|
What a grey streak of fortune Strawberry Morn
turned out to be. When she retired after her 5-year-old campaign
she had 15 victories (13 stakes), seven seconds and a third in
27 starts for earnings of $502,000. That total is fourth to Delta
Colleen, Free Vacation and Avant’s Gold for B.C.-bred fillies.
She was one of the few fillies to test the boys
in the B.C. Derby and although she had not started in six weeks
the public had so much faith in her ability that they made her
the favourite against a 1996 field that was deep in talent.
She came out a work prior to the B.C. Oaks noticeably
lame. It turned out to be only a hoof bruise but trainer Allan
Jack noted at the time, “I know what they mean when they
say it was enough to make a grown man cry.”
She was back to normal in about four days and
Jack worked her over a sloppy track six days before the Derby.
She fled the six furlongs three-fifths faster than the track record,
an utterly sensational performance.
Going into the Derby she had started 13 times,
winning 11 and finishing second in the other two.
But in the muddy Derby her lost preparation time
caught up with her in the final strides and she was passed by
Newdigs and Timely Stitch and for the only time in her career
she finished third.
She had the distinction of being the first horse
led into the winner’s circle at Emerald Downs when the state-of-the-art
track opened outside Seattle in June, 1996. Leading every step
of the way she turned the opening event, the $35,000 U.S. Bank
Stakes, into a personal showcase, winning the mile event by 10
lengths.
She began her four-year-old campaign at Hollywood
Park with a runner-up finish in the Jim Newman Handicap, but came
home after finishing fourth and sixth in two starts against elite
competition at Del Mar.
The Roberts, who have been in the racing game
since the 1960s, didn’t get to see their horses run often
because they were seine fishing their boat Western Investor. They
bought Strawberry Morn’s dam, Strawberry Charm at a two-year-olds
in training sale in California. She was from the first crop of
the Australian bred Strawberry Road, who was expected to be a
source of stamina and turf runners.
Strawberry Charm’s career was brief but
she outdid herself when she was bred to Travelling Victor, one
of the best B.C.-breds of all time.
The Roberts still own part of Strawberry Morn
in partnership with David Willmot of Kinghaven Farm and they are
eager to see her offspring come to the races. |
