Alittlelesstalk: The “Seattle Win Machine”
Photographer and fan Anika Miskar first laid eyes on Alittlelesstalk as an unraced 2-year-old in 2018, “My first impression of her was the confidence she exuded and how she carried herself - all while being an absolute gem to anybody who met her.”
Trainer Roddina Barrett had high hopes for Alittlelesstalk, “She thought she would be a nice stakes horse,” said Miskar.
Miskar, then 17, didn’t know then just how intertwined their fates would become.
Miskar’s first taste of racing came when American Pharoah won the Triple Crown in 2015. Her first trip to live races was 2018 Longacres Mile Day when Barkley won the Mile. Soon after her first trip, Miskar gained interest in photography and began photographing the races.
Her photography allowed her to make connections with backstretch workers and get her foot into the door of the horse world. Since 2018, Miskar has gone on to hotwalk, work in veterinary medicine and do photography for multiple organizations including BloodHorse magazine and Fasig-Tipton.
Alittlelesstalk’s rise to greatness had humble beginnings. A sixth-place finish in a $25,000 maiden claiming for 2-year-old fillies at Emerald Downs, caused a class drop to $15,000 maiden claimers to break her maiden. Her first season of racing began and ended with sixth place finishes when she was sixth in the WA Cup Juvenile Fillies (Black Type).
At 3 she showed her true colors. And Miskar was on the rail for most of it.
Alittlesstalk’s coming out party was the Kent Stakes (Black Type). Sent off at 11-1, Alittlelesstalk was the co-leader with Forty Six Carats and set a lightning pace. Once they reached the stretch, Alittlelesstalk was the sole leader, but Mucho Amor was attached to her hip. The two fillies went nose-to-nose before Alittlesstalk won by a neck.
“It was really exciting,” said Miskar. “That was the moment where everyone realized she was gonna be a nice horse.”
After a disappointing effort in the Irish Day Stakes, it was time to face the boys in the Muckleshoot Derby. The Muckleshoot Derby is the most important race for Washington-bred 3-year-olds.
When “Leslie”, as she is known by her connections, entered the starting gate as the co-favorite, she was the only filly in the race. Like the Kent Stakes, Alittlelesstalk held a forward position and was the leader coming into the stretch. A duel with My Grandpa Alittlelesstalk who finished second. “Everyone was bummed,” said Miskar.
A final start at Emerald Downs in 2019 resulted in a decisive win in the WA Cup Sophomore Filly Stakes (Black Type). Her two stakes wins and second in the Muckleshoot Derby cinched the Washington-bred 3-year-old filly crown.
When Emerald Downs ended their meet shortly after the WA Cup Sophomore Filly Stakes, Alittlelesstalk’s connections turned their eyes to the big leagues at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The grade 3 Autumn Miss Stakes on Santa Anita Park’s downhill turf course proved too much for the champ, she finished last.
Enter 2020. After the 2019 racing season, Miskar followed the race tracker caravan to Turf Paradise in Pheonix where she worked as a hotwalker, until COVID-19 struck. COVID-19 stopped racing across the country and had thousands of racetrack workers facing financial insecurity.
Miskar soon returned to Washington and began training as a veterinary assistant in the fall. Just in time to watch Alittlelesstalk become dominant at four.
In Emerald Down’s abbreviated racing season, Leslie raced four times winning an allowance, winning the Emerald Distaff, the WA Cup Fillies and Mares Stakes and a second in the Boeing Stakes.
Alittlelesstalk had her final race in Washington in the WA Cup Filly and Mares Stakes (Black Type). It was a full circle moment for Miskar who had met and followed her as a fan before gaining hands-on experience at four, “It was the perfect send off for a perfect, gutsy race mare.”
Before starting her next chapter, trainer Barrett gifted Miskar the horseshoes Alittlesstalk had worn in the WA Cup Filly and Mare Stakes, which are one of her most cherished possessions.
The next chapter? Conquering the big leagues of Kentucky and Maryland.
Nicknamed the “Seattle Win Machine” by racing analysts, Alittlesstalk finished second in a starter allowance at iconic Churchill Downs and followed that up with a third in the black type Holiday Inaugural Stakes at Turfway Park.
After a lackluster effort in the Grade 3 Allure DuPont Stakes at Laurel Park, Alittlesstalk was retired to be a broodmare in Kentucky. She was named champion older Washington-bred filly, her second championship. She is the highest-earning racehorse ever for trainer and part-owner Barrett. Alittlesstalk is in foal to multiple grade 1 winner Gormley.
Photos courtesy of and taken by Anika Miskar. (1-3)- Alittlelesstalk winning the Kent Stakes, (4)- Alittlesstalk finishing second in the Muckleshoot Derby.
