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Blind Luck vs. Havre de Grace is turning into a rivalry for the ages.

The four-legged foes met for the sixth time in a little more than a year in Saturday's $750,000, Grade II Delaware Handicap and the outcome was the same as it was in last year's Delaware Oaks -- Blind Luck by a nose after a dramatic, all-out stretch battle.

"This is a total grudge match," said winning jockey Garrett Gomez, who guided Blind Luck over the 1 1/4 miles in 2:01.28. "These two fillies butt heads and when they get together it is a grudge match, so they got a good little rivalry going. They are both nice fillies and they both ran tremendous races. I think this really cool for the sport."

Blind Luck now has beaten Havre de Grace four times in their six meetings although in one of them -- last year's Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic -- both finished behind Unrivaled Belle. But that doesn't begin to tell the story of this head-to-head competition.

A nose in the 2010 Delaware Oaks. A neck in the Alabama at Saratoga. A neck in Philadephia. A neck between them in the Breeders' Cup. A relative romp by Havre de Gras by 3 1/2 lengths in the Azeri at Oaklawn. And always, Havre de Grace near the lead and Blind Luck near the rear until the stretch run.

And they are not only great rivals. They're very good fillies. Blind Luck has run 21 times, posting 12 wins, seven seconds and two thirds. Havre de Grace has been to the track a dozen times with six wins, four seconds and two thirds.

Blind Luck, who has won more than $3.2 million, is a daughter of Pollard's Vision, purchased at the Fasig-Tipton sales in 2008 for $11,000. Blind Luck, winner of more than $1.5 million, is a Saint Liam filly who went for $300,000 at the Keeneland September sale in the same year.

"We have hooked up six times and each time it has been exciting," winning trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said. "We have come out well a couple times and we have been beaten a couple of times. But that is OK because it is not supposed to be easy."

Havre de Grace's trainer, Larry Jones, was shaking his head over the 124 pounds assigned to his filly versus the 122 given Blind Luck.

"Tell me 2 pounds does not make a difference," Jones said. "She won six Grade I's versus our one and we are the high weight. That makes a lot of sense. I probably should not have run."

Blind Luck earned a free ride to this year's Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic through the "Win and You're In" program and likely will find her old rival there, too.

The Irish Sport Horse – Untangling The Confusion | Horse Breeds

The Irish Horse, also known as the Irish Hunter, Irish Sports Horse or Irish Draught Sport Horse is the result of a cross between the Irish Draught Horse and the Thoroughbred. It has not yet been given recognition as a separate breed, but it is commonly bred from Irish Sport Horse parents, as well as being bred from crossing the definitive parent breeds.

In North America, this cross is called the Irish Draught Sport Horse and in Europe it is known as the Irish Sport Horse, and there is a reason for the difference in names.

The Irish Draught Sport Horse as recognized in North America by the Irish Draught Horse Society (IDHS-NA and IDHS-Can) is a crossbred animal with a portion of registered Irish Draught in the pedigree. Only the cross with a registered Irish Draught horse is classified as an Irish Draught Sport Horse.

The Irish Sport Horse as recognized by the Irish Horse Board (IHB) in Europe is a horse of any breeding which may or may not have any Irish Draught blood in its pedigree at all. As an example, an Arabian crossed with a Thoroughbred; a Thoroughbred crossed with a Connemara; a pure Thoroughbred or the Irish Draught and Thoroughbred combination may all be classified as being an Irish Sport Horse, even when there is no Irish Draught Horse blood in the animal at all. Ireland produces a large number of these Irish Sport Horses each year, many of them selling for high dollar amounts in the United States and Europe.

The Irish Draught Sport Horse is not a special breed, and it is not just a product of an American breeding program but rather it is just a new name to be used for educating the public about the Irish Draught Horse that is becoming so common in many of the top performance horses.

The Irish Horse is traditionally an all-purpose equine and has been used for transportation, riding and working the land. Its natural athletic ability and fantastic jumping talents means that it is becoming increasingly popular as a competition riding horse. It excels in the show jumping arena, as well as competing at the highest levels of eventing. The Irish Draught Sport Horse is globally renowned for being one of the best fox hunting mounts in the world and has a tremendous gallop with plenty of speed. While there have been other crossbred combination that are showing promise, it is still the Irish Draught Horse with Thoroughbred cross that has achieved world-wide recognition in the Grand Prix circuit and in the eventing world. This cross is not only a top caliber international athlete, but is a perfect novice mount that can boost the confidence of a lower level rider.

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