Retirement: Remembering Union Rags

It's often said that horse racing is filled with some of life's highest highs and lowest lows.
Today was one of those lows. Belmont winner Union Rags, who recently sustained an injury to his left foreleg, has been retired from his racing career.

Disappointment is no new feeling to this colt's huge fan base. In last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile, favored Union Rags suffered a bitter defeat to Hansen following a rough trip in which he was forced to go wide, and then swerved out midstretch only to rally again. Despite running an estimated 78 feet more than the winner, the 17 hand bay lost only by a head. Many thought there was still hope for the Micheal Matz trainee to rebound as two-year-old champion, having already posted multiple stakes wins. They were in for yet another scare when he lost to Hansen by 142 votes.

While the UR team was briefly cheered by a 4 length win in the Fountain of Youth that neared the Gulfstream track record, lightning struck again in the Florida Derby when the colt found himself drowned in traffic and had to struggle just to snatch third. Hopes remained high for a Kentucky Derby romp; we all knew that when at his best, this colt could do amazing things. Come the first Saturday in May, I was crouched at the rail of Churchill Downs, hoping to come home a much happier camper than at my last Churchill outing: the Breeders' Cup. To say the least, things didn't play out. Following a nightmarish trip, Union Rags did his best just to come home seventh.

With trainer Micheal Matz seeping in disappointing, Union Rags was pointed toward the mile and a half Belmont Stakes. This time, John Velazquez would be aboard for the ride.
On June 9th, as the horses slipped into the gate for the eleventh race on the card, my stomach twisted into a series of knots. The taste of defeat still fresh on my lips, I expected more of the same.
Boy, was I in for a pleasant surprise. Union Rags broke cleanly from the gate, and very unlike in the Kentucky Derby, where he was instantly shoved to 18th place, the colt relaxed toward the front of the field. At the half mile pole, he was fifth. At the mile, he was third. At the mile and a quarter, he had driven into second, and as they came roaring down the stretch, he was clawing along the rail, looking for a gap in which to pass the front running Paynter. The gap came in the form of Mike Smith resorting to the left handed whip in order to drive off a hard-closing Atigun. A sliver of daylight yawned at the rail. Union Rags grabbed at his bit and shoved through in the final strides. "Union Rags has got 'em!" Cried the announcer. "Union Rags in the Belmont Stakes!"

It was, at last, a happy ending for Union Rags. While he'll never contend in the Haskell, the Travers, or the Breeders' Cup Classic, he ended his career with winning ways. I, along with a thousand others, will be cheering Rags along as loudly as ever in the next chapter of his life. His pedigree taps into a deep strain of track-tested speed and stamina; colts and fillies bearing Union Rag's name are destined to be pointed toward the classic races.

From my Belmont Stakes field analysis:

Contrary to popular belief, he also possesses a very likable distance pedigree. Union Rag's damsire, Gone West, sired 2000 Belmont winner Commendable and was the grandsire of Smarty Jones. His granddam, Terpsichorist, set course records for both 11 and 13 furlongs at The Meadowlands, on the turf. Terpsichorist is sired by English Triple Crown winner Nijinsky II. On the paternal side of Union Rag's pedigree is Dixieland Band, his grandsire, who is the damsire of Kentucky Derby winners Monarchos and Street Sense. I am very confident about Union Rag's ability to stretch out and go the distance. His dosage profile of 9-1-10-2-0 is one of the best in the Belmont field, as it includes digits in the Solid wing. 

Roughly four years from now, we may be seeing some very nice babies grace the tracks across the nation. If any are blessed with even half the talent of Union Rags, we will be in for a real treat.

Just ask any one of this colt's legion of fans, new or old. He is a fantastic animal, pure strength and talent. While many ifs will remain forever unsolved, it is most important that we appreciate Union Rags for his countless heroics on the race track. The racing world, now deprived of all of its 2012 classic winners, may have to wait a long while before it sees a horse with the talent and story of Union Rags.
At least, until his babies turn two.