Blue Domino.
Thanks so much for posting that. I needed to see it to start my day. This is one of the clearest memories of my life. My father, the soccer player and baseball nut (to the extent he was friends with a lot of ballplayers - I would wake up as a kid in the early sixties and find drunken and/or hungover Yankees and Orioles sleeping it off all over the back porchā¦) said I would never see anything sportswise as good in my life (except for possibly Pele or Ali).
Iāve got to say it was a time in my life when I was a teenager and thought that dreams could come true all the time. That started my summmer of Secretariatā¦which led to my lifelong devotion to Forego, who ran 4th in Secretariatās Derby. He went on to be the three-time Horse of the Year and āStill the Oneā for me.
And to the Gaffney family - Iām so sorry for your loss.
Let him roll, Ronnie, let him roll!
Hallie
Thank you so much for sharingā¦ I donāt know how many times Iāve watched that Belmont, but every time it brings me to tears. What a great horse he was.
Thanks so much for posting that. I always love watching it.
thanks again
thanks for posting ā¦ so glad this is still up in the modern day on Youtubeā¦ I remember picking Secretariat to win the Derby. My sisters thought I was a really good judge of horses (we were teenagers then).
Actually, he had the same markings as my mare on face and legs. And that was my reason.
Those were the days
Haliā¦this one is for you:
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t18/bryndewinesfarm/Forego.jpg
Taken at the Horse Park, of course, in 1986.
I can watch the video of the Big Red Machine over and over again, but I still find it painful to think of how hog rolling fat he got, and then foundered. Ugh.
Makes me cry every single time.
One of the greatest calls of all time.
I saw Affirmedās wins are also up on YouTube.
I had a sneak on here at work today (they monitor every keystroke) and didnāt dare open this thread because I knew I would weep, as I have every, single time Iāve watched this! Didnāt want to alarm coworkers!
There have been many , many calls that have given me goosebumps, but this one is weep worthy!
Thanks!
[QUOTE=ASB Stars;4914310]
Haliā¦this one is for you:
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t18/bryndewinesfarm/Forego.jpg
Taken at the Horse Park, of course, in 1986.
[QUOTE]
Hey ASB Stars,
Thank you SO MUCH for the Forego photo. Did you take it? I love it!
I canāt quite explain why I am so a Forego fan, but I am. A more honest and trying horse there never was. Even in defeat, he had an inconquerable spirit. Three times HOY - a credit to his popularity with the fans and the journalists.
Bless you Forego! And, thanks again ASB Stars,
Hallie 
āHeās MOVing like a treMENdous maCHINE!!!ā
Goosebumps. I cry too. And when we were filming this last fall at Keeneland, and they played the actual call for the race, I cried then too.
Well, Hallie, hero well chosen! Youāve inspired me to learn more about him! He looks fabulous in the photo.
Sorry for the length of this post. But Forego was one of my favorites.
Forego by John W. Russell
Including Forego in my best five was not difficult since I had seen him race on so many occasions. But Kelso, another great gelding, was excluded only because of less familiarity:
They were individually recognized as Horse of the Year no less than eight times between them, with Kelso taking a slight edge in longevity by being so honored on five occasions. With the exception of Kelso, Forego was voted Horse of the Year more than any other horse earning this most coveted honor for three successive years, 1974, 1975 and 1976. By the time he retired, he would receive eight Eclipse Awards. But more remarkable perhaps, was that in 1974, Forego was voted Best Sprinter, primarily due to his winning the Vosburgh Handicap at seven furlongs, and but then coming he came back three weeks later to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup at two miles. Any further comparisons with Kelso would be largely subjective.
Forego was huge, figuratively and literally. Standing an honest 17 hands, he also girthed an immense 77 and one-half inches upon retirement. He was dark bay or brown, and with the exception of the faintest star in a long but attractive head, he was devoid of any white markings. Somewhat angular as a 3-year-old, he eventually became massive by the time he retired five years later.
He was owned and bred by Mrs. Edward H. Gerry and raced in her black-and-yellow colors under the stable name of Lazy F Ranch. By the Argentinian-imported Forli, he was out of stakes- winning Lady Galconda, by Hasty Road. who was a successful stallion and useful sort on the track, leading all juveniles in earnings in 1953 and winning the Preakness at three, and the Widner at four.
Due to his size, Forego was gelded and unraced until 3. Overshadowed entirely that year by Secretariat, Forego managed to finish fourth to the Meadow Stable star in the Kentucky Derby. He had previously finished second to Royal And Regal in the Florida Derby as the favorite, and later finished the year by winning both the Roamer and Discovery handicaps at Aqueduct, which placed him second on the Daily Racing Form Free Handicap with 129 lbs. to Secretariatās 136 lbs.
As a 4-year-old in1974, Forego swept three Eclipse Award Best Sprinter, Best Handicap Horse, and Horse of the Year. He started the year by winning the three major handicaps in Florida; : the Donn, Gulfstream Park and Widner. He continued in the north by taking the Carter Handicap, and after second-place finishes in the Metropolitan and Nassau County handicaps, came back to win the Brooklyn Handicap. After three more losses, he won three more races: the Woodward, Vosburgh and then the Jockey Club Gold Cup. It was an incredible year, arguably his best, but his best race was yet to come.
At 5, he continued to collect major victories on his way to his second Horse of the Year title as well as Best Handicap Horse, winning the Seminole and Widner Handicaps in Flonda and the Carter, Brooklyn and Suburban handicaps, and the Woodward Stakes, all in New York. Although carefully managed by trainer Sherrill Ward, the tough campaign was to take its toll; he finished the year with a pulled suspensory ligament in his left foreleg. At this point, suffering from a chronic osteoarthritic condition of the hip, Ward relinquished the following yearās training duties to Frank Whiteley. In October, Forego was shipped to John Wardās farm in Lexington, and then sent to Whiteley in Camden, S.C., for winter training.
