The Story of Miss Fifty

Please read the updated version of this story here.

Miss Fifty, a four-year-old chestnut filly by Johannesburg and out of a Coronado’s Quest mare, Copa de Oro, may not have lived up to expectations on the track (at least not yet), but she is still part of an incredible story.

She was bred by Jerry and Ann Moss of Zenyatta fame and was born in Kentucky on April 18, 2008. As a yearling, she was sold for just $10,000 at the 2009 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. As a two-year-old, she was consigned by Pike Racing in the Fasig-Tipton Texas Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale as hip number fifty.

After recording a time of ten seconds and two-fifths for an eighth of a mile, the filly was returned to her stall in barn E4 on Lone Star Park’s backside. Later that day, my parents and I visited the barn area to look at the sale horses.

Leading up to the sale, I had studied the catalogue, writing down horses I was impressed with off of pedigree. Hip number fifty was one of them. I was even more impressed by the filly after watching her work on the track. She moved with a beautiful, flowing stride, highlighted by a flat knee that allowed her to cover much ground. The daughter of Johannesburg was one of the many horses I visited on the backside with my parents.

Photo: Terri Cage

But no other two-year-old caught my attention more than hip number fifty. The chestnut filly captivated me with her sweet personality, acting like a puppy. When I ambled up to her stall, the daughter of Johannesburg eagerly walked up to me, nuzzling at me. I gently rubbed her face and she allowed me to hold her dainty head in my arms. I stayed there for several moments, just cradling her head. As I walked away from the filly, I caught the two-year-old staring at me as if she didn’t want me to leave. Honestly, I didn’t want to leave either. I wished I could somehow garner thousands of dollars so I could purchase the affectionate filly for myself.

Needless to say, I couldn’t get my mind off the filly, whom I had nicknamed Fifty because of her hip number. I anxiously awaited the results of the sale, finding out that the daughter of Johannesburg had sold for $40,000 to Dolphus Morrison, breeder and former owner of 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra. She was the fifteenth highest-priced horse in the sale.

I decided to find Dolphus Morrison’s address and once I did, I wrote a letter to him, explaining how much I loved the filly by Johannesburg he had just purchased. I told him what I had nicknamed the filly and that I would always be the filly’s biggest fan. For days, I awaited a reply and constantly checked online to see if the filly had been officially named.

Not long before I received a reply from Mr. Morrison, I looked up the filly online and found that she had been named Miss Fifty. I was blown away and left wondering if Mr. Morrison had named the filly Miss Fifty because of my letter. My thoughts were confirmed when I received a letter from Mr. Morrison, in which he told me he had in fact named her Miss Fifty since I called the filly Fifty.

After being trained at Diamond D Ranch, Miss Fifty was sent to Mr. Morrison’s go-to trainer, Lon Wiggins, son of Hal Wiggins, who trained Rachel Alexandra up until her impressive Kentucky Oaks (GI) victory. Miss Fifty made her first start in October 2010 at Keeneland Racecourse. Just when it seemed as if she and Calvin Borel would open up on the field, the highly-touted and now grade two-winning Dancinginherdreams, swept by her, followed by four more horses. Miss Fifty finished a decent fifth out of twelve two-year-old fillies.

In her next start, a six-furlong maiden special weight at Churchill Downs on Halloween, Miss Fifty was never really a factor and finished last in a field of eleven.

Photo: Terri Cage

I contacted Mr. Morrison for the third time and told him that my family and I were visiting Kentucky for the Breeders’ Cup. Mr. Morrison and Lon Wiggins arranged for me to visit Miss Fifty at Churchill Downs on Breeders’ Cup weekend. On Friday morning of the Breeders’ Cup, my sister, my mom, and I visited Mr. Wiggins’ barn.

Mr. Wiggins led me to Fifty’s stall, allowing me to duck under the stall guard to visit the filly. I did so, cautiously walking up to her. Would she remember me?

Fifty turned her head when she heard me approaching, pricking her ears and tossing her nose in my direction. I smiled, stepping forward and allowing her to sniff my hand. I then stroked her face, telling her how much I’d missed her. I’d never dreamed I’d get to visit the filly. Yet, there I was, over seven months after I had met the filly, pampering her on the backside of Churchill Downs during Breeders’ Cup week. It was absolutely surreal.

After watching Fifty’s stablemate, Fleeter, gallop over the track, it was time for the filly I loved so much to head out to the track. I thought I would just go watch, as I did with Fleeter, but Mr. Wiggins handed me the lead and showed me the way to the gap. I was actually leading Fifty toward the track. And it wasn’t just any track; it was Churchill Downs.

