With the United Nations Stakes (gr. I) coming up this Sunday, it’s hard not to think of the remarkable two-time United Nations winner Presious Passion, one of the best U.S. turf horses of the last decade. A very fast front-runner, Presious Passion was always at his best when opening up a huge early lead and trying to win races in gate-to-wire fashion, and never was his style more impressive than in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Turf (gr. I) at Santa Anita. In that race, Presious Passion opened up a massive lead while setting jaw-dropping fractions of :23.08, :45.14, 1:09.24, 1:34.58, and 1:59.72, fractions that should have left him completely exhausted by the finish. But remarkably, he still had something left for the stretch run, and he gamely fought on to finish second by a just a half-length to the Irish-based Conduit, the defending winner of the race.
Relive Presious Passion’s remarkable performance by watching the replay of the race!
