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The Donn Handicap Then and Now


Remember where you were on Feb. 11, 1995? Here's a hint from announcer Tom Durkin: "Holy Bull stopped! Holy Bull stopped suddenly!"

It was a sad day for me at Gulfstream Park because I was a Holy Bull fan. That swaggering steed was '94 Horse of the Year at age 3.

"I feel like the life has come out of me," Mike Smith said that Saturday afternoon. He heard a pop entering the backstretch -- not even halfway of the 1 1/8 miles -- and hit the brakes on Holy Bull to avoid further injury. "You could feel it happening. The best way I could put it is, it felt like a flat tire . . . blump, blump, blump."

Jerry Bailey, who was racing alongside the son of Great Above on Cigar before nearly 19,000 patrons, said in the winner's circle: "Both horses were running perfectly. We were both comfortable. Then I heard a pop. I thought it was a stirrup breaking. Then Mike yelled, 'Oh no, Jerry!' " Bailey looked about as happy as Smith even thought it was Cigar's fourth of 16 straight triumphs that would tie him with Citation for most consecutive victories in North America. Holy Bull's left leg had severe ligament damage. Even though not life threatening, trainer Jimmy Croll didn't waste anytime retiring the big gray.

Cigar was '95 Horse of the Year, winning 10 races and banking $4.8 million of his $9,999,850 career earnings.

On Saturday, Feb. 5, Stephen Got Even won the $500,000 Donn Handicap by three-quarters of a length before a crowd of 23,504, the largest since 1965 and the second highest in 42 runnings.

The son of A.P Indy pressed the pace-setting Call Me Mr. Vain for the first six furlongs run in 1:10 4/5, hugging the rail, then took the lead on the far turn and turned back the charge of Golden Missile. He covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:48 1/5.

"I was in a great spot all the way," said winning jockey Shane Sellers. "From the start, I decided to lay close because not many of the horses had been out for a while and I didn't want to get trapped behind them."
He didn't. The 4-year-old had a perfect trip. The favored Behrens was steadied on the first turn and was five wide coming into the stretch, finishing 4 1/2 lengths back in third. Another four lengths behind in fourth was Best of Luck, a neck better than Sir Bear.
The copyright of the article The Donn Handicap Then and Now in Horse Racing is owned by Greg Melikov. Permission to republish The Donn Handicap Then and Now in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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