Azeri by Emily Hufford
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I didn't get to see Azeri in person until September of 2003, but I'll never forget the moment when I finally laid eyes on her. A small crowd had gathered at Clocker's Corner because Azeri had shipped in to gallop a day before the Lady's Secret Breeders' Cup Handicap at Santa Anita. Training was minutes from over and the track was nearly clear. I was in line to get breakfast at the kitch, when all of the sudden, there was a commotion on the racetrack. I turned to see one of the most beautiful sights I have ever witnessed: a mare whose coat was a brilliant red-gold, pounding the track with thunderous strides, neck arhced, mouth open in resistance. I knew in a heartbeat that it was Azeri, and it was fantastic. Behind her galloped Laura de Seroux on her pony, looking frazzled. How could she not be, with a champion mare, Horse of the Year, and legend in the making on the racetrack? Azeri took the racing world on an incredible ride during her
time at the track. She was undefeated in her first three starts,
and such a record normally brings the typical racetrack talk:
Is this the one?" |
The miracle of Azeri, however, is that she was the one. Unlike many brief flashes who go on to fall by the wayside, Azeri kept going. She was second in her first stakes race after a bad break, and then won the grade one Santa Margarita (at Santa Anita) next out. Then she won the Apple Blossom (Oaklawn Park), then the Milady (Hollywood Park). Another grade one Hollywood score came in the Vanity Handicap, then it was on to Del Mar for the Clement L. Hirsch, then back to Santa Anita for yet another win, this time in the Lady's Secret.
On an October afternoon at Arlington Park, Azeri won the Breeders' Cup Distaff over a top-class field of fillies and mares. Her intense, nearly undefeated year ended with a Horse of the Year title. She had already accomplished more than any owner, trainer, or breeder could have dreamed for her to accomplish, and there was still more in store.
In her first start in 2003, Azeri made quick work of the Apple Blossom for the second time. She then won her ninth straight race in the Milady, and all of the sudden eyes turned upon the 16-race win streak record. Her tenth straight win came in the Vanity, and her eleventh in the Clement Hirsch. On an exact repeat course to the 2003 Breeders' Cup, Azeri was entered in the Lady's Secret yet again.
The was when I finally saw Azeri, training for that race, and a day later I saw her run in it. There was silence after the good filly Got Koko ran past Azeri, leaving the win streak behind. Azeri did cross the wire third, but was moved up to second after the disqualification of Elloluv. Azeri had been carrying 128 pounds that day. Breeders' Cup plans were soon called off, and Azeri was retired due to tendon problems. The ride of the A Train was over.
Just two months later, there were rumors that Azeri was back in training, this time under the care of D. Wayne Lukas. In April, she headed to Oaklawn once again for her third Apple Blossom Handicap. The big mare took the lead at the start and never looked back, winning by 1 1/2 lengths over a very good field that included Wild Spirit and Star Parade.
She then headed to Churchill Downs for the Humana Distaff, a dash over seven furlongs against top female sprinters. That is when I saw Azeri again, running what many consider to be one of her best races, despite the loss. She encountered traffic trouble, was bumped several times, and yet dug in courageously on the rail throughout the stretch under 125 pounds to just miss to Mayo on the Side.
Next, Azeri was thrown to the wolves against the best colts in the world in the Metropolitan Mile at Belmont Park. A lackluster finish sent Azeri back against fillies, this time in the Ogden Phipps Handicap, also at Belmont. When Sightseek ran away with the victory, and Azeri finished last, it proved that the big mare did not like Belmont Park.
It was on to Saratoga, where Azeri defeated Sightseek easily in the Go For Wand Handicap, making her the richest mare of all time. After a second-place finish to another Breeders' Cup champion, Storm Flag Flying, Azeri was moved to Keeneland to run in the Spinster Stakes. A massive crowd surrounded her in the paddock, anxiously awaiting what would be her final race against fillies. Azeri let no one down, flashing her power and brilliance just one more time, winning by three lengths. That is where I said goodbye to Azeri, because the Breeders' Cup Classic, against the best colts in the world, at 1 1/4 miles, at the "foreign" Lone Star Park, would be her final dance.
The Classic, although a loss, stamped Azeri's legend forever. She defeated Belmont and Travers winner Birdstone, Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Funny Cide, and stakes winners Bowman's Band, Dynever, Freefourinternet, Fantasticat, and Newfoundland. She proved that she belonged with the best, both colts and fillies.
Azeri heads into retirement with the chance at a fourth Eclipse Award. She is the leading female money earner of all time, and although racing chose not to exploit it, she was just what the public needed: an icon that stayed in training for years. The odds are that Azeri will not produce anything remotely like herself, and perhaps not even good foals, as is often the case with top racemares. They spend so much energy running, the theory says, that they have none left for being a broodmare.
Someday, Azeri will be in the Hall of Fame. Someday, she will take her place among racing's legends. And all of us who are racing fans in the year 2004 are lucky enough to say that we saw her, we were there when she was running. Azeri will never be forgotten.