I thought I was dreaming as I led Miss Fifty onto the dirt surface. Across the expansive track, the Twin Spires smiled back at me as classy horses galloped and jogged past on the renowned track. I unclipped the lead from the filly’s bridle and Mr. Wiggins allowed me to stand alongside the filly on the track. I did so, stroking her silky neck and shoulder as she stared inquisitively at the other horses galloping by.

Fifty then headed off for her gallop and I stood at the gap, watching Breeders’ Cup horses as I waited for her to come around. Then I spotted the exquisite chestnut galloping and my eyes locked on her, watching her gallop past me. It was a beautiful sight and one that will forever be engraved in my mind. Her breath came in snorts that were in sync with her stride, her hoofs beat over the dirt, and her ears were pricked eagerly as she galloped past.

Photo: Terri Cage

After Fifty was cooled out, we did a short photo-shoot with the filly and me. While the grade one-winning Paddy O’ Prado received a bath just a few feet away, I stood alongside Fifty outside of Mr. Wiggins’ barn, smiling into my mom’s camera. Usually my smiles in photo-shoots are quite fake, but that morning, there was no wiping the smile off my face.

That wasn’t the end of the morning. Mr. Wiggins led us to the other side of the backside to catch a glimpse of the great Zenyatta, my favorite racehorse of all-time. It was my first time to ever see the incredible mare and I stood breathless as I watched her walk onto the track before galloping in preparation for her final race. That wonderful morning provided me with the greatest day yet of my life and I will forever be grateful to Mr. Morrison and Mr. Wiggins.

About three weeks later, Miss Fifty was entered in a maiden special weight at Churchill Downs, this time against males. Miss Fifty finished eleventh in a field of twelve. The winner was the future 2011 Preakness Stakes (GI) winner, Shackleford.

Mr. Wiggins then shipped his horses to Tampa Bay Downs. Miss Fifty made her final start as a two-year-old on the day after Christmas, dropping into the claiming ranks for the first time. I was extremely worried that the beloved filly would get claimed. Before leaving to go to a family Christmas celebration, I watched the race anxiously, my eyes glued to the television. I knew she would likely do well, but my main worry was that she would be claimed.

In the first race on Cotillion Cup Day at Tampa Bay Downs, Miss Fifty broke quickly and went to the lead in a maiden claiming $25,000. She never looked back from there and went on to win by a remarkable seven and three-quarters lengths. The entire time, I was bouncing up and down with excitement. Fifty had just broken her maiden and she couldn’t have done it more stylishly.

However, the excitement began to wear off. Had she been claimed? The question rang in my head for what seemed like eternity until I received an Equibase result notification in my email. I anxiously opened the email, reading the chart to find out the answer to the question. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I read that she had not been claimed.

In January, her connections tried her in a stakes race, the Gasparilla Stakes. Miss Fifty faded to finish last in a field of eight, losing to the future grade three-winning Devilish Lady.

Miss Fifty took two months off, returning in a five-furlong allowance race at Tampa Bay Downs. She finished a gutsy third that made me very proud of her. Prior to the race, TVG analysts had called her a ‘stopper.’ I understood why they had given her that label, but I was hoping that she would prove them wrong. She may not have won, but she definitely did not stop trying.

In April, she ran in a six and one-half-furlong starter allowance at Keeneland as the favorite. It looked like she had the win in the homestretch, but she faltered in the final yards to finish last in a field of six, though only beaten by less than four and a half lengths.

Three and a half weeks later, Miss Fifty returned to Churchill Downs in an allowance race, trying the turf for the first time. She never seemed to take to the new surface, finishing last in a field of eleven.

About a month later, Miss Fifty revisited the claiming ranks. Again, I became worried that she would be claimed. I wanted her to stay with the connections she had. In the five and one-half-furlong $15,000 claiming race, Fifty finished a good second. She seemed to have found the right level for her. Fortunately, she had not been claimed.

Three days later, I competed in one of my biggest horse shows of the year. After returning home that evening, I spent some peaceful moments outside my barn with my newly-crowned District Grand Champion Mare, Pebbles (a Quarter Horse registered under the name Sheza Cool Casmire). As the sun grew closer to the horizon, I leaned my head against my beloved mare’s light gray shoulder, enjoying the peaceful moment.

A few minutes later, that peace would be shattered. I came inside to learn that the backside of Churchill Downs had been hit by a tornado. My thoughts immediately jumped to Fifty and the Wiggins family. Frantically, I searched for news, praying that I would not find their names on a list of casualties or injuries. When I found out that no one had been hurt, it felt as if someone had dumped a bucket of relief on me.

