Charismatic and Chris Antley were “the story of the Triple Crown, and likely of this racing year,” wrote editor Tim Capps in summing up the classic season. The hot and cold relationship of fans and the industry with trainer D. Wayne Lukas added to the story.
“It is obvious that Lukas couldn’t figure him out for a long time, and while he’ll never admit it, he was probably ready to give up on the horse and send him packing more than once,” wrote Capps. “In the end, though, the horse who fooled Lukas may have given him his finest hour as a trainer. Charismatic couldn’t win the Belmont, but he beat the horses other people kept insisting were better than him.
His injury in the final yards of the [Belmont] underscored the colt’s class and will to win, attributes that are the hallmark of the finest of his breed.The scene after the race, of a weary and tearful Antley trying to protect the horse who, in three races, revived his career and his life will remain a fixture in our mind’s eye.
“There was tragedy and yet victory in that moment, and it’s our thought that American racing came away from it all a bit better understood and appreciated for the courage and nobility of the equine athletes and the humans who work with them.”
Real Quiet joined an elite group, that of Preakness/Pimlico Special winners. It had been 50 years since Capot accomplished the feat in 1949 (when the Special was run in the fall); others included Citation, Challedon, War Admiral, Whirlaway and Assault.
Trained by Bob Baffert, Real Quiet battled Free House (the Preakness runner-up two years earlier) and won by a neck. Baffert and Real Quiet’s owner Mike Pegram enjoyed Preakness Week. They also won the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes-G2 with champion Silverbulletday and the Miss Preakness Stakes with undefeated graded stakes-winning Maryland-bred Hookedonthefeelin, a daughter of Maryland sire Citidancer.
The history of Old Keswick, near Charlottesville, Va., was chronicled –from the 1952 purchase by Mrs. Ellsworth H. “Betty” Augustus Knight, to the success of her daughter Peggy Augustus – complete with a timeline, list of broodmares in residence, roster of stakes winners, world sales toppers and Peggy’s views on breeding at the highest level.
