view raw text
PSBgxju . : „_ ,. jm .—££■■■?* aS EkIk ail B 1b freaBBLMB iaiy oyvy ** * IBS b a, «■ * JBr BB/ Sj REGRET — A queen unto herself. Regret Holds Unique Niche in Sport Derby Tally Came In Seasonal Bow Fillys Feat Has Stood Test Of Time; Sparingly Raced, She Won Nine of 11 Starts On May 2, 1937, 22 years after Regret became the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby, by taking the 1915 renewal, Daily Racing Form published the following article reviewing that precedent-making triumph. Today, another 22 years after its original publication, the article is just as fresh and as timely. It is reprinted in view of the special interest surrounding the filly Silver Spoon, who will attempt to duplicate Regrets feat of 44 years ago in todays running of the Kentucky Derby. You read it every year. "Only one filly ever won the Kentucky Derby." The story of Regrets victory in 1915 is a perennial classic. The Whitney filly occupies a unique niche in racing history that has no parallel in any other country. Signorinetta 1908 and Tagalie 1912 scored in the Epsom Derby and fillies have triumphed more than once in the Prix du Jockey Club French Derby, but Regrets achievement stands alone. The chestnut daughter of Broomstick and Jersey Lightning was making her seasonal bow when she stepped out on the track on the afternoon of May 8, 1915. The fact that she had not appeared since the previous August did not dismay the public, who made her a firm favorite at .65 to .00. The bearer of the popular brown silks with blue cap fully justified this confidence by taking the track at the break and making every pole a winning one. While Regret was receiving five pounds from Pebbles, who chased her all the way in second place, she actually won with considerably more than that in hand. Field Not First Rate The Kentucky Derby field in 1915 was far from being first-class. Had any other of the 16 starters managed to £et to the wire in front this renewal would have been a forgotten Derby instead of the most frequently revived in song and story. However, Regret could only beat the horses she had to face and she accomplished her task in a fashion that suggests she would have i threatened the best of any year. The race itself was almost without incident. The winner was a winner all the way — rated in front by Joe Notter — Pebbles following the filly from the break, and Sharpshooter holding the show spot safe from start to finish. The order was never 1 changed, and never looked like changing at any point in the contest. While Harry Payne Whitneys filly is, of course, best remembered for her Derby I victory, I am not sure that this was not a I hollow triumph compared with some of her other achievements. The daughter of Broomstick campaigned for four seasons, beginning her career with a victory in the Saratoga Special, August 8, 1914, when the ! German guns were demolishing Liege and i the eyes of the world were more intent on the budding brutality of a European war, than on the debut of a thoroughbred filly. Her future Derby opponent, Pebbles, was Continued on Page 43 D 4 HARRY PAYNE WHITNEY— Owner of Regret. Regret Holds Unique Niche in Sport Derby Tally Came In Seasonal Bow Fillys Feat Has Stood Test Of Time; Sparingly Raced, She Won Nine of 1 1 Starts Continued from Page 37 0 second best in the field of eight, but Regret won her first start handily, by a length. This initial campaign was confined to the Spa, where she followed her triumph in the special by picking up 127 pounds and whipping Lolly, Dinah Do and five others in the Sanford Memorial, and then put up a game battle to score in the Hopeful under the same burden. Regret was outrun in the early stages of this stake and had to come around her field in a hard drive that brought her home a half length in front of Andrew M. and Pebbles. This plucky effort convinced her admirers that she would travel a distance. Easy Score at Saratoga The following year Regret followed her Derby victory with an easy score at Saratoga. In the Saranac Handicap, August 17, she picked up 123 pounds and romped home at the miserly odds of 1-3 in front of Trial by Jury, Lady Rotha and The Finn. She was giving nine pounds to Trial by Jury and 17 to Lady Rotha in this mile test. Her first start in 1916 was the occasion of Regrets first defeat and it was a crushing one. Carrying 123 pounds in the Saratoga Handicap, she was made a 9-10 favorite, but finished last in the field of eight. The five-year-old Stromboli won the mile and one-quarter fixture under 121 pounds, with Ed- Crump second and Friar Rock, third. The daughter of Broomstick made some amends for this dismal effort in ah allowance race at Saratoga 18 days later. Frank Keogh was in the saddle for the first time as the weight of 107 pounds was more than Joe Notter could possibly make at that time. Held at 1-15, Regret scored a hollow victory over Flittergold, who was trying to give the champion eight pounds, and Polroma. These two races were Regrets only appearances as a four-year-old. The following year Regret was sent to the post four times, winning three races and placing second in another. So, though she was at the races four seasons, she actually was very lightly campaigned. Her j lifetime record shows only 11 races, with nine victories, one place of second, and one race in which she was down the course.