Photo: Terri Cage

A little over a week after the tornado, Miss Fifty was entered in a six-furlong $10,000 claiming race at Churchill Downs. She was sent off as the second choice and hooked up at the top of the lane with the favorite, Intimidating Woman, a multiple stakes-placed filly. However, Miss Fifty found another gear and went on to win the race by an easy four and one-quarter lengths under Calvin Borel.

I, like usual, had watched the race live. I was ecstatic that Fifty had won. I’d had a gut feeling that she would win, but I also had had a gut feeling she would be claimed. Both gut feelings were confirmed.

Since Miss Fifty was in my Equibase Virtual Stable ©, I was able to find out who Fifty had been claimed by. I wrote Mr. Morrison, thanking him for the entire experience. I knew my experience of sharing the filly’s career with him was over, but I was not going to allow my experience with Fifty to end.

For several weeks, I grew more and more worried about Miss Fifty. I hadn’t received any workout or entry notifications through my Equibase Virtual Stable ©. I finally decided to send Miss Fifty’s new trainer a letter, explaining what the three-year-old filly meant to me and how I knew her. Just days later, the trainer sent me an email, telling me to call him.

I did. He informed me that the filly had hurt her eye but should be all right. He also told me that he had enough horses and once they were done with Miss Fifty, I could have her. I was ecstatic.

Then Fifty was entered in a race – a claiming race. She finished second in the $7,500 claiming race at Presque Isle Downs and after the race had been run, I was devastated to find out that she had been claimed. I wasn’t going to give up on following her, however. She meant too much to me to do that.

Miss Fifty was not claimed in her next start, a third-place finish in a claiming race at Presque Isle. However, next out, Fifty finished third and was claimed.

I then contacted her new owners to get an update on her. I was thrilled to find out that she was doing well. In fact, she had put on almost one hundred pounds since being claimed. It was a relief to find this out, as I had noticed while watching her recent races that she had become quite thin. She seems to be in good hands now, which is very important to me. All I want is for her to be happy and healthy.

I added her owner as a friend on Facebook to get updates more quickly on her. He has generously given me updates on Fifty and answered any questions I have about her.

On November 20, 2011, Fifty ran in a $10,000 claiming race at Charles Town. Her owner had informed me that it was a lower-priced tag than he wanted, but they were using the four and one-half-furlong race as a prep race to stretch her out in higher class races soon. He told me he didn’t want her to be claimed. I couldn’t agree more.

Photo: Terri Cage

Anxiously, I watched the race online, my eyes fixed on the beautiful chestnut. Her owner was right. She’d put on a lot of weight, in addition to having more defined muscle tone. She looked incredible and was most definitely the best-looking horse in the field, even without my bias towards her.

Much to my satisfaction, Fifty crushed the field by five and one-half lengths. I was ecstatic and grew even happier when I learned that she had not been claimed and would remain with Long Shot Racing Stable, LLC.

About a month later, Fifty returned to the allowance level. I felt confident in her chances, as did the betting public. She loaded into the gate as the heavy favorite for the six and one-half-furlong event at Charles Town. With dread, I watched as she left the gate roughly and galloped in front of the grandstand unevenly after the start. She never got involved. I was extremely worried about the filly, but after contacting her owner via Facebook, I was relieved to find out that the trouble had been caused by the jockey losing his irons. Fifty was fine.

She is currently doing extremely well and her connections are searching for the right race for her. Watching her race is very nerve-wracking for me, but I love it nonetheless and am looking forward to seeing her race again.

I never could have known when I wrote down hip number fifty in my journal of horses to watch at the 2010 Fasig-Tipton Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale that it would lead to an incredible journey. Someday I will watch the exquisite chestnut filly win again, knowing that if I had never had the courage to write Dolphus Morrison, I never would have experienced practically what it felt like to own a racehorse while I was so young. I never would have led a horse onto the track at Churchill Downs as a young fan or come within two feet of the great Zenyatta. And most of all, I know God has blessed me with a tremendous filly that will always be an important part of my life. It's been a rollercoaster ride without a doubt, but I would not trade it for anything. It’s a journey I’ll never forget and I have many people to thank, including Mr. Morrison, Mr. Wiggins, Mr. Vrable, my parents, my best friend, and everyone else who has been a part of my journey with Miss Fifty.

And also, thank you to my fans and readers! I enjoy reading your comments so much and I truly appreciate all of your support. I wouldn't have 100 blog posts without all of you. Again, thank you!

*Miss Fifty was the only horse to not go down or lose the rider in the eighth race at Charles Town on 2/29/12, twenty-six days after this blog post was published. She received some cuts that required stitches, but is okay. To read more, please click here.

Photo: Terri Cage

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