[QUOTE=stbgirl;2490391]
made me remember the pictures of Go For Wand.[/QUOTE]
I was going to say the exact same thing! Go For Wand was my generation, she will always hold a special place in my heart…
the close up of her eye. That is what finally pushed me over the edge with emotion.
Did they have to show her eye? I wasn’t completely done with the movie until they showed her eye close.
Is anyone actually going to buy that movie? It’s the see once kind of film and never again.
I’m going to go give my horsie a great big kiss now.
Did you know her sire and dam died the same way she did.
Jeez … I have a half an hour to decide if I can handle the awful parts you all are spoiling about. I really want to see the movie … Ruffian was a huge part of my early teen years, but …
And no HLAS, I didn’t know her parents went the same way.
Californians who use COMCAST … it’s advertised to be on channel 7 in my area (between San Jose and San Francisco).
Very bad B movie. Won’t be watching it ever again. Didn’t do her justice at all.
Did you know her sire and dam died the same way she did.
Well technically, yes, all three were euthanized. The tragic circumstances which brought that about are worth clarifying:
Ruffian’s sire, Reviewer, had a history of repeated fractures during his racing career. He broke a hind leg while at stud, came through surgery successfully, then broke it again while coming out of anesthesia for a cast change.
Ruffian’s dam, Shenanigans, thrashed so hard coming out of anesthesia from colic surgery that she broke two legs.
The demise of her sire and dam ensured that that particular combination would never exist again (though it had been tried again before their deaths, and Shenanigans did not take – it wasn’t meant to be).
There are lessons to be learned from this, and one is, breed responsibly. Ruffian was heavily inbred to Discovery.
I didn’t watch it as I knew the outcome. From what I’ve just read, I’m glad I didn’t. I can remember that day and it was so horrific, I was a young teen and I can remember my Mom saying no good would come from the match race. She was so right, racing lost a beautiful, wonderful mare. She was really amazing. It was so sad.
[QUOTE=HungLikeAStallion;2490425]
Did you know her sire and dam died the same way she did.[/QUOTE]
Meaning breaking a leg? They were retired though, so when they were turned out, or how?
I did find this interesting article which talks about her bloodlines contributing.
First, the movie wasn’t too bad. But some of the special effects were unwarranted and the portrayal of the movie as a true story is laughable.
My uncle is Jacinto Vasquez. He had absolutely no input in this movie. Neither did Frank Whiteley or any body else that worked around the horse. ESPN wanted to use their names and depict them in the movie but gave them no control over the content. Thus, they did not give ESPN the rights to use their stories in the film.
Also, the consultant on the movie, reporter Bill Nack, did not have contact with Frank Whiteley for more than one year prior to the match race on July 6, 1975.
Finally, I have not read the new book released by William (“Bill”) Nack titled “Ruffian: A Racetrack Romance” but the movie used plenty of dialogue that was directly taken from the Jane Schwartz book “Ruffian: Burning From the Start.”
I spoke to my uncle late last week and he told me that he and Frank Whiteley were filing a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Atlanta earlier this week:
http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=39231&source=rss
Last year Jacinto while visiting Churchill Downs for a KY Derby Alumni Day autograph session, he told me that ESPN wanted to purchase the saddle that he used to ride both Ruffian & Foolish Pleasure. The price was $2,500. ESPN told him that after the movie was filmed they would sell the saddle at auction. That was the last negotiations that Jacinto had with ESPN. That was late 2005, early 2006.
I was watching it and fell asleep. After reading all these comments, I think I’m glad I did.
mc, we must have been posting at the same time. See my post a couple above yours to answer your question.
