Wood Memorial

Secretariat had lost his very first career start, and later was disqualified from a victory in the Champagne Stakes, however that was in the past. Few expected Secretariat to EVER lose another race. But in his last big prep for the Kentucky Derby, the Big Red Horse's roadmap to roses took a detour.

In the Wood Memorial, Secretariat's stablemate Angle Light went straight to the front and never looked back. A new challenger to the supremacy of Secretariat named Sham finished second, and the best Secretariat could do was third.

Knowledgeable racing fans realize that many races are won by speed horses who are simply not caught by horses who come from behind. But this was the mighty Secretariat, and the casual observer might feel that things like that just couldn't happen to a horse that was touted as best beyond all others.

But it did.

Angle Light led from the break, set his own pace, and had enough left to hold off Sham, who almost

caught the leader at the wire. It was a distance back to Secretariat, who had passed the rest of the field, but wasn’t making up ground in the final stages as the top two fought to the wire.

The horse with the most positive reviews after the Wood was Sham, who seemed to be on the upswing. Many felt the added distance of the coming Kentucky Derby might be right up his alley with his stamina-laden pedigree laced with European and South American bloodlines.

Did that mean anything? Who knows. But pedigree talk did add another tiny piece to what was becoming a huge conversation in the sports world.

Sham had opened his career in New York, but was purchased by prominent owner Sigmund Sommer for $200,000. Sommer’s trainer Frank (Pancho) Martin sent the colt to California to race over the winter. The dark bay colt began his West Coast campaign with a victory at Santa Anita on New Year’s Day, and four races later beat the accomplished Linda’s Chief in the Santa Anita Derby on March 31. Sham’s winning time of 1:47 flat in the race equaled that of former Santa Anita Derby winner Lucky Debonair who had gone on to win the 1965 Kentucky Derby.

Sham then headed back to New York for the Wood, where he would take on Secretariat. Of course, Angle Light’s surprise victory over both those two only added intrigue to a plot deepening plot with the surprise result of the Wood Memorial.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the Meadow Stable camp was convinced something was not quite right with Secretariat. His Wood Memorial performance wasn’t terrible. But it was uncharacteristically lackluster.

Later, trainer Lucien Laurin revealed that an abscess inside Secretariat's mouth must have caused the horse serious discomfort, likely contributing to, and possibly explaining the defeat.

But some hard-boiled handicappers had another theory: they said Secretariat's problem was his sire Bold Ruler, who wasn't noted for passing along the kind of stamina needed for races of longer distances. If Secretariat couldn't pass muster in the 1 1/8-mile Wood, how could he do it in the Derby which was another furlong farther?

The majority of the general public didn't want to see their newest racing hero dismissed that way. Nevertheless, there was that doubt as Secretariat, Angle Light and Sham all headed to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby.