The Chicago Million and the fillies

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Stormy Peak
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The Chicago Million and the fillies

Post by Stormy Peak »

Year 5 -- The first running of The Chicago Millions in the Sim.

After 25 years of the race, it only sees 5 fillies entered into the race.

Year 14 Fiji Nights --The first filly to run this race and the only filly to ever Win this race !!!

Year 17 Twilight finished 5th in the field of 7
Year 19 Three Red Roses, finishes 5th in a field of 9.
Year 25 Black Sands, finishes 4th in a field of 9
Year 30 Moya To Love finishes 4th in a field of 7

And in the following years more fillies are giving this race a shot...but it's still not until Year 52 that we get to see more than one filly entered into this race.

Year 32 Zafira Dune 6th out of 7 entries.
Year 35 Civilized 5th out of 5
Year 37 Dark Cries 4th in a field of 5
Year 39 Adoxaceae (I have no clue how to pronounce that...lol) She finished 3rd out of 7.
Year 44 The Specials 6th out of 7
Year 45 Manda finishes 4th out of 5
Year 52:
Eyre in the Sky 4th out of 5
Slashdot Idle 5th out of 5

Year 55 Had 3 fillies in the race with 6 entries:
~Roughian, finished 2nd - the best finish for a filly in this race since Fiji Nights won.
~Two Weeks finished 3rd
~Queen of the Opera finished 5th.

Year 56 Roughian The first filly to give this race a second try -- finishes 4th out of 6
Year 57 Roughian tries for the third time in this race -- finishes 2nd in a field of 7
Year 58 Roughian in her fourth and last effort, she finishes 3rd out of 8.
Year 59 Flight At Midnight- finishes 6th out 6

And here we are Year 60, with the race being run this upcoming Monday (Week 12 Day 1)

There are at this point in time 8 entries. Four of them are fillies !!!

The 55th Running of the Chicago Million

Jerusalem A 4 year old owned by Tim Matthews. She earned more than $2.5 million dollars, and won the Grade 1, Desert Duty Free earlier this year.

Malcontent She's a 3 year old, owned by me. She's from the same family as Roughian, and is a full sibling to Mal who won this race back in year 56.

Showgirl Flair This 4 year old, is owned by Ryan Whitehead. This filly has won over $1.5 Million and has won all her races this year, including two Grade 1 races.

Somme She is also a 4 year old, owned by Kevin Hern. She won several Grade 1 races last year. In her last race, she ran against the boys in a Grade 1 in South Africa and finished 4th out of 9 entries.


In looking at the full history of fillies in this race:
Only one filly won -- Fiji Nights
Roughian finished in 2nd -- twice
Adoxaceae, Two Weeks, and Roughian all picked up a 3rd place finish.

So, with this large field of fillies this year...it makes me wonder if the fillies have become better over the years, or if the owners are just being more courageous in placing fillies in races that were traditionally all male entries ?
And will this be the year that we get to see another filly win this race since Year 14 ???

Stormy
Last edited by Stormy Peak 2 years ago, edited 3 times in total.
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Anthony Zappulla
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Re: The Chicago Million and the fillies

Post by Anthony Zappulla »

Nice job, very interesting!!
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Re: The Chicago Million and the fillies

Post by Kelly Haggerty »

Great post! The 3yo and 3yo+ turf fillies are very tough this year. I am racing my best in Europe against the boys because the pace scenarios are setting up better. Plus, if I run in the filly division I would face Shiloh and Youshouldseemecry, two more fillies that can do about anything. Definitely a tough division this season, so kudos to those that are taking a shot in Chigaco against the dudes and good luck all.
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Stormy Peak
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Re: The Chicago Million and the fillies

Post by Stormy Peak »

The post positions are interesting.
Starting at the number 2 post...all the fillies will be next to each other:

1. Sun And Moon
2. Jerusalem
3. Showgirl Flair
4. Malcontent
5. Somme
6. Federico Tesio
7. Scott's Show
8. Bojo

As a 3 year old, I think it's going to be difficult for Malcontent to win this race, but I'm hoping it can happen, and if not, perhaps she can pick up a 2nd or 3rd place finish. The males in this race...Federico Tesio, owned by Gerry Hardie, seems to be the best of the lot with two G1 wins this year, along with a G3 Win and coming in 2nd in a Grade 1 in his last time out on the track.

