Horse that shocked the racing world by coming from behind to win prestigious event was born to a mare from Manitoba
Rich Strike, the 80-1 longshot that staged a dramatic come-from-behind win at the recent Kentucky Derby, has roots in Canada.
His mother, Gold Strike, was a Manitoba product.
In fact, Gold Strike was not only bred, born, raised and started near Brunkild, Man., but she was raced at Assiniboia Downs near Winnipeg as a two-year old under the care of trainer Blair Miller, a Russell, Man., native.
When Gold Strike came to him in 2004, Miller immediately sensed that she was special.
“She was a very smart, nice-moving filly that we knew was a special horse pretty much as soon as we started training her,” he said. “She was just a classy horse from day one, and we knew she was going to be a good one.”
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Gold Strike had her share of victories over the years. As a two-year old under Miller, she won two stakes races from three starts including the Debutante Stakes by 15 1/2 lengths, and the Buffalo Stakes for Manitoba-bred two-year-olds.
She was named the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (CTHS) Manitoba-bred champion that year, and the following year was CTHS Manitoba-bred Horse of the Year.
Seeing her success at the track in Manitoba, the decision was made to send her to Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto to allow her to compete at a higher level and for larger purses.
At three years old, she went to trainer Reade Baker at Woodbine where she continued her racing success. She won the most prestigious race for fillies in Canada, the Woodbine Oaks, for her owner Harlequin Ranches, the same people responsible for Harlequin Romance novels, who are also of Manitoba descent.
Gold Strike also held her own against larger, stronger and faster-maturing male horses.
“She also ran fourth in the Queen’s Plate, against three-year-old male horses,” Miller said. “There was no way we could know that she would produce a Kentucky Derby winner, but good fillies often turn into good mothers that produce good racehorses.”
Gold Strike retired from racing to become a broodmare in 2008 and was eventually bought by Calumet Farms of Kentucky, which has won eight times at the Kentucky Derby.
In 2018, Calumet handlers bred the 16-year-old mare to their stud, Keen Ice, the only horse to have ever beaten American Pharoah.
This union produced the double-bred Smart Strike foal and Rich Strike, who now seems to be living up to his name.
“It’s pretty cool to know I trained the mother of a Kentucky Derby winner,” said Miller. “Not many have done that, nobody in Manitoba, that’s for sure. There have been other people (from Manitoba) connected to horses that have run in the race, but none have won.”
Miller has had horse racing in his blood from a young age.
“All I wanted to be growing up was a jockey,” said Miller.
Although his career path did not involve being a jockey beyond the local fair in Russell, Miller has been involved as a trainer in the Thoroughbred racing industry for some time. He trained horses at Assiniboia Downs for more than 20 years before moving to Toronto to work at Woodbine Racetrack. He later returned to Winnipeg to work as a private trainer for 2 Points Ranch.
He has won all the major races at Assiniboia Downs except for the Winnipeg Futurity and the Manitoba Derby, and has collected more than 500 wins at Manitoba’s only Thoroughbred racetrack.
The scenario that saw Rich Strike gain eligibility into the Derby due to a last-minute scratch of Ethereal Road and the come-from-behind finish completes a most-dramatic Cinderella story.
“Rich Strike ran the perfect race and got the perfect trip in the Derby,” said Miller. “It was a phenomenal ride (by the jockey) to guide him down the rail right out of the gate and lose hardly any ground the whole race considering he broke from post position 20. I think he (Rich Strike) was just primed and ready to run that day and everything played out perfectly for him to win. I am not sure we will ever see that performance from him again, but I hope I’m wrong.”
In fact, Miller did not even realize that it was Rich Strike that had been manoeuvred through the pack to slip into third position on the rail. He misread the number and thought it was the No. 2 horse.
Miller was not alone. Most watchers were so focused on the favorites to win, Epicenter and Zandon, that they were not aware of Rich Strike’s movement in the backfield. Then, as Rich Strike took up position on the inside rail, he found another gear and passed the two leaders, to win by three-quarters of a length.
