purse of $300,000. It is only 2 months from the Kentucky Derby and we expect that this race may become a popular test for our young three year olds. We are assuming that the racing stewards are hoping to attract some bigger name horses with the start of (possibly) more Graded Stakes Races.

Currently Shenandoah Downs has 121 races on the card with the largest purse - besides the Revenge Stakes - at $128,000. There has been a rumor as of late that the stewards are planning more graded stakes races for the following season - and that this race is a test of sorts.

However, it also calls to the attention of the namesake - Revenge. He was a brillant golden chestnut colt who appeared out of nowhere in his 3 year old season. To a handful of players who were around to see this colt race he quite literally broke the mold. He had an amazing record of $9,960,000 18-14-1-1 and to this day still holds 4 World Records from 9 furlongs to 12 furlongs.

However, I will let Joe the Trackman tell you about Revenge in an archived post from oure predecessor The Racing Rag (partly because he did such a good job and I hope that new readers will be inspired to read some archived articles... and because it is exam week and I don't have time, so I thought why waste such a good resource).

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Unraced as a 2YO, Revenge made his debut in the 1 1/16m mile Fountain Of Youth Stakes (Race 77) at Gulfstream Park (gr. 2). After leading most of the route, he fell behind another 3YO making his debut, a gray colt from Australia named Bold N Free. The Aussie, of course, went on to win an Eclipse Award and would earn a reputation for tenacity in the stretch, but in this race he could not rally against Revenge, who charged past in the final 100 yards for an impressive 1 ½-length win. The time of 1:41 established a track record.

Next up was the 8-furlong Gotham Stakes (Race 101) at Aqueduct (gr. 3). The colt hated the muddy track, but he had only one other horse to beat, and he came away with an easy second victory and looking very much like a Derby horse. The connections at KRF had him on the Derby train again 20 days later, again in a match race (they were too common in those days), this time in the 9-furlong Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (Race 121) at Keeneland (gr. 1). His time of 1:49.21 set a track record and gave him an easy six-length victory over a colt named Celtic Cat. The big news was that KRF owner Karie McBrian experienced every trainer’s nightmare when her super 3YO came back limping. He would need 10 days of rest and theraby before he could begin working again. He was back in training on April 23 at Keeneland, but the Kentucky Derby was then just 10 days away, and McBrian decided she could not have the colt fit enough for the big race. Instead, she set her sights on the Preakness.

Many observers believed Revenge would have defeated Spanish Midnight in the Derby. True, the KRF colt had run only three times that spring, and in only one of them had he faced even a modest test, but his performances in the Preakness and in the Belmont Stakes were so spectacular that even the most unbiased observer would have to concede that he in all likelihood would have taken the Derby, too, and thus been the first 3YO TC winner in Photo Finish history. This is not to disparage Spanish Midnight’s victory in the Derby, who was fast enough and tough enough to win despite sutaining a serious injury that would keep him recuperation for almost three weeks.

So what did Revenge do in the Preakness? He clocked a time of 1:51.58, good enough for a world record, and notched a Power Speed Rating (PSR) of 138! In the Belmont? He covered the 12 furlongs in an astonishing 2:21.80, setting another world record and duplicating his 138 PSR.

And he was not finished.

In the 10-furlong Hollywood Gold Cup (Race 206) his PSR was a whopping 146! On that fast Hollywood Park dirt he clocked a 1:55.66, another world record. In the 9-furlong Swaps Stakes (Race 233) his time of 1:45.57 meant that he had set four world record in as many starts!

But it couldn’t last. In the 9-furlong Haskell Invitational (Race 259) at Monmouth Park (gr. 1), he returned to earth, finishing third – his firsrt defeat -- behind Spanish Midnight and King Midas. Revenge was merely superb in his final starts that season, winning the Visa Travers Stakes (Race 284) and the Super Derby XX (Race 334). In the Breeders' Cup Classic (Race 382), Revenge again succumbed to Spanish Midnight, who won by a neck over his archrival (why is Spanish Midnight so ignored by breeders?).

Revenge's connections were very careful in selecting his races during his 4YO season. They gave him a long rest and did not send him out until the Dubai World Cup (Race 517) at Nad Al Sheba. This was arguably the strongest field in Photo Finish history. It certainly was, at the time, a meeting of giants. Despite being the high-weight at 126 lbs., Revenge went off as the 6:5 favorite (Spanish Midnight was second favorite at a distant 5:1). Giving six and eight pounds to his nearest competitors but running on the kind of dry, fast dirt track that he loved, Revenge proved his dominance on that long Dubai straightaway, by outrunning and outlasting the best horses in the world and earning his richest purse.

After his victory in the World Cup, Revenge continued his excellence. He won three of his final five starts, setting another world record and two track records. He showed poorly in the Breeders’ Cup Classic that year (Race 809) but finished up his career with a win in the Cigar Mile (Race 827). He had compiled a record of 18-14-1-1 $9,960,000, and the folks at KRF decided it was time to send Revenge to the breeding shed.

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I for one am thrilled that this idea has been taken up so well by everyone. I thought it would be an easy way to add races in areas that are laking, and it would be nice to honor some of the legendary horses of past.

With the first being the G2 Revenge Stakes I am anxious to find out just how many owners will send their Revenge babies to participate in this historical event.

But I am also looking for the G1 L. Brown Handicap...