Personally, I think the movie could have been done better. Better acting, more story, and better dialoge(Some of the lines just sounded…stupid…) I had never heard of her fracture being Go For Wand-ish, I thought it more of an actual fracture, not a whole ‘woah, your leg snapped off’ break. I would also like to point out that they used four geldings to portray her, and the ‘hero horse’ was in fact a Selle Francais, not a Thoroughbred. He did actually have almost the exact markings Ruffian did. I would really really love to see her have a feature length, Seabiscuit like movie. Only that would do her justice. I learned about her only a little while ago, but now have made it my personal mission to tell everyone about her. And anytime anyone says ‘so and so was the greatest racehorse!’ I always say ‘Nuh-uh. Ruffian.’
Every time I bring this up in Ruffian discussions, nobody seems to have realized this: Barbaro, Go for Wand, and Ruffian are all related. It seems to me that all the great horses that break down are inbred with Native Dancer. Maybe I’m a freak for looking up lines like that. Anybody else seen that?
p.s- Didn’t see the other post with the Ruffian lineage page XP. I also wanted to see if anybody else knew that Shanigans(know I spelled that wrong >.<) was bred (I think) 2 more times to Reviewer, but always came up bare. So when people say she was a freak of nature, she really was.
I actually bought the horse used to play Ruffian and sold him to a client. He now has a life as a jumper and gets to stay in my barn. Makes me love and respect him that much more after having watched the movie and the clips on ESPN. What an honor for him to represent such an amazing animal. She died 2 days before I was born.
I could definately tell my horse from the others. He was in most of the close up non running shots. My husband who knows next to nothing also saw the sheeth shot!
Another one who caught the sheath and felt the leg snapping was WAY too graphic, despite the leg being so obviously fake. I also said “OMG” and closed my eyes.
Hubby groaned when he walked in from work and said “not another horse movie.” I said he’d be going to bed, anyway, so it didn’t affect him. Low and behold, he stayed up AND CRIED! That says a lot (and he’s a horsey guy).
I though it was pretty well done, also noticed a lot of the lines were direct quotes from Jane Schwartz’s book, and am actually pleased with who they chose to play the parties involved. It was a bit choppy and missed a few points, but those who haven’t studied her or followed her career wouldn’t know that. It was better than I ever expected.
On a sidenote: didn’t Todd Pletcher train under Frank Whiteley? How ironically fitting that Rags To Riches won (a FANTASTIC) race today with Todd Pletcher training.
[QUOTE=Barnfairy;2490484]
mc, we must have been posting at the same time. See my post a couple above yours to answer your question.[/QUOTE]
WHOOPS! VERY interesting. Thanks for the info. Can that really be a coincidence?
MY TB has allllll sorts of feet issues. His grandfather is Buckpasser, WHO, coincidentally, had FOOT ISSUES. gee…
Just saw the movie, the leg breaking was not too gory, todays movies are far worse. So little kids crying, leg flapping, come on, that is what happened, they showed it how it happened. It was no where near Go For Wands break, which was way more graphic. I do not think they went overboard with it. Glad I watched it. And yes folks, “thats horse racing”. Unfortunatly there is a bad side to the good side, and yes I did cry at the end.
You know, I don’t think the leg break would’ve been so graphic to me if it wasn’t a network TV movie, or if they gave a quick “viewer disgression is adviced” thingy for parents and those who are like my mother. I truly feel for the parents who will be dealing with kiddos nightmares from that tonight.
If it was a big screen movie, you bet I’d have thought it was perfectly fine! (even though it would’ve still made me react how I did)
Enjoyed it much, much more than the hollywood-ized “Seabiscuit”. 
It is a story that had to be told. There has never been another match race in North America since that day, and it is so fitting that she is the only one buried at Belmont and her story is told on this day for Rags to Riches.
Actually thought they did a really good job with the “break”. Quite CSI style, obviously fake and not 1/10th as graphic as the actual footage, replays and slo-mos shown on her documentary. That was horrible. Here they showed it, and then shot most everything from the knee up and showed the break one more time. They had to get the seriousness of it across, it had to mean something and for that it could not be a far angle shot of her breaking down on the backstretch.
Could have been better but well done movie I say!
