Debra A. Roma
Her year began as poorly as it ended brilliantly. Royal Delta was not even a blip on the 3-year-old filly radar until her Hall of Fame trainer, Bill Mott, started talking about the Kentucky Oaks after she won a first-level allowance race at Keeneland in April. By the time the year was over – after she had looked sensational in capturing the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic at Churchill Downs – everyone could plainly see what a truly great performer she was.
Plum Pretty began 2011 with back-to-back third-place finishes in graded races at her home track of Santa Anita. Not bad, but certainly not great. But after her Hall of Fame trainer, Bob Baffert, sent her to New Mexico for a 25-length romp in the Sunland Park Oaks as a 1-20 favorite in late March, she was a brand new filly.
The only act tougher to follow than Elvis might have been Sinatra. Havre de Grace took the stage while notes from both were still ringing in the rafters. From 2008 through 2010, Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta won six Eclipse Award championships between them, including Horse of the Year trophies in 2009 and 2010. Havre de Grace answered with a 2011 season of championship quality that combined attributes of both towering predecessors, plus a few grand flourishes of her own.
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| Barbara Livingston |
Had the season ended in mid-June, with the running of the prestigious Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park, there could have been a serious argument made for a gray 4-year-old filly from the barn of Todd Pletcher as being the division leader in the clubhouse.
