MURDERER'S ROW

[Ripley]

It is an uphill climb to get to one of the most heavenly places on earth. The road is a twisting, snaking strip of pavement, the edges crumbling away to Mother Nature's eager grasp. At one point on this upward climb, guard rails are the only thing that blocks a car from tumbling down the steepest snow-covered hills. It would be a perilous fall for an uncareful driver. Luckily, few people travel this way except those who know the road and are wise to the vicious ways of nature. My team is in awe of the scenic view that leads to Witch Creek Stable. They haven't been here before, never having covered the Witch Creek beat. But I have.

I've been here through Ripley's return and their meteoric rise to stardom. Few people remember the time when Ripley Marsh was a one woman, one horse act with a couple of grade five stallions and mares as her broodmare band. Everyone knows of them now. Touch Up, Strike The Win, Royal Assault and Thanks For The Memories, are famous now. Witch Creek Stable has become as much of a household name as Star Thoroughbreds, Stride of Perfection, and Intrepid Racing. Witch Creek has become a giant and we all know why.

Murderer's Row. Who do you choose to suffer defeat to? Frozen Motion, Screaming Mimi, Dazzling Dame, Flawed Princess and Whipped Cream were Year Twelve and Year Thirteen's poison. Consistently poisonous and tough to beat on any occasion. Only one of them, Frozen Motion, has made Hall Of Fame, but more than one popular turf horse has tasted defeat at the turn of those other fast hooves.

Perhaps Year Twelve and Year Thirteen's poison wasn't hard enough, deadly enough or swift enough for your taste. Well, Year Fourteen's is something more ferocious, overwhelming and harder to beat than the previous year.

The lifetime win records of the three most popular on Murderer's Row are: 25, 23, and 28. Bella Luna, Cross My Heart and Mastermind. Lying in their wake is Paranormal Hunter, winner of 7 Horse Of The Year races, 8 in total, just in Year Fourteen. Their campaigns have been fierce. They instill respect if not fear in their competitors. Rivals admit the potential for Hall of Fame for the top three, four if Paranormal Hunter continues her dominating assault.

I do not shake normally when approaching horses. I grew up without them, but even I am stunned speechless as I walk into the major barn. Here is Mastermind, first son of Hall of Famer El Sol Del Mar, winner of two Breeders' Cup races, the Dubai World Sprint, the Summer Dawn Treader Cup, and two time winner of the King's Bishop. He is a beyond spectacular specimen and I cannot help but smile at the awe in my co-workers eyes as they take him in. He is every inch as spectacular in person as he is on the track or on television.

Ripley holds two of the greatest horses to walk the track in either hand. Bella Luna, the glossy silver-dappled mare, is a wondrous picture with the snowy background behind her. She is a sweetheart, accepting our carrot offerings with dignity and a soft lick. It is hard to believe she is the Twilight Stakes winner and the only Turf Triple Crown winner to date. If I had not seen her run with my own eyes, I would never have believed it. Yet... I can almost see the ferocious gameness as she flies down the track despite the tranquil backdrop.

Laura DeComte leads the most standoffish pair of mares you've ever met. Cross My Heart's savage head takes us in with suspicion and much distaste. Paranormal Hunter flicks an ear at us, cocks a hoof in dismissal. Her big body looks grossly out of proportion in comparison to the fine black Arab-type Thoroughbred beside her. However, both mares are lethal on the turf. Paranormal Hunter's claim to fame is her devastating late kick while Cross My Heart guts it out on the lead, causing the fans to wilt in tiredness from the shock of the run. Of course, she walks into the winner's circle fresh as a daisy while our hands shake from within our living rooms.


They are returned to their stalls and we are left at a loss for words. What can you say to the connections of horses so athletic, so talented? What do you feed them? How do you train them? There are no words. Witch Creek has been an open book and there is nothing to say because we've watched these horses grow from upstart youngsters, to outstanding three year olds, to otherwordly older horses, in the case of Mastermind, Bella Luna and Cross My Heart.

Ripley smiles coyly as she leads us to her pride and joy, The Devil's Hourglass. The star marked filly does not look anything like the brutal coltish animal she is on the track. She nuzzles our hands with those deceiving eyes and accepts our strokes with more affection than the others. "She was the toughest one to break. I've got more stories of her almost killing me than Mastermind and Cross and Sunny combined." We all send wary eyes at the round filly, but it's believable.

Hourglass is the dirtiest horse on the track. She does everything necessary of her to win. "I'd take her into battle over the others. Mastermind is brilliant, Cross is foolishly fast, but Hourglass has enough courage to take down Cross, if possible. She'll bull through nonexistent holes to get to the lead and somehow come out unscathed."

The reverence of her trainer makes me eye the filly as we walk away. Para is already on the brink of Murderer's Row fame... Is Hourglass? She hasn't been anything as stellar as she was as a juvenile when she walked to Two Year Old Of The Year and Juvenile Filly of The Year titles.... But she was awfully impressive in her latest victory: the Universal Cup. I make a note to keep an eye on her. She will be a wild card in whatever Breeders' Cup race she goes to.

"The Turf Marathon," Ripley says, answering my unasked question. I am interested now. "I think she'll be able to beat Infinite Warcry, but it'll be tough. He'll need to match my horse in guts, perhaps, he has it, but I want to see it."

My comrades may think those words are outlandish, but I don't. In her only start at twelve furlongs this season, The Devil's Hourglass had crushed the hopes of a Turf Triple Crown. The Belmont Turf Classic had marked her a proven champion at two and three. She was a worthy threat to Infinite Warcry, once the toughest juvenile and three year old himself. I am excited at the thought of the matchup.


We've crossed across the courtyard to the barn titled "Two Year Olds." Nickers can be heard, warm against the chilly winter. I am thrilling at the combination because I know what awaits me.

The seal brown head of Hourglass's half-brother, Saintly Touch. The dark bay head of Casualty of War and the blaze faced nose of Nirvana. The classic red head of El Sol Del Mar's second son, Sun King. The gray heads of Taboo, a relation of Pegasus Wings and Nocturnal Runaway, a relation of Bella Luna's, the sleek bay head of rare-bred, Vagabond. And one more...

"A lease from Nature Blue. She's a relation to Flawed Princess and Whipped Cream."

Queen's Honesty, a delicate tapered bay head with an upside down exclamation mark.

My comrades bristle with excitement at the sight of horses they know.

I just shake my head and think:


Hello, Murderer's Row, Version Year Fifteen.