Showgirl Flair, owned by Ryan Whitehead, is unbeaten this year...with two Grade 1 wins and two Grade 3 wins - this will be her first time racing against the boys.

Jerusalem, owned by Tim Matthews, is no stranger to racing against the boys, and she's proved she can beat them...having won this year, the Grade 1 Desert Duty Free.
Her other victories against the boys:
~The Grade 1 Commitisize Stake for 2 year olds,
~The Grade 1 Magellan Stakes for 2 year olds
~The Grade 1 Melbourne Derby for 3 year olds (where she beat Federico Tesio by 2 1/4 lengths)
~The Grade 1 Australian Derby for 3 year olds (where she beat Federico Tesio by a neck)

Best of luck to all the entries. And also too, for those running in the Beverly B, tonight.

Beverly B

Stormy
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Re: The Chicago Million and the fillies

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Thanks to all of those who have sent congrats PMs about Malcontent's win....and her 101 speed figure. That's a first for my barn...it's been rare that I've even had one of my horses get a 99 or even 100.

I said in chat that she was the 1st filly in 55 years... I meant the 2nd filly in 55 years...but the first to win since Fiji Nights, who won in year 14. My brain was totally overloaded by her win...lol.

I also looked it up and she also beat the record time for this race!
Her Time: 1:58:56
Deputy Governor, held the prior record. Year 53 - Time: 1:58:74


All 4 fillies made money in this race with the male, Federico Tesio getting 3rd place after leading by a large margin for most of the race. Jerusalem and Malcontent both rushed for the wire together with Jerusalem in the lead by a small margin, and I thought for sure she was going to win...she's such a magnificent mare. So I was stunned when Malcontent nudged her way by and won by 3/4th of a length.

I am going to point Malcontent toward the Arc..and hope this race didn't burn everything out of her.

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Re: The Chicago Million and the fillies

Post by Tim Matthews »

Great win, Stormy!
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Re: The Chicago Million and the fillies

Post by Kelly Haggerty »

Wow wow wow
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Re: The Chicago Million and the fillies

Post by The Steward »

I only just saw this thread, super cool!
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Stormy Peak
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Re: The Chicago Million and the fillies

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Tim Matthews wrote: 2 years ago Great win, Stormy!
I just read your article...and did get a real laugh about the 'non-winner of 2 in Paupa New Guinea" (I think I have some 5 year old maidens racing in places like that. :P

While I felt overwhelming pride at what Malcontent achieved, I also felt a bit sad to see your magnificent filly, Jerusalem finish 2nd. It's really tough for the filly's to beat the males, and I love to see it when it happens, be it by my filly, or someone else's.

I tried so hard with Roughian to win this race, (ran her in it 4 times...and she finished 2nd twice) and in ther prestigious races against males, she also finished 2nd in the Arc. She seemed to race against the males more often than not...and hitting 2nd, 3rd or 4th always was a bit of a disappointment.. but not so much as to when she would sometimes lose to another mare. Argh !

Jerusalem has hit almost $3 million in earnings in this newish era of slashed purses. I think that's amazing.

When Roughian won the Desert Duty Free...the purse was $2 Million...so she walked away with $1 million dollars for just that race alone.

Jerusalem wins the same race, but sadly because the race purse is now $1 million, she only gets $500,000. Yet she still has to compete with the best of the best males to earn that. And if she stuck to only filly races, those purses are 1/2 what the open G1 races have...so for larger than life fillies, like Jerusalem, she has to go against the boys to earn the really big bucks. And she's done a great job of it, in my humble opinion. You could have played it safe and just kept her racing against other mares, but I love that you've pushed her to see what she could do and she's amazing.

My own major disappointment in playing this game since 2006... is, I Still have not won an SC Turf Route Race !!!!
And, I've had long string awesome horses who have given it a try. This is embarrassing for me, as turf route racing is my main thing. Yet, in divisions I've dabbled in, I have picked up a SC Turf Mile with Dark Shadows and 2 SC Turf Sprints with Storm The Blockade and his son Fortification. And, I've also won SC mix breed races...with Golden Memories, G Dragon and Shilo (all Quarter Horses).

