Wyeth erases mistake with colt Union Rags

PHYLLIS WYETH sold the yearling son of Dixie Union at Saratoga in August 2010. When the calendar turned 2011, she had long since decided she wanted the now 2-year-old colt back.

Wyeth's farm, Chadds Ford Stable, overlaps Pennsylvania and Delaware. Her parents, James and Alice Mills, ran the famed Hickory Tree Stable, racing such luminaries as Devil's Bag and Gone West. Wyeth is married to Jamie Wyeth, son of Andrew Wyeth, grandson of N.C. Wyeth, a trifecta of legendary artists.

So why was Phyllis crying in the Saratoga grandstand on Aug. 15? That colt she sold the year before was winning the Saratoga Special. Not just winning, but dominating as if he could be a serious factor the rest of this year and into 2012.

Wyeth sold Union Rags for $145,000 and then bought him back for $390,000 6 months later. That is not typically the way you want to do horse-racing deals, but, sometimes, you just have a feeling.

"Why did I ever sell that colt?" she kept asking herself. "I have to get it back."

When the colt showed a Florida sale this February, she said: "Just get it back."

Union Rags won his first start at Delaware Park on July 12. Then, the Special. Next up is the Oct. 8 Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park. If the colt runs well there, it will be off to the Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5. And, if that goes well, the goal would be to come back to Churchill 6 months later for the Kentucky Derby.

Wyeth worked for then-Sen. John F. Kennedy doing research. When she was working for President Kennedy in 1962, she was driving in the horse country of Virginia one day when her car was hit by a truck. She was crippled. Her injuries were permanent. She got around with crutches for a long time. Now, she uses a motorized scooter.

"I never wanted anyone to take care of me," she said.

She was married several years after the accident. Every year, she and her husband ask each other whether they should stay together.

"I told him he could get rid of me any time he wants to," Wyeth said.

A number of Jamie's memorable paintings are of his wife.

Wyeth's Chester County neighbor and longtime friend, Michael Matz, trains Union Rags. It has been almost 6 years since Barbaro debuted for Matz at Delaware Park. The trainer isn't ready for comparisons, because Barbaro did so much and was unbeaten when he won the 2006 Derby. But he likes Union Rags. A lot.

"He just does everything so easily," Matz said. "You look at him, you hardly think he's working and then you look down at the clock . . . "

According to Matz, Union Rags is laid-back, just like Barbaro.

"He doesn't look like a 2-year-old," Matz said. "He just does everything right."

Barbaro's owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, removed their 11 horses from Matz' barn this summer, giving them to other trainers. That went down just as Union Rags was making his debut.

"My wife [Dede] has been great through the whole thing," Matz said. "She said, 'One door closes, another door opens.' "

Matz wasn't sure Union Rags would win first out because he was running only 5 furlongs. He wanted to give the horse some experience. The colt came from seventh and won easily. Then he survived a wicked speed duel with favored Stat in the Special and ran away from the field, winning by 7 1/4 lengths at 6 1/2 furlongs. The trainer thinks the colt will be much better at longer distances, which, of course, is where the money is.

"Phyllis Wyeth has been in a wheelchair for 50 years," Matz said. "She had sent me a bunch of horses a bunch of times and they just weren't that good. She always kept saying, 'I'm going to get you a good one.' It was really fulfilling to see how happy she was. It was just a great feeling."

Proving what goes around really does sometimes come around. Union Rags got his owner a $200,000 bonus for being the first 2-year-old sold at Saratoga in 2011 to win a graded stakes. Wyeth had no idea about the bonus until she was presented with the check. So the colt's total earnings of $318,800 have more than made up the difference in the selling price and buyback price. With who knows how much more to come.

"You just never know how it's going to happen," Matz said.

No, you don't.

"I can't believe it," Wyeth said. "I cried the whole time [during and after the Special]. I didn't really think this could ever happen to me. Can this really be true?"

Javier Castellano rode Union Rags in the Special. He was quite impressed.

"He's an unbelievable horse," Castellano said after the race. "I got a phone call last week from my agent. He wanted me to work some horses on Tuesday. Jockeys usually take off on Tuesdays, since we race 6 days a week, but I'm so glad he did that to me. When I showed up and worked the horse in the morning, it was unbelievable. I've never worked a horse like that, and I've been very fortunate to ride horses like Ghostzapper and Bernardini."

Union Rags' mother, Tempo, is from a serious racing family that traces back to England and Ireland. The colt's full-brother, Geefour, won nearly $160,000, but ended up in $4,000 claiming races. When Wyeth heard that Union Rags might be a good one, she decided to claim her half-sister, $200,000-earner Miss Pauline, for $7,500. That was back in April. Claimed from top Parx Racing trainer Carlos Guerrero, Wyeth promptly bred Miss Pauline to top Pennsylvania stallion Jump Start because you never know.

Matz was giving Wyeth hints about Union Rags before the colt ever started, but she said to Matz' wife: "I don't know how to read Michael on these things."

Dede told her that when Michael comes home at night, he doesn't talk about horses, but, "He does talk about your horse."