Ruffian - 1975 Mother Goose Stakes

[italianbro1234]

amazing filly, very sad what happened... she never was able to race as a 4 year old she may have been even better or maybe not like Rachel Alexandra. both are very very similar.

[2taggs2]

Damn. She was DOMINATING! wire-to-wire - very impressive. I wish she raced in the Kentucky Derby... I know the trainer wanted to do what was best for her - but there will always be a "what if" ...

[hollieandizzy]

r.i.p ruffian you were amazing died in 1975 at the age of just 3. broken leg racing foolish pleasure. she is amazing right up next to secretariat. secretariats trainer even said, "my god she might even be better than scretariat" she only ever lost 1 race.... that was her last one :'( R.I.P BABY GIRL YOU WERE THE QUEEN OF ALL FILLYS

[SuperCharlieKitty]

You could tell she was a champion. Just look at that stride...

[GBeret83]

Ruffian may have very well have had as much natural front end speed as any horse, male or female, that I ever I saw on the racetrack. This filly was really quite something, to say the least. Such a shame that she broke down in the match race with Foolish Pleasure at Belmont. Her trainer, Frank Whiteley, never wanted Ruffian to participate in that race. But Ruffian's owners, and some other influential's in the business bullied Whiteley into the race.

[bri6760]

I saw Ruffian live at the Coaching Club American Oaks, later on in 1995, people dont remember this was a very strong group of fillies, Copernica (One eyed Filly) was actually higher rated early on as was Hot n'Nasty, You had Sir Ivors Sorrow and Point in time, as well as Laughing bridge. Ruffian beat them all and beat them handily. One reason records where shattered, as this group could fly, Ruffian was just faster...

[vegasguy07]

the 70"s will never happen again,,,,,,,,,,secretariat, seattle slew, affirmed, spectacular bid,and yes ruffian!

[FoXXXyLady429]

what a monster. when she was about 5 lengths out you can just see her hit a whole nother gear. she was such a great horse with so much heart. its so sad she was taken so young and so tragically.

[hexiconned]

I still get emotional to hear "Ruffian, in front." What a magical, fragile thing she was. In a class all her own.

[shadowkitty56]

Personally, concerning Rachel, I would examine her legs each time she races, just to be sure she can take it and to make sure she is well. It would break my heart if nobody discovered a fracture or a sprain in time for the race....

[21Sarabi]

A lot of horses share the same bloodlines with -Northern Dancer, Mr. Prospector and also like you said Native Dancer.

[joefederico]

1:47:4...almost unbelieveable for a 3 year old filly and she did it effortlessly.

A shame we never got to see her go to stud and hook up with Secretariat. One can only imagine that super freak of a foal.

[mightyminimouse]

tht foal would have been amazing... R.I.P Ruffian

[shooter297]

@joefederico I don't know if it would have been such a good idea to breed her to Secretariat just because of the inbreeding. With Secreatariat being a son of Bold Ruler and Ruffian being a daughter of Reviewer another Bold Ruler Stallion, I just don't know how that would have turned out. I don't like inbreeding on the sire line. I think Mr. Prospector or Northern Dancer would have been better choices. The inbreeding to Native Dancer would have been mostly on the foal's female side which is ok.

[JazzpjD]

I relive her death every time a filly runs- what a wonderful horse, and such a dreadful loss.

[Pupdog911]

Amazing horse. I wish she raced in my life time. she reminds me of Eight Bells.

[BigLicker76]

@Pupdog911 you should have phrased that differently... you could have said Eight Bells reminds me of Ruffian... but not the other way around... Ruffian is the standard for which all fillies are measured.

[BarrelsRMe]

I have noticed that she doesn't seem to change to her right lead entering the stretch like she is supposed to. Many horses kick into the next gear when they switch. Wonder how much she would have won by if she had.

[SxDxTrace]

she ran like a boy  ..... baby girl I miss you

[ZenyattaLuver]

Simply The Best

Sorry Rachel Is No Ruffian

[sagerider2]

I hope so. It's been a long time, but that scar has never healed. I worry about Zenyatta's and Rachel's safety every time they race.

[Starbuc1]

Ruffian was the greatest of all time. She ran wire to wire in the lead. Never headed and in front at every single call point in every single race. She either equaled or broke the track and stakes record in every race as well. No other horse can make these claims. Even when she broke down she was were she had always been, in the lead. I love her like no other and she will always be my all-time favorite.