As for top notch mares retiring and being blue hens and producing allowance types and lower quality... ugh...I have a few like that. I'm still hoping Roughian will get a freak. She has 1 late blooming stakes type and 1 progressive stakes type...so there still might be hope. But I was hoping she would foal freaks from the get go. :P Maybe her 3rd foal will be the one.

Best of luck with Jerusalem and all your other runners. I loved your article, because you expressed many of the emotions I've encountered while racing. So don't feel like the Lone Ranger in that regard. And don't feel bad about feeling that way either...lol...it's a normal human condition. ;)

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Re: The Chicago Million and the fillies

Post by Danny Derby »

Congrats Stormy, that was a huge win! I know this one means a lot to you.
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Re: The Chicago Million and the fillies

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Danny Derby wrote: 2 years ago Congrats Stormy, that was a huge win! I know this one means a lot to you.
Thanks Danny. Yes, I've tried many times over the years with a number of horses to win this race. Finally got it done with Mal, and now...a 3 year old filly of all things. I tried so hard with Roughian to win it...but she couldn't do it. So, yeah, this is a special win for my stable.

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Re: The Chicago Million and the fillies

Post by Tim Matthews »

Stormy Peak wrote: 2 years ago
Tim Matthews wrote: 2 years ago Great win, Stormy!
I just read your article...and did get a real laugh about the 'non-winner of 2 in Paupa New Guinea" (I think I have some 5 year old maidens racing in places like that. :P

While I felt overwhelming pride at what Malcontent achieved, I also felt a bit sad to see your magnificent filly, Jerusalem finish 2nd. It's really tough for the filly's to beat the males, and I love to see it when it happens, be it by my filly, or someone else's.

I tried so hard with Roughian to win this race, (ran her in it 4 times...and she finished 2nd twice) and in ther prestigious races against males, she also finished 2nd in the Arc. She seemed to race against the males more often than not...and hitting 2nd, 3rd or 4th always was a bit of a disappointment.. but not so much as to when she would sometimes lose to another mare. Argh !

Jerusalem has hit almost $3 million in earnings in this newish era of slashed purses. I think that's amazing.

When Roughian won the Desert Duty Free...the purse was $2 Million...so she walked away with $1 million dollars for just that race alone.

Jerusalem wins the same race, but sadly because the race purse is now $1 million, she only gets $500,000. Yet she still has to compete with the best of the best males to earn that. And if she stuck to only filly races, those purses are 1/2 what the open G1 races have...so for larger than life fillies, like Jerusalem, she has to go against the boys to earn the really big bucks. And she's done a great job of it, in my humble opinion. You could have played it safe and just kept her racing against other mares, but I love that you've pushed her to see what she could do and she's amazing.

My own major disappointment in playing this game since 2006... is, I Still have not won an SC Turf Route Race !!!!
And, I've had long string awesome horses who have given it a try. This is embarrassing for me, as turf route racing is my main thing. Yet, in divisions I've dabbled in, I have picked up a SC Turf Mile with Dark Shadows and 2 SC Turf Sprints with Storm The Blockade and his son Fortification. And, I've also won SC mix breed races...with Golden Memories, G Dragon and Shilo (all Quarter Horses).

As for top notch mares retiring and being blue hens and producing allowance types and lower quality... ugh...I have a few like that. I'm still hoping Roughian will get a freak. She has 1 late blooming stakes type and 1 progressive stakes type...so there still might be hope. But I was hoping she would foal freaks from the get go. :P Maybe her 3rd foal will be the one.

Best of luck with Jerusalem and all your other runners. I loved your article, because you expressed many of the emotions I've encountered while racing. So don't feel like the Lone Ranger in that regard. And don't feel bad about feeling that way either...lol...it's a normal human condition. ;)

Stormy
Thanks so much for your kind words, Stormy :) I had fun with the article. And don't remind of purse cuts, I've been on a crusade against them for years.... :evil:

Best of luck with your crew going forward - I have a feeling you'll get that turf route SC sooner rather than later.
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