En route to Silver Springs, the training center affiliated with Spendthrift Farm that adjoins the property, I passed the 30 by 30 foot mural painted on the side of a building in downtown Lexington honoring Man o’ War. I was there the day its grand unveiling was held several years ago, but don’t often pass by it. Happening to glance up just in time to see it, the artistry and scale of it was every bit as awe-inspiring as it was the first time I saw it. Artist Agustin Zarate depicted a pivotal moment in the horse’s race career, his victory in the 1920 Belmont Stakes. In the painting, while the effect the champion had on the people around his is evident, Man o’ War appears so collected and assured that all his glory seems to be singular, emanating from himself as much as it was reflected on or to the people around him.

It was a fitting glimpse at this time, as we approach another Belmont Stakes, and also as I was on my way to a stallion farm and to see young horses in training. While it is unlikely a horse of Man o’ War’s caliber will be among the young horses, naturally the promise inherent in generations of their lineage is evident and hope is ever-present among untried horses. Subsequently, the stallions in the barn have every chance to leave their own marks upon the breed or already have, in the case of Into Mischief particularly. Malibu Moon would have been ranked right with the latter sire as one in the barn who had already left his mark, but had recently passed.

Arriving at Silver Springs, I joined a group for My Racehorse’s event to showcase Authentic to microshare holders who had their names drawn in the lottery to see him, and which would conclude at Silver Springs to view several of the 2-year-olds on offer by MyRacehorse, or who had been on offer before all shares sold.

I had seen Authentic in retirement (and laid eyes on him for the first time outside of photos or television coverage) about two weeks ago. That tour was a bit less hectic, as it did not coincide with two tour groups attempting to visit at the same time and the afternoon breeding session rapidly approaching, besides, with several trailers pulled up and a mare being unloaded by the time we left to go back to Silver Springs. This is not a judgment of My Racehorse or Spendthrift, at all. It is merely a comparison. I am glad they host guests during the breeding season, for even as it is now winding down, it is still a busy time, and I am also glad My Racehorse is able to host events again for microshare holders.

While the visit was a little more hectic with all going on at the time, being there with My Racehorse meant Authentic was led out specifically for our group of 7 to view, and we each got photos with him outside. The other tour group present also lined up for photos, and as I had been taking photos of him instead of jumping in for my turn (although, funny enough, I had not actually been taking photos as I had been a little late for the tour and forgot to put my memory card in my camera right away), I had not noticed the long line growing. So when I mentioned that I wanted a photo to one of our concierges from My Racehorse but wasn’t sure where I’d be in the line, she told me our group took precedence over theirs and I could jump in.

Authentic was a bit feisty; he may now fully expect being led out of his stall but not to his paddock, especially when being close to the breeding shed as he was, meant an imminent breeding session. He was well-behaved, but also acted as a young stallion would, tossing his head a little. But he walked with a fluid elegance and posed magnificently.

Returning to Silver Springs, we saw several fillies that will soon be offered through My Racehorse, and then went to several other barns to see some 2-year-old colts. One of them, by Dialed In out of Wonder Upon a Star, is one that I had been quite impressed by in photos from the auction where he was sold, and also in the assessment Jeffrey Bloom, who picked him out at the sale, gave in a video. I enjoyed getting to see him up close at the training center, where he had just begun galloping. He has a nearly black coat and is dappled. I look forward to seeing where the trajectory of his career goes. Also, there will be a naming contest for him and I have been thinking of names related to stars to honor his dam. It is fun to think of names and be creative with that. I had several I liked but all had been used recently or were permanently unavailable. But after the visit a name for him came to me I like pretty well. I would have preferred to submit Quasar for him, which I had settled on, but it had been submitted and approved too recently for another horse. But sometimes this leads down a path of thinking out of the box and being more creative to come up with a name, and I enjoy the process.

I hope to come back for the MyRacehorse tour at least one more time (and this time not forget to have my memory card ready to go!) for photos of Authentic outside of the barn, but also would someday like to bring some family to see him, and that would mean the Horse Country tour would be more suited. My Racehorse limits numbers to one guest per shareholder, to give options to as many different shareholders to see him as possible. While family visits have been off-limits due to the pandemic if they live in another state as mine do, it is natural to think of wanting to see them again and share more experiences.

But today was about the experience My Racehorse provides, and also marks beginning to see the pandemic loosen its grip a little, as this tour would not otherwise have happened. And I am grateful for that, for the first event with Authentic through the entity that made shares of him be within reach and gave me the brightest moments of the rough times of the pandemic last year.

As more people begin to be vaccinated for COVID-19, farms around central Kentucky that are part of Horse Country have begun to welcome visitors again after a substantial hiatus, and Spendthrift was one I had been most eager to get to as a microshare holder in Authentic who never got to see him during his race days due to the pandemic.

My Racehorse actually held a lottery recently for lucky share holders to see him, also, but I wasn’t chosen this time. However, with Horse Country tours also an option, I got to select the day I went and chose my birthday. I also brought peppermints for Authentic, as he had been such a bright spot with his victories in a challenging 2020, and I wanted him to have something he liked for the groom to give him later.

