Hall of Fame - Forever Risk

Original article written by Mandy Saunders posted 17 years 3 weeks ago

She was bred by The Steward and placed in the Trial By Summer Yearling Sales eight years ago to be bid on by the top trainers in the world. Though despite her royal bloodlines and her seemingly flawless conformation, this chestnut filly by Priceless Forever out of the Kentucky Derby winning mare Genuine Risk went unnoticed, and slipped through everyone's fingers with the shockingly low bid of $25,000...everyone but the legendary Jess Paquette, that is. For Jess saw something in the filly's eyes, a bold courage that she had never seen before, a look that has been described as the Look of Eagles.

The filly's name was Forever Risk, and that is a name that resounded in everyone's mind as the filly took to the track for the first time on May 6th for a four furlong Maiden Special Weight. Facing the soon-to-be turf champion Whirl Charmant, Forever Risk stalked the leaders then made a bold move around the turn, overtaking the leaders and sweeping to an easy victory. Jess knew then what she had in the filly, and she made immediate plans to send her west for the Grade III Nursery Stakes going four and a half furlongs. She knew it was a bold move to skip the traditional allowance, but she knew the filly was special and she knew that no filly could touch her.

Three months later, Forever Risk went postward for the Nursery Stakes and was made the betting favorite despite having only one race under her belt. The field was moderately tallented with Apprehensive Star, winner of a Maiden Claiming event, and A.P. Amazing, winner of a Maiden Special Weight just one month before, being the only other two fillies to stand out. This time, Forever Risk swept to the lead coming out of the gate and stayed there, cruising to an easy victory.

She made it look all too easy, and she handled herself professionally as she cruised to another win two months later in the Grade I Twin Spires Stakes at Churchill Downs going six furlongs, soundly beating the soon-to-be Grade I stakes winner Irreplaceable and the major stakes competitor First Glance. She was fast, she was strong, she was mature, and she was beautiful, but her fans had one question on their minds: Can she go a distance?

Jess didn't hesitate in answering their question, and sent Forever Risk to Turfway Park two months later for the Grade II Kentucky Cup Juvenile Fillies going one mile. She was made the even money favorite to win, despite the pressence of Salutations, an impressive winner in her first start but encountered a few problems in her last race and finished a dissapointing third. Forever Risk seemed to know who threatened her perfect record, for she eyed the other filly and pinned her ears as the two lined up behind the gate. As the gate doors clanged open, Forever Risk bounded out of the gate and never looked back, streaking to yet another easy victory and leaving behind a trying Salutations. Salutations would later win the Breeders' Cup Distaff, never to meet Forever Risk again.

Two months later, Jess sent Forever Risk postward for the Grade I Matron Stakes going one mile to face Priceless Fancy, a horse she soundly beat in her first two starts, and Forthe Love o Gold, a filly with six races and already under her belt.

The race went smoothly from start to finish, Forever Risk taking the lead coming out of the gate to win easily by ten lengths but the drama had just begun. Forever Risk took a bad step just past the wire and was pulled up, her jockey dismounting and hailing the horse ambulance. X-rays confirmed swelling of the tendons in her right foreleg. The injury was not life threatening, but she would miss the rest of her two-year-old season. The Eclipse Award for Champion Two-Year-Old Filly went to One For The Ages, the unbeaten winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, but the filly would not remain unbeaten, for she had yet to face Forever Risk.

Forever Risk was sent home to the farm to rest for the remainder of her two-year-old year. With her paddock time and her exercises limited, her leg healed quickly and with the coming of the new year, nearly five months later, her veterinarian gave Jess Paquette the go-ahead to send Forever Risk into full training again. With the promise of a full return, Forever Risk set to the task, blazing through workouts in quick times with ease. She improved rapidly, and within a month she was ready to go, and was entered in the Grade II Bonnie Miss Stakes for three-year-old fillies going one mile.

Jess Paquette bit her lip as she watched her beloved filly burst out of the gate and go charging to the lead, her jockey pulling her head to her chest in an effort to slow the filly down. Forever Risk would have none of it, she had waited six long months for this day, a day when she could show the world that nothing could keep her down. As Paquette held her breath, Forever Risk blazed through the opening quarter in :21.3 while leading by six lengths, and she kept pouring it on, making the Bonnie Miss look like an easy workout and winning by a swift twelve lengths. Paquette nearly passed out from the relief, the happiness, and from holding her breath as her filly trotted back to the Winner's Circle. Prancing and tossing her golden head, Forever Risk knew she was special, and she was ready to take on the world.

Fans wanted to know, could this filly win against the boys? They wanted to see her in the Kentucky Derby, but Paquette put her foot down. "It was too early to race her against the boys so soon after her injury, I just couldn't put that kind of stress on her, but I was seriously thinking about the Preakness Stakes."

As Sports Jersey took the Kentucky Derby, Forever Risk took control of the Grade I Kentucky Oaks going a mile and an eighth. She was meeting One For The Ages for the first time, and it would be their last. Forever Risk again bounded out of the gate on the lead, and stayed there, cruising to a seven-length win over Cascade with One For The Ages fading to third.

Paquette knew what would come next, the public would demand that she kept her word and run her in the Preakness Stakes. The Preakness would prove to be the toughest race the filly had ever faced. Mischief Maker, believed to be the best horse in the Kentucky Derby but lost the race to Sports Jersey, was there and was in top shape. Sports Jersey was present too, but the bettors and the public turned their eyes to the Mischief Maker and Forever Risk. It was the Duel of Champions, a showdown between the country's best colt and filly, and the public would not be dissapointed.

As the gate doors clanged open, Forever Risk flew to the lead as usual, but she wasn't alone. Mischief Maker was right behind her, pressing her on. Forever Risk didn't blink, and acted as if he wasn't even there. She seemed to float, her long legs sweeping over the ground as if she were flying. Coming into the turn, Mischief Maker made his move, lenghthening his stride and pulling up along side of her. Forever Risk continued to act as though the colt didn't exist, playing with him, daring him to put his head in front...and he did.

Forever Risk hesitated, letting the colt feel what it was like to be out in front, then she poured it on. She put her head into the wind and pinned her ears, she wasn't about to let him stay there for long. She dug in a powered her way to the front. She was a neck ahead when the wire flashed above and Mischief Maker suddenly dropped back, he would be vanned off the track with an injury but he would be back to race again.

With the Preakness win behind her, Forever Risk was pointed towards the Grade I Ruffian Handicap going a mile and a sixteenth for older fillies and mares nearly five months later. When asked why Forever Risk was given such a long rest, Paquette replied, "The Preakness took a lot out of her and I didn't want to risk injuring her again. Besides," she smiled, "I wanted her to meet Soldier Girl on the track."

Forever Risk was raring to go, and as she lined up behind the gate, she eyed her stablemate closly. Soldier Girl had won the Kentucky Derby the previous year so she too had proved herself against the boys, but how would she fair against the freak Forever Risk? The two fillies broke from the gate together and took the lead together, setting suicidal fractions and leaving the rest of the field far behind. Entering the stretch, the fillies dug in, giving it all they were worth, but Soldier Girl just wasn't fast enough, and Forever Risk took the lead, drawing away to a two-length win.

The public went crazy, clamoring for races against champion older males and champion turf horses. They wanted to see if she would win against everything, even if it ment shipping overseas. But Jess Paquette began seeing a little wear in her brilliant filly, she was beginning to tire, and she decided to race her once more before retiring her. Unfortunately, at the sight of Forever Risk, trainers pulled their horses out of races, they didn't want to bring a broken horse back to the barn after a meeting with that freak. Who would run against her?

Jennifer Stewart stepped forward and offered her brilliant colt, Silver Valor, under one condition: that they would meet in a Match Race instead of a stakes race. Paquette almost said no, she remembered the filly Ruffian and her match with the colt Foolish Pleasure and the outcome of that horrible day. Forever Risk, an unbeaten filly who broke every record in the book, and Silver Valor, an unbeaten colt who took the Belmont Stakes with ease, the public loved it. The race was set for Santa Anita Park just two months after Forever Risk's Ruffian Handicap win and the distance was to be a mile and a quarter, all that was needed now was Paquette's approval.

The distance was longer then anything Forever Risk had ever run before, and she had never run on the track before. She had, though, run and won at Hollywood Park, proving that she could handle California weather. Paquette had her veterinarian check Forever Risk from head to toe, and she came back with a clean bill of health. The trainer found no reason not to send the filly postward, and gave the Steward the go-ahead.

