Distaff

Race No. 5 — The Century Dream Distaff
(1 1/8M)

By Paul Buckley

Fourteen of the grandest fillies and mares to have graced the
Sport Of Kings in the 20th century parade onto the Churchill
Downs oval, and the overflow crowd grows eerily quiet as track
announcer Mike Battaglia delivers roll call. Here’s the royal
field in post position order:

Following are race records (year chosen and lifetime) for each
horse, as well as notable accomplishments and other tidbits:

Now, for the race:

RUFFIAN breaks alertly, and assumes command from the outset,
followed in earnest by LADY’S SECRET, REGRET and TWILIGHT TEAR.
BAYAKOA settles into fifth position, while DESERT VIXEN, INSIDE
INFORMATION, GO FOR WAND, GALLORETTE and PRINCESS ROONEY race
heads apart from the rail out. That group is tracked closely by
PERSONAL ENSIGN, BUSHER and SUSAN’S GIRL, with GENUINE RISK
bringing up the rear. Into the clubhouse turn, RUFFIAN leads by a
length over LADY’S SECRET, while BAYAKOA edges past REGRET into
third. DESERT VIXEN hugs the rail in fifth, with GO FOR WAND to
her outside, and TWILIGHT TEAR three wide. The rest of the field
remains tightly bunched, and they race around the turn without
incident.

After a quarter in :22 3/5 and a half in :45 3/5, RUFFIAN
extends her lead over LADY’S SECRET to a length-and-a-half, and
BAYAKOA maintains her position a neck back in third. During the
run down the backstretch, REGRET, without urging from Notter,
ranges up outside of LADY’S SECRET and BAYAKOA into second.
Meanwhile, TWILIGHT TEAR takes over fifth position, a half-length
ahead of GO FOR WAND to her inside, with DESERT VIXEN a neck
farther back down along the fence. INSIDE INFORMATION and
PERSONAL ENSIGN remain bottled up on the inside, while GALLORETTE
tracks TWILIGHT TEAR in the three-path.

RUFFIAN accomplishes six furlongs in a taxing 1:09 2/5, and
moves around the far turn with her lead over REGRET shrinking to
three-quarters of a length. There are few position changes, as
LADY’S SECRET and PERSONAL ENSIGN skim the rail, while TWILIGHT
TEAR, PRINCESS ROONEY and SUSAN’S GIRL race wide. Heading into
the stretch, the leader and trailer are separated by less than
seven lengths, and it’s still anyone’s race.

Vasquez has not yet asked the great RUFFIAN for her best, as
she clings to a half-length lead over Kentucky Derby heroine
REGRET after a mile in 1:34 3/5. LADY’S SECRET and BAYAKOA are
unable to make up any ground on the leaders, and TWILIGHT TEAR
edges past them into third with less than a furlong remaining.
Meanwhile, a determined GALLORETTE is making headway in the
middle of the track, passing DESERT VIXEN and moving to within
two lengths of the lead with a sixteenth of a mile to go. The
undefeated PERSONAL ENSIGN explodes through an opening on the
rail as a tiring LADY’S SECRET drifts out slightly, but the wire
is rapidly approaching. RUFFIAN turns back the challenge of
REGRET, but GALLORETTE is cutting into her lead with every
stride. As they hit the finish line, it’s … RUFFIAN by a
diminishing half-length over GALLORETTE, with REGRET
three-quarters of a length farther back in third. Time for the
race is a swift 1:47 4/5.

Following is the complete order of finish: