Retires
for the 2003 breeding season are as follows:
Mystic Wind - arguably the
greatest racemare to grace the grass
Wild About You - one of the
greatest fillies to ever set foot on the track
Smokene - yet another truly
great filly who never ceased to amaze
Northward Bound - regally
bred grade one winner
Mintmeifyoucan - Breeders'
Cup champion
Hell On Wheels - one of the
toughest sprinters to ever run
Gulchette - regally bred
grade one winner
Shear Smoke - superstar racemare
Sollette - back to back Beldame
winner
Phantom Flowers - superstar
Eclipse champion
Features - Mystic Wind
"Mystic Wind had something
subliminal about her," her groom told us, "we never used a nickname with
her, she was greatness epitomized. She would ignore people entirely around
the barn, except to bite or kick them. She was a true tiger."
"She was so easy in the mornings,"
trainer Knickers informed us, "you just sent her out with the instructions
and she went out and did it. She never could just gallop though, she had
to pound the ground for all she was worth, that's why she had her lameness
issues, and why we switched her to the grass. It was just easier on her
legs. She was always looking for a fight. I'll always remember the Breeders'
Cup Filly & Mare Turf, she had the worst trip in the world and still
was running at the end. She just looked so happy, even though she had lost,
she'd gotten a good fight out of it."
Features - Wild About You
"She never put a foot wrong,
even in defeat she was grand," trainer Knickers said of her prized racemare,
"she had class and she never quit trying. I remember the 2001 Breeders'
Cup Classic, with her and Silver Thunder battling down the stretch, and
she just refused to give up. Even though she lost I think that is one of
her greatest races ever."
Features - Smokene
"There was something about
the look in her eye, she was on fire. She was one of the toughest fillies
to train and was possibly the most brilliant of all the ones to come through
the barn." - trainer Knickers
"She made me want to get up
in the morning, just to be near her was to realize true greatness, and
when you were on her back, for just one moment in time, you were untouchable."
- jockey Gary Stevens |
Mystic Wind retires with
great fanfare to North Star Stables for the 2003 breeding season.
|