Catching Up With Blind Luck

Blind Luck enjoying her time at Hill 'n' Dale in Kentucky as a broodmare. (Photos by Melissa Bauer-Herzog)
By the time the 2010 Kentucky Oaks field loaded into the gate for the race, Blind Luck had already built a reputation as a late running filly, but that didn’t make the race any less stressful for her fans.
An $11,000 purchase as a yearling, by the time Blind Luck entered the Kentucky Oaks she had won three Grade 1s and over $1 million in nine starts after being purchased privately before her second start. Coming into the Oaks off of a win in the Grade 2 Fantasy Stakes, Blind Luck went off as the 1.30-to-1 favorite for trainer and part-owner Jerry Hollendorfer.
Blind Luck was dead last in the 14-horse field during the early stages of the race, sitting as far as 11 lengths behind the leader at one point. But with a little over a half mile left in the race, jockey Rafael Bejarano pushed the “go” button and it only took a few seconds for Blind Luck to go from last to right behind the leaders.
Around the far turn, Bejarano took Blind Luck wide and she had her sights set on the leaders. But the leading Evening Jewel left a lot of work for Blind Luck to do and not a lot of time to do it.
With a little more than 100 yards left, Blind Luck came up to Evening Jewel’s flank but it was still a huge question mark if she would past the leader in time. At the wire, the fillies were dead even with a head bob getting Blind Luck the win.
2010 KENTUCKY OAKS

Video courtesy of Horse Racing
“I knew she was going to show me a big kick,” Bejarano told The New York Times. “The other horse was still running strong. She gave me an extra kick, and that’s why she finished [first].”
In her first start after the Oaks, Blind Luck wasn’t as lucky to get up in time and finished second to Switch in the Hollywood Oaks, but she’d get up in time in the following start.
Starting what would become one of the biggest rivalries in horse racing this century, Blind Luck faced Havre de Grace for the first time in the Delaware Oaks.
Havre de Grace stuck close to the leader in the race while Blind Luck dropped to last. In the stretch, Havre de Grace briefly took the lead from Derwin’s Star, but that didn’t last long as Blind Luck collared her and was a nose in front at the wire.
In Blind Luck’s next start, the two met again in the Alabama. It was a star-studded field and the leading Acting Happy set slow fractions, which should have been hard for Blind Luck to close in to. But the race again came down to Blind Luck and Havre De Grace in late stretch. Havre De Grace took the lead but Blind Luck pulled even with her easier than in the Delaware Oaks and won by a neck after closing like a freight train.
2010 ALABAMA STAKES

The third meeting between the two was the charm for Havre de Grace when Blind Luck conceded 10 pounds to her rival in the 2010 Cotillion Stakes. Blind Luck was 7 ½ lengths behind the leader while Havre de Grace was only 1 ½ lengths off the pace after a half-mile.
Blind Luck started her run in the stretch as Havre de Grace pulled away easily from the rest of the field, except for that rival. Blind Luck was all out to catch the filly but wasn’t able to this time, falling a neck short in what was the start of a five-race string of second-place finishes.
Over the next five months, Blind Luck finished second in races such as the Breeder’s Cup Ladies Classic (now the Breeders’ Cup Distaff), the El Encino, and the La Canada. Her final loss in that streak again came to Havre de Grace in the Azeri, taking their match total to two and two, though Havre de Grace also finished behind Blind Luck in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic won by Unrivaled Belle.
Blind Luck returned to the site of her Kentucky Oaks win on May 6 for the La Troienne, the same day the 3-year-old fillies ran in that edition of the Oaks. Blind Luck was 9 ½ lengths behind leading Absinthe Minded at the first but steadily moved her way up through the field as the race went on, only 1 ¾ lengths from the lead with about an eighth of a mile to go.
Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic victor Unrivaled Belle had the lead in the final furlong but Blind Luck was able to nab her right before the wire, winning by a half length. It was her largest margin of victory since winning the Fantasy Stakes in April of the previous year.
Returning home to California, Blind Luck ran into Switch again in the Vanity Stakes. This time the results were different than their 3-year-old year with Blind Luck never more than 5 ½ lengths off the pace. With less than a 1/16 of a mile to go, Blind Luck took the lead and edged out Switch by ½ length with Miss Match only a neck behind Switch.
Next, it was back to Delaware Park for the Delaware Handicap. Not surprisingly, Havre de Grace was waiting for Blind Luck in the race. The race would turn into the most famous of the match ups.
The beginning of the Delaware Handicap played very similarly to their previous match ups, only with Blind Luck already having one horse beat. But going around the turn, Blind Luck was already running after her rival and was close behind as they hit the top of the stretch. The battle was on from there.
Blind Luck drew up to Havre de Grace’s flank soon after they straightened out and with every stride, moved just a little bit closer to passing the other filly. There was no flashy flying by Havre de Grace with both fillies battling it out until the bitter end in the stretch with Blind Luck only drawing completely even with her a few jumps from the wire and putting her nose in front only two strides from the wire.
2011 DELAWARE HANDICAP