[ThePixiePoet]

LOVE HER!!!!

[znach45]

An Amazing Filly. Probbably the best weve ever had.

[LauraLovesMocha]

i dont think there is any word to describe how talented this filly was.

[Lauratherider]

She runs a lot like Rachel Alexandra I think.... I am NOT saying she is as good, but they look like similar horses

[xnexusx7]

Ruffian and Rachel Alexandra share some of the same Bloodlines.....Native Dancer for one,

[roberttix]

Watching Ruffian is watcxhing poetry in motion. What an amazing horse. In my mind, she was not only the greatest female racehorse of all time but she was one of the very best horses.......period

[Ruffiansea]

I love her! What grace - she refused to stop, even when she tripped, she still wanted to run..

[iluvdogs1987]

She was one of the best fillies to ever race. What an awesome horse.

[televin]

Last 3/8ths in 36.1 under a hold

[HorseObsession23]

She's amazing!

[jess4metoo]

So it's it called Filly Triple Crown or Triple Tiara?

[cf1970]

Officially, it's called the Triple Tiara, but has often been called the Filly Triple Crown because its similarity to the Triple Crown for colts.

[superemperador1]

I thought the Triple Tiara was the turf Triple Crown for 3 year olds on the grass ...wich was won by such horses as "Honor Glide" back in 1997. It includes the Secretariat Stakes G1.

[cf1970]

For more information on the the Triple Tiara series, or Filly Triple Crown as it was formerly called, go the Wikipedia website and type in "American Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing." It's been around for many years, with the name itself having been changed in 1989, as written in a New York Times article by Steven Christ.

Take care.

[jhordanian]

The Triple Tiara has really fallen off in terms of importance, much like the "Handicap Triple". Actually, the Handicap Triple is basically dead, given the Brooklyn was run 1 week before the Met Mile this year. The races in the Triple Tiara have been surpassed by the Kentucky Oaks, Alabama, and Breeders Cup Distaff(Ladies Classic).

[RuffianRunsForever]

did she even try for that matter?

[RuffianRunsForever]

Well the warm ups went well.when does the race begin?

[kafen1194]

lol Ruffian: What a nice morning breeze

[Wolfina63]

I love Ruffian! i wish she made it through the race w/ Foolish Pleasure. She prbly would of become the female Secretariat ^ ^

[Strongbid]

AMAZING! My Grandfather took me to this race when I was like 12 years old! She walked on to the track and just stood out, glowed and shined, amazing !

[ebbets1965]

Dave Johnson must be seeing a different angle than the rest of us: he's calling her ahead by 2 1/4 when it's almost 4 lengths turning for home.

[HorsePsycho]

Whoa what happened to the rider at the start!?

Ruffian, you DAMN BEAUTY!! That was fantastic! Man, she has guts. What a great horse.

[ridingxruffian]

Totally demolished that field. :P

[barbaroluver1996]

she was such a great horse she raced so hard there i miss her so much she was the best filly in the world!

r.i.p ruffian!

[cheepooluvr]

she wasnt even trying in the begginingand when she kicked in the others couldnt match her, if she hadnt broken her leg, i think she wouldnve won that match race. she was ahead when it happened

[DeVerhevenEland]

She was ahead by half a length, that means anything could've happened.

I think she would have won in the Great Match, but I loved how she went in this race, it looks like she could've even gone waaay faster if the jockey had asked her to, I love her. =]

[cheepooluvr]

anything couldve happened, but i think she was the better horse and if she went as fast as she could go i dont think he would have been able to match her

[DeVerhevenEland]

I think she would win there. I just would love to know...

[80sHardrockVideos]

Ruffian, probably the best race horse ever.. <3 RIP

[PlaYah1979]

Ruffian was a great horse...But she couldnt compete..With Affirmed or Alydar

[all4pharlap]

you dont know that for sure

[ridingxruffian]

What a domination!

Wouldn't it have been something if she had been born a few years later and was matched against Affirmed?

[LastTree]

A Queen on hooves.

[justinhorsfield]

Great filly , and a great win.

America had and will always have champion horses ,but their racecallers are the worst in the world by far. I think they need to Listen to some of the racecallers in Australia and NZ and for that part the rest of the world and Just copy them.I have never seen such an impressive victory by a horse called so badly.

