Ruffian Quotes

“Ruffian measured 751⁄2 inches around her girth, Foolish Pleasure, 73.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“Ruffian stood at 16 hands, 2 inches; Foolish Pleasure at 15 hands, 31⁄4 inches.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“today she was heading out first. That meant Frank was trying to hide her from the clockers.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“She was by far the biggest yearling in the bunch, the biggest many of them could remember, a freak.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“a yearling that size, that commanding, with all the ease of a much older horse.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“It’s a filly,” he told her. “A big one. A big black filly with a little star.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“great horses were remembered for something more than numbers: It was a feeling that they gave you,”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“Frank wouldn’t have traded any horse in the world for Ruffian.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“this was a game where the people adjusted to the horses’ needs, not the other way around.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“the only thing that ever interfered with his career at the racetrack was the Second World War.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“The filly was a freak! She had descended from another planet; that was the only explanation.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“In three jumps she had widened her lead from one length to seven. How had she opened up like that?”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“The crowd started to chant: “Ruffian! Ruffian! Ruffian!” It sent a chill up his spine.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“You didn’t get beat by any old horse, you know; you just got beat by the fastest filly that was ever born!”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“If a horse and rider listened to each other, they could do just about anything together.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“after all, what was there to say about Ruffian? “Don’t fall off ”?”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“A two-year-old, a filly, in her first race, under restraint, had tied the track record for 51 ⁄2 furlongs!”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“in fifteen years of raceriding he had never felt anything move beneath him the way that filly did.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“Whiteley handed him a piece of paper. “Give this to the gateman when you get over there.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“Some ancient instinct was being aroused in her; she wanted to beat those other horses.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“Nothing could make a liar out of you faster than a racehorse.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“Many people considered Reviewer to be the second fastest son Bold Ruler had ever sired. The fastest, of course, was Secretariat,”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“But that was the nature of great horses: Their hearts drove them forward when their bodies could no longer carry them.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“Horses were creatures of habit; simple repetition was the best way to ingrain a lesson in their minds. Since nothing could be explained to them in words, they had to be shown there was nothing to fear. It was when horses felt helpless and afraid that they became dangerous and destructive.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“Any decent jock could ride her. But familiarity with a horse gave you an edge.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“Apart from the Triple Crown races, the sport itself rarely received any national attention.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“It didn’t matter what her name was. He’d got himself a racehorse.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“Jacinto stared at the word in the center of the paper: RUFFIAN”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“You do the riding and I’ll do the training. When I put her in a race you’ll find out who she is.”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start

“As good a colt as Foolish Pleasure was, it was not his presence that had generated the intense media coverage of this event,”
― Jane Schwartz, Ruffian: Burning From the Start