Misty Isle Rolled to Win in 1941 Falls City
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Photo: Washington Park Photo
Misty Isle on June 13, 1949.
In conjunction with Tom Hall's Throwback Thursday features in BloodHorse Daily, BloodHorse.com each Thursday will present corresponding race stories from the pages of the magazine. This week is a recap of the 1941 Falls City Handicap at Churchill Downs, written by the BloodHorse staff with the headline "Misty Isle's Canter" from the Nov. 8, 1941 issue.
Joseph E. Widener's Misty Isle returned to the Midwest last week after a not too successful Eastern campaign.
She had been unplaced to Fairy Chant in the Beldame Handicap at Aqueduct, second to Stimady in the Jermome Handicap at Belmont Park, fourth to Omission in the Capital Handicap at Laurel, and second by a neck to Shine O'Night in the Queen Isabella Stakes at Laurel.
Back in the Midwest, Misty Isle started in the Falls City Handicap ($2,500 added, 3-year-olds and up, fillies and mares, one mile) at Churchill Downs on Wednesday, October 29. In with top weight of 116 pounds, the *Sickle filly was away second to Mrs. John Marsch's Blue Delight (3, 113) and for the first half-mile lay about a length behind the Blue Larkspur filly.
Jockey A. Bodiou sent Misty Isle to the leader at the turn into the stretch and drew away with ease to win by five lengths.
Blue Delight tired in the stretch and lost the place to Smith G. Baker Sr.'s Meggy (3, 113) which closed strongly in the final furlong to take second place by a neck. The winner's stablemate, *Jezebel II (3, 106), was fourth. Winamac (3, 101) and Miss Quiz (105) completed the field.
Time, :22 3/5, :46 2/5, 1:11 3/5, 1:37 3/5, track good. Stakes division, $1,975, $500, $250, $125.
Misy Isle had previously won the Princess Pat Stakes and Sheridan Handicap this year. She has started 28 times, won 11 races, finished second nine times, third four times, and has earned $50,770.
Besides offering the race recap, the Nov. 8, 1941 issue of BloodHorse—dated less than a month before Pearl Harbor—also pointed out that the 13-day Churchill Downs fall meet was doing well in terms of handle. It noted, "With crowds swollen by thousands of defense workers temporarily resident in Louisville, Churchill Downs apparently is having its most successful fall meeting in many years."