Video courtesy of Breeders’ Cup World Championships
It was a perfect end to the rivalry as Blind Luck and Havre de Grace would never race against each other again.
Blind Luck’s fairy tale ended in her next start. Dropping to the back of the pack wasn’t a concern for anyone watching her but when she didn’t respond to Garrett Gomez’s urging around the far turn it was obvious it wasn’t going to be her day. Blind Luck finished last in the field of seven as the 1.30-to-1 favorite. It was the last time she’d be seen in a race.
The following month, Blind Luck went through the sales ring to dissolve the partnership that raced her. Mark DeDomenico, who had owned 50 percent of Blind Luck when she raced, bought her for $2.5 million and sent her to his Pegasus Training and Rehabilitation Center in Washington state to relax.
While Mike Puhich, Pegasus’s trainer and director of operations, said they would talk about who to breed Blind Luck to, she wasn’t officially retired until January of 2012 when it was also announced that she was booked to Bernardini.
Blind Luck won 12 of 22 starts in her career and only finished worse than third in one start, the Lady’s Secret. Named champion 3-year-old filly in 2010, Blind Luck earned $3,279,520 in her career with six Grade 1 victories to her name.
Now based at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm in Lexington, Ky., Blind Luck knows that she is a special mare and carries that attitude with her even in retirement.
BLIND LUCK POSING FOR THE CAMERA

“She’s tough to deal with, she’s not the easiest mare in the world to handle,” said Will Richard, Hill ‘n’ Dale’s assistant broodmare manager. “She’s got an attitude on her and she knows she’s as good as she is and I think that’s what makes her good. She’s tough to handle but that’s her.”
Blind Luck produced her first foal, a filly, on January 19, 2013. Recently named I’m the Reason, she hasn’t put in any official works yet.
The following year, Blind Luck gave birth to a Giant’s Causeway colt in February. That colt is currently in Washington state getting ready to enter training later this year.
Blind Luck was bred to Hill ‘n’ Dale’s stallion Midnight Lute in 2014 but didn’t produce a foal this year. After being scratched from the November sale at Fasig-Tipton last fall, Blind Luck went through the ring at the Keeneland January but when she brought a closing bid of $1.4 million, didn’t sell.
“We were getting close to her reserve. Mares of her quality come around seldomly. I thought she was worth twice that. She was on the market at what we believe to be fair money and it didn’t happen so we’ll pick a great mate and continue along the road,” said John Sikura, Hill ‘n’ Dale’s president.
Blind Luck was bred to Giant’s Causeway this year and Richard is happy to have her back in his barn.
BLIND LUCK IN EARLY 2015

“She’s one of my favorites. If you remember her Oaks run she started out dead last. Turning from home she was five wide and made a big stretch run to nip Evening Jewel at the wire. That’s one of the hardiest performances I’ve ever seen out of a mare and I’ll always remember her for that,” he said.
We haven’t seen Blind Luck’s first foals hit the track yet but with some luck, she’ll make as big of an impact in the breeding shed as she did on the track.