Summer day

Light and carefree

Made our way down to the last stall

On the left

Near black horse

First ignored us

Looking out the window

Then stuck his head through the opening

At the front of his stall

Lured by the rustle of plastic containing a peppermint

He was kind, mellow

That impression lingers

As does the tour guide saying

his most famous son

got that similar temperament

as a birthright

That was the last time I saw him in this life

After following him on the Derby trail

Cheering him wildly as he briefly attained a lead

For only the short time he ran by our section

at Churchill Downs,

as the field rocketed out of the final turn

and headed down the homestretch

He retired, went to Vinery the first time I saw him up close

It lingers in my mind how he was in trim racing form still

The athlete’s shape evident in every line,

indicating what a top notch runner he had been

He, like many newly retired colts, was a bit antsy

dancing lightly on the end of the lead rope

rather than standing still

And I drank him in with my gaze

Never gets old to see the horses you followed from a distance

up close

once you get that opportunity

Underneath the competitive fire that still burned, the ball of energy within,

it was too soon to reveal that gentle temperament he also had in abundance

That was not a thought then

I was just glad to see him

One more horse from the avidly appreciated Unbridled line

to have his chance at glory through his future progeny

Moved on to WinStar,

where he resided in that final stall

and ate the offered peppermints

the last day I spent in his company

In between those two visits

he cemented his legacy

with a cascade of good runners

and more

the rare feat of becoming a sire of a Triple Crown winner

American Pharoah alone ensures his name will endure

Yet more than any of that

Was the quiet moment in a barn on a lovely late summer day

When he endeared himself to a small group of admirers

That day will linger in my memory the most

For getting to truly know him,

Beyond even the substantial sire statistics and race record, even as important as those are

For one who loves the horse, what matters even more is who they are

that is when they touch your soul

in an elemental way that words are never able to express adequately

but you know will stay with you

He touched people’s lives

That never dies

Even if the physical presence left too soon

and you are saddened

You know he lives on

In a way that can never fade

Mourned

for the last page being turned

Celebrated

for

authoring his place in racing history

For the chance to know him I am forever grateful

Rest in peace, Pioneerof the Nile

You were and are loved

Blackwood Stables in Versailles, Kentucky, is part of the long tradition of excellence in raising and training Thoroughbreds in the Bluegrass region, with several graduates from the renowned Irish National Stud program, including one of the farm’s two owners, and a 6-furlong training track that was developed by the same team that converted Keeneland’s track back to a dirt surface recently. The track is also accredited, so horses that train there can have published works from their time at Blackwood Stables.

The office overlooking the training track also reflects the tradition they strive to attain, with framed win photos of several top graduates of their program, and horse paintings of past greats or famous scenes, including a 1920 painting by J. Martin of Man o’ War under saddle on a track. Leofric, last year’s Clark Handicap winner, is one of their more recent graduates to achieve graded stakes glory. They also have a horse on the Derby trail currently.

A painting in the office overlooking the track

The operation primarily takes in client horses, sent by owners, trainers, or vets. None of the horses are under the care of outside trainers during their time at Blackwood, as the entire regimen is managed by the farm staff. Co-owner Matthew Hogan accompanies the racehorses to the track on a pony. The first sets to go out each day are horses that are three and up, since they spend the most time in the barn and are ready for the exercise by the time morning comes around.

Warming up before going to the training track

One of the definite advantages of being a privately owned training facility, instead of being based at a public track, is that adjustments to start times for training can be pushed back later in the morning if needed due to weather, and can go on much later in the day. Typically, in the winter months, they try to start at 8 a.m. and finish by noon, but there is a lot of flexibility to start or finish later when necessary.

They also take in yearlings to break, and horses on layups. There is a high-speed treadmill on site, and plans to expand into more therapeutic features later this year, including a cold water spa.

On the yearling side, a short distance away from the barns where the older horses are stabled near the training track, the younger horses get a lot of turn-out time, with fillies in groups and colts turned out individually. The yearling barn also has resident pig Pickles, adopted from the Lexington Humane Society, and a few miniature horses.

Young horses enjoying turnout time

One of the resident mini horses