Several other microshare holders were on the tour, and we got a brief glimpse of Authentic looking out of the stall before moving on to the breeding shed, to get an overview of Spendthrift history and graded stakes winners commemorated in plaques around the walls. It was nice to pause and reflect on the history of the farm, and be among the horses and the beautifully landscaped setting.

While standing in the aisle near holding stalls, a teaser was brought in and vans carrying mares for afternoon breeding sessions arrived. Brody’s Cause was the first stallion to go into the breeding shed for the afternoon, and we wandered the stalls of the U-shaped barns to get a look at the inhabitants, and viewed the horse cemetery before moving on to the barn where Into Mischief, Malibu Moon, Authentic, and several other stallions reside.

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Authentic was getting bathed when we walked in, and I was impressed by his physique. While he’s nearly an entire breeding season removed from his racing days, his athleticism was still evident in his muscular build.

Our tour guide spoke of Lord Nelson, and his fight with laminitis that delayed the start of his stud career, and she said he basically owed his life to Barbaro and the advances made in the treatment of laminitis during the latter’s own case of it. I reflected on that for a moment. I still believe Barbaro was a sublime talent who could have won the Triple Crown with a different set of circumstances, and it did hit me hard after his long road to what seemed like it would be recovery at several points for him to succumb after all. But then, he left an enduring legacy for horses like Lord Nelson, and maybe if that was to be what he gave to racing post-career, perhaps that is more meaningful than a Triple Crown win, as sad as it is the advances made did not save him. But I know they tried all they could, so I am also glad the statue at Churchill Downs is dedicated to his racing glory and all the promise he showed.

As the tour began to wind down, we each had an opportunity to get time with Authentic one-on-one when he was back in his stall, and get photos with him as well. It meant a lot to me to have those photos, and spend some of my birthday with him.

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8 months since the last Derby, here it is again on its traditional day, with more of the usual fanfare, the people in hats, the song, and the roar of the crowd that so many referenced as being glad to hear again over the course of the day at Churchill Downs.

It looked to be a day of exciting races as so often occurs when horses of a top caliber show up to pit their ability against one another. Domestic Spending and Colonel Liam showcased this to perfection in the Old Bourbon Forester Turf Classic. It was particularly stirring to see Domestic Spending charge down the track from off the pace to try to collar Colonel Liam, and all the determination the former showed with that rally. Review of the photo finish, as the two appeared to finish nearly on equal terms, revealed they had and it was a dead heat.

Looking ahead to the Derby, a lot of the talk surrounded Juvenile champion Essential Quality and his undefeated race record. Medina Spirit, Baffert’s horse who didn’t get the share of attention one of the trainer’s horses typically would (in fact, when I heard who his sire was about a week before the race I had to look him up as the name didn’t ring a bell), took the lead from the start and never relinquished it. Mandaloun, Hot Rod Charlie, and Essential Quality did their best to catch him but they could not. However, the thrilling part was how close to one another they all were. While Essential Quality finished fourth, the video shows better than reading such a result would how close he was to the winner, even as he ran wide for his rush to the wire down a good part of the homestretch. Mandaloun, who finished second, and Hot Rod Charlie, were so close they seemed to be practically breathing down the winner’s neck and Essential Quality was so near behind those two that he seemed to draw even with Medina Spirit’s saddlecloth in the first jump past the wire.

This is not to knock the winner’s effort at all. He clearly was the best, to hold off such strong challenges after leading from the start. I had heard he sold for $35,000 as a two-year-old but did not know he sold for $1,000 as a yearling, garnering only one bid to bring that price. Interestingly, too, hearing more about Protonico after his son’s Derby victory, I saw his recent crops had numbered 20 horses or less each. Talk about a dark horse – one bid at his first trip through an auction ring, small group of progeny of his age from his same crop by his sire, and wins the Derby!

Seeing how jockey John Velazquez won wire-to-wire, suggested echoes of Authentic’s victory the previous year, and perhaps he did use a similar playbook of knowing the horse was best suited to win in that manner and followed that blueprint to back-to-back Derby success.

And another anecdote about Medina Spirit that seems more funny now than it did at the time for being such a unique introduction to the future Derby winner is when I and my friend saw him during morning training encounter the opposum, such an unexpected sight! But he made an impression on me that morning, not just because of the possum incident being so unusual, but because of his demeanor and his action on the track. He seemed to take everything in stride, be unflappable, and that certainly bodes well for a horse to have success.

I didn’t attend this year’s Derby as I did from 2008 – 2019, a streak I hoped to keep going until I was physically unable to attend, but we know how best-laid plans can go. I accept that, for the pandemic containment meant more than being at races even as much as I longed to get back, but I will still always have a funny personal memory about this year’s Derby winner!

And credit to Oaks winner Malathaat too. She is as top-notch as her Ashland win showed, and it will be interesting to see if her connections attempt the Preakness or Belmont with her as they mentioned doing.