A salute to TTimes legend Regal Ransom

We have this thing in our office called TTimes legends. These are horses that for one reason or another have become near and dear to our hearts as a group.

Sometimes it's because we all cashed a bet on the same horse (Fleet Streak) or because we always seem to lose on the same horse (St. Joe).

Other times it's because someone mentioned a horse seemingly for no reason, and we had a good laugh about it.

Way back in 2002, someone in the office asked, "Who do you like as champion three-year-old?" It was an applicable question at the time because both Travers winner Medaglia d'Oro and Pacific Classic winner Came Home were making a late summer run on dual classic and Haskell winner War Emblem for the sophomore title.

My answer came back "SHAH JAHAN," who was a $4.4-million yearling that Lukas trained that in typical Lukas fashion was ambitiously placed in stakes races without a lot of success. Everyone laughed, and SHAH JAHAN became the answer to a lot of questions for about the next month, cementing the colt's place in our hearts. Sadly, he died too soon and never was able to vindicate his purchase price at stud.

Those who know me would say that I beat jokes into the ground. Some try to make a joke and say I really know how to beat a dead horse, but those people aren't funny. Leave the jokes to Dennis Miller, ya know?

Anyway, when I really get stuck on an unfashionable opinion, I make sure everyone knows how I feel. In late winter/early spring, I was all over Regal Ransom. There wasn't a person I knew besides me who thought that Regal Ransom was better than Desert Party, but I was a believer and I backed my opinion at the windows. It paid off in the UAE Derby--not so much in the Kentucky Derby.

Still, it was nice to see him return victoriious in the Super Derby, and although 6-5 is nothing to write home about, it's enough to write a blog about.

Having TTimes legends is fun. It can turn even the most mundane race into a shared experience.