Happy Belated Birthday to Presious Passion!

Two days ago, Presious Passion turned eight years old. My, how time flies. It seems like just yesterday that Presious Passion—who can always be recognized as the races by his conspicuous white hood—was six years old and in the process of completing his greatest year of racing.

Presious Passion has had a very lengthy career, one which has spanned fifty starts and fourteen victories. He has finished second seven times and third twice for a total of 23 top-three finishes. He has earned over $2.6 million dollars. These are the statistics of a nice, solid grade I winner who has had success over the years, but could never really be considered a truly great runner.

But on the contrary – Presious Passion is indeed truly great.

Greatness can be defined in many ways. Many people measure a horse’s greatness by what they accomplished on the track. How many world records did they break? How many grade I races did they win? Were they undefeated? Did they win the Triple Crown?

Presious Passion couldn’t be called great in any of these categories. He has won only three grade I races to date, never set a world record, came nowhere near being undefeated, and didn’t even compete in a Triple Crown race.

But Presious Passion qualifies as a truly great horse in another category. He has the heart and determination of a true champion.

I remember the first time that I really noticed Presious Passion. That was when he held off Strike a Deal to win the 2008 United Nations Handicap by a neck. It was his best performance ever at that time, but little did I realize that he was nowhere near his prime.

Over time, Presious Passion has developed a truly unique style of running. His greatest success has come in turf races from ten to twelve furlongs. In races like these, the early pace is often very slow, with all of the horses sprinting home quickly.

But this style of racing did not suit Presious Passion. Rather than try to slow the pace down to conserve his stamina, the front-running gelding is known for opening up very – and I mean very -- long leads in lengthy races and having enough left at the finish to win. This rarely seen proficiency was never demonstrated better than in the 2009 United Nations Handicap, where he opened up a lead that grew to as many as twenty lengths early on.

Usually, when a horse attempts such a bizarre feat, he tires very badly and finishes last. However, Presious Passion kept on running and hit the wire two lengths in front. Behind him that day were a fine field which included Brass Hat, Court Vision, Strike a Deal, Spice Route, and others.

Oh yeah, and he did this while breaking the track record and setting fractions of :22 1/5, :45 1/5, and 1:09 4/5.

But his most remarkable performance ever; the one that stands out in my mind most, was a race that he lost. In the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Turf, he was up against an incredible field of Europeans which included 2008 Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Conduit, the marvelous filly Dar Re Mi, 2006 Breeders’ Cup Turf Winner Red Rocks, and grade/group I winners Telling, Monzante, and Spanish Moon.

It didn’t make sense that Presious Passion could beat them with his suicidal running style. And to be perfectly honest, he was unable to do so. He was beaten that day. But in attempting to accomplish this monumental feat, he turned in what I believe is one of the most incredible losing efforts in the history of horse racing.

When the gates opened, he broke just a step slowly, but raced away to a huge early lead. Eight lengths in front, ten lengths in front – he wouldn’t be changing his running style against this group. He would attempt to do what he was best at – running his rivals off their feet.

The fractions he ran were, quite simply, undeniably unbelievable. He ran his opening quarter mile in :23.08. He ran a half-mile in :45.14. He ran three-quarters of a mile in 1:09.24. One mile? 1:34.58. At this point, he held an eight length lead. But there was no way that he could possibly hang on after going so fast. Not with such an incredible field biding their time behind him.

It appeared as though Presious Passion was beginning to tire, for the field began to catch him on the far turn. Length by length they wore down his lead. Presious Passion passed the quarter pole in 1:59.72, two lengths in front of Conduit and the rest of the pack. Considering that it took him :25.14 seconds to run his fifth quarter of a mile, it was apparent that catching him would be a simple task. There is simply no way that a horse can blaze through such impossible early fractions and still hold off some of the best turf horses in the world.

As I watched him enter the final quarter of a mile on November 7th, 2009, I believed that he would fall apart in the stretch. I believed that he would end up last.

But Presious Passion showed his heart that day. With the Santa Anita finish line beckoning him in the distance, he found something extra; that something extra that only storybook horses are supposed to have. With his rider Elvis Trujillo urging him on, and Conduit breathing down his neck, Presious Passion summoned from deep within him some additional stamina. Or perhaps it wasn’t stamina. Perhaps he was running on heart alone.

But whatever it was, it enabled Presious Passion to keep going. One stride after another, his legs never faltering, he set his sights on the finish line.

But Conduit was closing in on the outside, and gradually drew even with the gutsy gelding on his inside. Presious Passion strained to hold him off, but reluctantly allowed him to pass. Conduit hit the finish line first, and thus entered the history books as the winner of the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Turf.

But it was Presious Passion who entered my heart. Although beaten, he in no way embarrassed himself. He finished only a half-length behind Conduit, and ran his final quarter of a mile in just over :24 seconds. He completed the race in about 2:23 4/5 second. And you know what? Only Conduit has ever run the Breeders’ Cup Turf in a faster time.

Unfortunately, Presious Passion hasn’t been in very good form as of late. He has not won a race since early 2010, and is probably past his prime. But past his prime or not, the white-hooded wonder has achieved victory in another way; in a way which is harder to accomplish than by winning races. He has provided many wonderful memories for his numerous fans, and thrilled many a race-goer with his spectacular running style. You can’t ask for more than that.

So let us take a moment to celebrate the birthday of one of the finest geldings ever to have graced the American turf. Happy Birthday Presious Passion – may you celebrate many more.

-Keelerman

P.S. You can relive the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Turf by watching the replay at breederscup.com. Here is the link to the replay:

http://www.breederscup.com/greatestmoments.aspx?year=2009&divisionname=turf