Watch the replay. Winter Memories TOYED with this field. I don’t think she had to take a deep breath to win the Grade 1 Garden City yesterday. And it was a very patient and heady ride from 4-wins-on -the -day-Castellano.
My initial reaction as the race unfolded was… up close…dropped back…. no… not again… behind a wall of horses… nowhere to go… uh-oh… she’s last….but in the blink of an eye, with what is becoming her patented move, the big grey filly wheels out and kicks it into overdrive, and wins WITH SOMETHING LEFT.
Winter Memories is always a bit keen in her races, though she seems tractable too. A filly like this does need some cover to help her relax. But if you watch the race, you will see that JC stood up on her the whole way, while others were getting position, trying to keep up, Winter Memories just galloped along just waiting to be asked. Not an easy task for the jock when riding a horse that runs with such enthusiasm. But he was just sittin’ chilly. (Maybe in this case, you could call it standin’ chilly… he had SOOOO much horse)
Having to come around the whole field is not always ideal, but it does seem to be her most successful running style.
A blog favorite, she is a joy to watch. Her explosive late kick is so fast you have almost no time to cheer her on. She jumps into the bridle and she’s gone. She is on top of her game right now and it’s on to the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland on October 15.
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