Due to the increasingly aggravated suspensory, he raced sparingly as a 6-year-old in 1976, but still managed to win six major races in only eight starts. His only two defeats were a second-place finish in the Suburban, beaten a nose and giving nine pounds to Kentucky Derby winner and 3-year-old champion, Foolish Pleasure. His only other loss was a third in the Amory L. Haskell, for which I must confess I was partially to blame. Intrepid Hero, a horse that I trained, also a son of Forli, had won the mile-and-a-half Hollywood Derby on the lead throughout. He had also finished second by a neck in the Monmouth Invitational to 1975 3-year-old champion, Wajima, also on or near the lead for a mile and an eighth.
Foregoās style of running was to come from well off the pace, conserving energy, his great sprinting ability usually taking him past anything in the last furlong. We felt that with a huge weight differential, Intrepid Hero carrying 117 pounds to Foregoās 136 pounds, he we would have a chance to steal the Haskell by opening up along, early lead. Foregoās jockey, Jacinto Vasquez, would either have to save his horse and take a chance that Intrepid Hero would stop, or use Foregoās speed early, the sooner the better for us if he were to be punished by the enormous weight he had to carry. Forego moved much earlier than he normally would have, joining Intrepid Hero on the far turn, the two engaging in a battle from there. In the final yards, both horses, while tiring and drifting to the middle of the track, were caught by Greentree Stableās Hatchet Man, who had come from last place, carrying a mere 112 lbs. Forego, with his worst finish for the year, was nosed out by Intrepid Hero for second place. intrepid Hero legitimized his fine effort by also winning the Bernard Baruch and and the United Nations handicaps, and the Secretariat Stakes before retiring to stud at Spendthrift Farm.
But Foregoās victories that year would more than exonerate him for the loss in the Haskell; indeed, they were some of his finest. He won the Metropolitan Mile (130 lbs.), the Nassau County Handicap (132 lbs.) and the Brooklyn Handicap for the third consecutive time(134 lbs.), prior to the Haskell. Then, switching from Vasquez to Shoemaker, he won the Woodward (135 lbs.), and finally, the Marlborough Cup (137 lbs.), a race that many regarded as his best. He won his third Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year, and his third for Best Handicap Horse.
Joe Hirsch, in āThe American Racing Manual,ā wrote: āForego belongs with the superstars in any assessment of outstanding American thoroughbreds, and his Marlborough Cup will be the race for which he will be remembered.ā
Continuing to be plagued by ankle problems, Forego made only seven starts the following year, winning four, including both the Metropolitan Handicap and the Nassau County for the second time, and the Woodward for the fourth straight year. He was second in both the Suburban and Brooklyn handicaps. He also collected his fourth consecutive Eclipse Award for Best Older Colt or Gelding.
When asked recently if Forego was difficult to ride, Shoemaker replied, āNot really, but he was hard to pull up after a race. When heād hit the far turn heād switch to his left lead, but when heād straighten into the stretch he wouldnāt switch back, he would stay in the left lead to take care of that old ankle. As soon as he crossed the finish line he would start stumbling and it was all I could do to keep him on his feet until I got him down to a jog.
āHe could pretty much run on any kind of track,ā Shoemaker added, ābut Belmont, being a mile and a half around, had bigger turns, which made it easier for him to take care of himself. He was a great old horse, one of the best I ever rode.ā
The following year, 1978, was his last. Making only two starts and winning only an allowance race, he was retired. He was sent to Kentucky in 1981 and became a celebrity pensioner at the Kentucky Horse Park. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racingās Hall of Fame the year after retirement. He died in 1997 and is buried at the park.
Itās sooo silly, but I have to confessā¦yesterday, while riding my OTTB (Sec grandson on damās side) I got in two point cantering down the long side of the arena and did the ātremendous machineā part of the call to him. Lucky for me all he did was flick his ears back at me.
Ron Turcotte ceratinly had the perfect trip that day.
What a day. Never will forget it.
He was just breathtaking. I wasnāt even alive when he was but I still just get butterflies in my stomach when I think about him.
Check out the trailer for the new movie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4wvRAjTbm0&feature=player_embedded
Glorious.
The great story about how Jack Nicklaus watched the race, knowing or caring not too much about racing, just out of the interest stirred up across the coutnry, by then. After Secretariat had crossed the finish line, Nicklaus found himself on hands and knees on his rec room floor, fist and throat sore from having hammered and hammered and yelled and yelled as heād watched greatness head for home.
For me, watching it at 19, it was the āraceā that made all the very real questions about racing finish second, forevermore.
[QUOTE=ASB Stars;4914310]
Haliā¦this one is for you:
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t18/bryndewinesfarm/Forego.jpg
Taken at the Horse Park, of course, in 1986.
I can watch the video of the Big Red Machine over and over again, but I still find it painful to think of how hog rolling fat he got, and then foundered. Ugh.[/QUOTE]
I agree. His life ended too soonā¦ Itās almost as if they just gave him everything he wanted, and they say he always did love to eatā¦ but he loved to work out, too. Some dry turnout and getting rid of his sweet feed may have done wonders for his health. You could always see his natural strength, even under his retirement fat. Iām sure he would have felt better and not been angry with anyone if heād gotten fewer treats & more exercise while he was standing at stud.
Yup, me too
