Sports fans love a great comeback story. Last fall, they were captivated by the story of Washington Football Team quarterback Alex Smith, who recovered from a badly broken leg to play professional football again after two years on the sidelines.
Tag: Legends
Coaltown: Citation’s Overshadowed Stablemate
During the glory days of the great Calumet Farm, the stable was filled with so many talented horses that when one went to the sidelines, even a Horse of the Year, a stablemate could step up and fill the void. Such was the case in 1949, when the legendary Citation was on the sidelines after an incredible campaign in 1948 that saw him win the Triple Crown, Horse of the Year, and 19 of his 20 races. For most stables, replacing such a star would be impossible, but Calumet had a simple solution: send out Coaltown to win Horse of the Year the following year instead.
Kelso: ‘One of a Kind’
For the past 70 years, the Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup have been proving grounds for a long list of Thoroughbred racing’s greatest champions. Some horses, though, have transcended the sport’s most famous stages. Horses like Kelso.
Rachel Alexandra: A Filly for the Ages
Dolph Morrison bred Rachel Alexandra but was so unimpressed in the early stages of her development that he twice contemplated selling her. She was entered in the 2006 Keeneland November breeding stock sale as a weanling only to be withdrawn when x-rays revealed a minor issue in her development. Morrison sent the daughter of Medaglia d’Oro to Jimmy Dodwell’s Diamond D Ranch in Texas the following summer to be broken with the intention of putting her up for auction in Florida.
