Hill n Dale and Man o’ War’s barn

I was grateful for the opportunity to visit these properties in October 2017. Hill n Dale has long been one of my favorite farms. It exudes serenity, with the trees close to the farm roads, and the architecture of its barn also captivates me. And to visit the farm where Man o’ War held court at stud as part of the commemorations of the 100th anniversary of his birth, marked in a myriad of ways in Lexington throughout 2017, was an opportunity that had never presented itself to me before, and one I was eager to have. The history of racing, from its earliest days to some of its most golden eras, as well to during more recent times, has always fascinated me. To have a chance to see where one of the top Thoroughbreds ever foaled spent so many years invoked a feeling of reverence, just to see where he once lived.

Fountain in the courtyard of the stallion barn at Hill n Dale

Kitten’s Joy, on his first full day at Hill n Dale; he was still getting used to being around other stallions after usually being the only one present at Ramsey Farm

Curlin

Maclean’s Music

The lovely architecture of the Hill n Dale stallion barn

A beautiful fall day for the visit to Mt. Brilliant Farm

Flowers in the foreground of Man o’ War’s barn

Man o’ War’s barn

These are the windows of the stall that Man o’ War once inhabited

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Golden Broom also resided in this barn at one point, directly across from Man o’ War’s stall

The view from one of the windows in Man o’ War’s former stall

My camera lens was too large to capture the size of the stall, but the stallion’s dwellings in this barn were incredibly roomy and being there definitely imparted a sense of history and even a feeling of being on a bit of hallowed ground – in this photo, the sun illuminates Man o’ War’s hay rack

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A look inside Man o’ War’s roomy stall; (low quality due to being a phone photo, the lens on my “real” camera was too large to get a photo of it this close up)

This bell was rung every time one of Man o’ War’s offspring won a race; notable horses are laid to rest behind the hedges on either side of the pathway

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Another look at the bell rung when his progeny won races

This was once the path to the breeding shed when Man o’ War stood at stud; the white building directly ahead served as the breeding shed when he was there