[CraftyTequila]

Ruffian had the midas touch...she was Lady Luck.

[inca41182]

What an effortless win!!!

[BE109]

What you just saw is what is called a alpha mare. I've seen this first hand raising horses. When you get one,no matter what you ask them to do they will dominate any and all competition with complete authority. She could have defeated anybody anywhere,anytime.

[sharoneus]

Well said!

[Ruffian4Ever]

I know what you mean. My old barrel racing mare was like that. You couldnt tell her what to do! And when I ran other races against my friends, even though there horses were faster, my mare wouldnt let anyone pass her. Now she is over 40 and still kicks everyone's butt in the pasture!

[Ruffian4Ever]

That would be 30 years, not 40!

[HorsePsycho]

geez, cause i was gonna say.....!! 40!

[Ruffian4Ever]

Well we just had the vet out, and said that she is probably in her mid thirties, but most likely nearing her forties. She is a grade mare who has had multiple owners, so her actual age is only known by her!

[HorsePsycho]

Wow....... shes gonna have a long life..........! mid thirties! WOW! its not often a horse lives past its twenties!

[thistleccr]

You are so right.! Truer words have never been written,

[modoc1111]

The Greatest Race Horse to ever set foot on a Race Track.... Bar None....

[hersheygurl2257]

she's awesome. Wish the match race was between her and Secretariat. Would have been quite a race!!

[HopeTheHosey]

Yeah it really would have! If only she was born a few years earlier...

[cf1970]

Absolutely. I couldn't agree with both of you more. That would have been a race for the ages!

Thanks for the comments and have a good weekend.

[celticswing]

I just seen Ruffians races for the first time starting odds genrous 1/10 lol i seen another race she was 1/20 thats unreal i used to bet on a lot of horses in the UK ive seen once race where a horse was 1/10 truely amazing filly

[Elisabetta611]

She didn't just run, she FLEW! Amazing filly, the best EVER!

[LauraLovesMocha]

Ruffian was racings greatest filly ever! when i watched her break down in the movie it made me cry.

[k7m4]

i just wish there were no "what-ifs" about it. secretariat and ruffian will always be the two fastest horses i think we will ever see. ruffian never had the whip on her, well unless you count the two times the jockey wasnt supposed to use it. and secretariat got beat in three races, but his turn of foot, untouchable . . .

[cf1970]

You're absolutely right. Secretariat's turn of foot is untouchable.

It will take a near-miracle to see the likes of him again.

Take care.

[HrsRacinGirl227]

She had amazing strides, she runs with such ease. She was an amazing filly. The jockey didn't even use his whip at all in this race!

[hersheygurl2257]

She is an awesome horse no doubt...I wish that Rags to Riches would have entered the first 2 legs of the T3 so she could have a chance to be as great...

[KidsTVFan]

This was one of the 3 races featured on TVG's Distant Replay.

[Bassman968]

I agree with the Slew-Ruffian comparison...they both would glide to the front in effortless fashion and then kick into a gear that other horses didn't possess at the top of the stretch.

Considering she was under a hammerlock for the entire race, the last 3/8ths were phenomenol.

[AwsiDooger]

Wow, amazing job to detour that 7 horse after she flipped the rider!

Ruffian was truly brilliant. Her style reminded me of Seattle Slew, going to the front but in varying fractions, controlling the race then having too much at the end.

Another ill fated filly flashed rare ability but didn't live long enough to show how far she could sustain her speed, Landaluce in 1982.

Thanks very much for this timely Ruffian series, cf1970.

[AwsiDooger]

LOL. Actually I guess Slew reminded me of Ruffian. I almost forgot Ruffian came along first.

Notice how easily she was going at the end, but if you check the timer she covered the final eighth in an excellent 12:1.

[cf1970]

Ruffian sure made it look easy.

Yes, that final eighth was terrific, considering how long the race was.

The timing was right to post her career. I can't wait for the Belmont and the movie.

Thanks for the kind compliment and good comments as always.

Have a great day.

[ruffchamp1]

the most brilliant filly of all time, probably the most brilliant thoroughbred of all time..simply awesome and amazing!

[cf1970]

Agreed. Definitely the best filly of all time. Brilliant is the perfect word for her.