Columnist Ralph Siraco: Fightin’ fillies blaze into racing spotlight

Ralph Siraco

Monday, July 9, 2001 | 9:50 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday and his Southern California selections appear Tuesday-Sunday. Reach him c/o Las Vegas Sun, 2275 Corporate Circle Drive, Suire 300, Henderson, NV 89074.

A few weeks ago, we updated you on the gritty, consistent filly named Hallowed Dreams.

She was the $15,000 purchase that has banked more than $650,000 while amassing a record of 23 victories from 24 lifetime starts. Hallowed Dreams flirted with history when she reeled off the first 16 wins of her career to tie the modern-day consecutive win streak set by Citation in 1948-49 and later duplicated by Cigar, spanning his 1994-96 racing campaigns. Although the racing gods stopped her at 16, she quickly recovered to start another win streak that now stands at seven.

Hallowed Dreams is not alone when it comes to win streaks and impressive records in racing these days.

Two more horses -- er, a horse and a mule -- that raced this past week have also garnered attention and added to their already impressive records.

Like Hallowed Dreams, both are fillies. Fillies and mares are the more finicky gender when it comes to consistent performances in horse racing.

There are exceptions to every rule. In this case, three exceptions.

On Wednesday's Fourth of July holiday racing card at Belmont Park, a filly named Xtra Heat put just that on her rivals as she won the featured Prioress Stakes at the Big Apple oval.

In winning the Grade I event, Xtra Heat extended her record to 14 victories from 16 lifetime starts. She beat the previously unbeaten Above Perfection by a neck while polishing off a field that boasted a combined record of 32 victories from 42 lifetime starts.

Battling on the pace all the way in the six furlong race, Xtra Heat outdueled Above Perfection -- while they were six lengths clear of third-place Harmony Lodge -- in a new stakes record time. She smashed the old mark of 1:08:80 set in 1993 by Classy Mirage when she stopped the clock in 1:08:26.

It was the first Grade I victory for her and trainer John Salzman. She was purchased for $5,000 as a 2-year-old and the sophomore filly has returned over $751,150 on that investment.

Salzman, who owns one-third of his stable star, is surprised he still has her under his shedrow. After her second lifetime start they thought they had her sold for $350,000, and have since turned down an offer of $1.2 million earlier this year.

Believe it or not, $25,000 would have been enough on June 30, 2000. That was the day she debuted at Laurel Park, Md., in a five-furlong maiden-claiming race for a tag of 25K. After she won that first lifetime start, she would never race for a claiming price again.

Although Xtra Heat and Hallowed Dreams speak volumes for the distaff set, they pale by comparison to a female jackass named Black Ruby.

Every year for the past half-dozen summers, Black Ruby comes off the farm -- where she works the fields -- and campaigns on the Northern California racing fair circuit, trading in the plow for racing gear. Although she would be as comfortable pulling the starting gate as entering it, Black Ruby is a racing machine.

Since the Northern California fairs instituted pari-mutuel mule races as part of their mix-breeds program, Black Ruby has been as sure a thing as you can get in racing.

She has won races -- in bunches -- at Stockton, Pleasanton, Solano, Santa Rosa, Sacramento, Ferndale and any other place they race the floppy-eared set.

Black Ruby is a stubborn competitor. Owned by Mary McPherson and trained -- although one wonders how much you really train a jackass -- by Jerry Jackson, Black Ruby rubs out the record of Citation, Cigar, Hallowed Dreams and Xtra Heat twofold.

Working only half the year, Black Ruby has amassed a record of 35 victories from 40 lifetime starts with an average of a dozen starts per year. She has never been out of the money, having finished second four times and third once.

Her 35th victory came Sunday at the Pleasanton fair meet where she scored in a 400-yard dash. Regular rider Jim Burns was aboard for the victory as she paid $2.20 for the win.