It was the match race the public had been waiting for, The Match Of The Decade, they called it, and that it was, for no race has matched it since. As the gates opened, Silver Valor stole the lead and crossed the track to take the rail. Forever Risk, never meeting a horse that could out-break her, pinned her ears and took off after him, pulling up alongside. From there, two were locked in a head-to-head duel, one a golden chestnut, the other a coal black, streaking down the Santa Anita track under the bright California sunlight. Coming around the first turn, Silver Valor's jockey allowed his colt to drift six-wide, carrying the filly with him. The trick was devious, but Forever Risk never blinked and when they came into the backstretch, she once again pulled even with the colt. She played with the colt, just like she played with Mischief Maker in the Preakness, she pricked her ears and acted nochelant, as if the colt wasn't even there. Going into the final turn, Silver Valor began to drift again, but Forever Risk's jockey had her in check and with one swift move, Forever Risk moved behind Silver Valor and grabed the rail! Her jockey was urging her on, asking her to give just a little more to get even with the colt again. They came into the homestretch head-to-head, baring down on the wire with a vengence. Forever Risk pinned her ears and dug in even more, finding it within herself to give all she had and as the wire flashed above, Forever Risk was a head in front, and the clock stopped just a tenth of a second faster then the world record! Forever Risk gallopped in front of a standing ovation, a true legend, a heroine, a filly that would never be forgotten.

Forever Risk was retired after that race and was prepared to be bred. Her first mate? None other than Silver Valor himself. The result was a black colt by the name of Briliancefindsaway, who went unbeaten in eleven starts including a match race with his younger half brother Heir To The Throne. Her foals continue her legacy, her daughter The Freak's Shadow, by The Minister, won the Grade I Twin Spires Stakes and was retired after just six starts, two wins, three seconds, and one third. She is the damn of three: Lokite Sensation, Shadowofexcellence, and Symbolism. Briliancefindsaway became the sire of champions Ground Zero, Pyrotechnic, and Vocals. Heir to the Throne, by Loki Flame, won eleven races out of thirteen with two seconds and is making a name for himself in the breeding shed. Forever Risk then produced the Giant's Causeway filly Thrill to the End who won the one and a quarter mile Espirata Stakes on the turf. She, in turn, is the dam of Let Tears Splash. Forever Risk was booked next to Silver Valor's full brother Symbol and produced the champion filly Valiant Risk, a winner of nine races including the Grade I Breeders' Cip Juvenile Fillies, Kentucky Oaks, Test Stakes, Distaff Breeders' Cup Handicap, Ballerina Handicap, and the non-graded Woodside Handicap.

Valiant Risk is the dam of Fighting Spirit and Oftearsandtragedy. Forever Risk was then matched with the champion sprinter Anxious Gold and produced Tarnished Gold, winner of eight races, three of them being Grade I stakes races. He is currently the sire of three yearlings. She was then bred to the brilliant Black Ice and produced the darkbay colt All Or Nothing who stayed undefeaded in eleven starts until finishing third to Trust and Static in the recent Hialeah Sprint Championship. Heiress is Forever Risk's chestnut daughter by Loki Flame and she is well on her way to a great career, having won four races, two of them being stakes, in seven starts. This year, everyone looks to Forever Risk's two-year-old daughter, Farewell Legacy, who is by the spectacular stallion Fighting With wit. Farewell Legacy is the recent eight and a half length winner of an allowance at Ellis Park this past week. When asked where the filly is headed, Robin Tan replied that the filly is not headed towards the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, "She's too green." She replied. But she says that the Kentucky Oaks next year is a definite possibility. According to the mare's new owner, Robin Tan, Forever Risk has been booked to be bred to Conduit, the undeafeated super horse who took the world by storm and his foals are continuing that legacy.

Forever Risk has often been compared to the legendary Ruffian, and maybe she is as good or better then that big black filly, but we'll never truly know. Meanwhile, Forever Risk's foals continue the mare's legacy by tearing up the track, and stiking fear in the hearts of the trainers who run against them. She's passed on her heart, her courage, her speed, and her determination to each and every one of those foals, and they continue to pass it on to their own foals. Forever Risk was nothing if not a freak of nature, somthing beyond Pegasus. She had wings on her feet and a fire in her heart, her brilliance never faded, and never...never...will there be another like her.

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