A recent visit to Ashford, famously home to American Pharoah and Justify, began in their visitors’ center, allowing a significant glimpse into the farm that began to house Thoroughbreds as the grand vision of Dr. Bill Lockridge, once he converted it from a cattle farm. Even the cattle that lived there, however, had been a top-notch enterprise. According to an article by Maryjean Wall, the cattle raised there were frequent winners at cattle shows.

It was interesting to read her article and realize how much meticulous planning had gone into the farm when Lockridge started the process of renovating it to suit his specifications. All was done to convey an impression of elite status, just like the horses he wanted to inhabit the barn that now is home to American Pharoah and Justify. In fact, Lockridge said if he never found six horses of the caliber he desired to fill that barn, then there would be empty stalls. American Pharoah, of course, has already proven himself as a sire and it remains to be seen how Justify will fare, but if he is half the sire his own sire was he too should have met the standards Lockridge sought.

What I also did not know previously was that the farm is called Ashford because of the castle in Ireland where Lockridge stayed while seeking to acquire the stallion Storm Bird to be the first inhabitant of the barn in Kentucky that was meant to be evocative of a castle. It is very possible if Storm Bird had only sired Storm Cat, his contribution to the Thoroughbred would be assured. A link to one of the future denizens of Ashford was his daughter Line of Thunder through her son Thunder Gulch.

While the visitors’ center contained an impressive array of articles, photos and racing trophies displaying the history linked to Ashford, the equine cemetery showcased its history with equal reverence. Pausing at Thunder Gulch’s gravesite, the tour guide recounted how he was the stallion that was pastured next to new arrivals since he had a calming effect on them while they adjust to life off of the racetrack, and indeed I remember hearing he served that role with American Pharoah too. It is another link between past and present, as well as an anecdote I enjoyed for what it revealed of Thunder Gulch’s nature. I like to know what they were like, beyond the statistics of race records and sire records for as important as those are, they do not tell the whole story of all that a horse was or is.

There is a beautifully landscaped area in front of a stone wall a short distance from the equine cemetery, which provides another link between past and present. The current stallions are posed there for marketing purposes and conformation photos.

I was glad to hear Cigar receive recognition too as we stood at the equine cemetery, and that his name is on a stall at Ashford still as a former resident. While his time there was short-lived due to his infertility, they still recognize that he was one of the greats of the sport who spent some time there, even though the hoped-for stud career did not pan out. That is definitely the strongest impression a visit to Ashford provides, the reverence for the horse which began with styling a barn worthy of equine royalty and continues when they relate how sweet American Pharoah is with the mares and how Maximum Security leaned towards his groom for a show of affection.

When American Pharoah was brought out into the sun, the tour guide said he is ten now. I had lost track of that; visits here to anyone but breeders had understandably been off limits for a lot of the time since the pandemic began. I then thought, at age ten he hopefully has many years left. That is not a thought I normally have about horses as I prefer not to dwell on that but to enjoy the time in their company. But I knew why that thought came to me – it was wonderful to see American Pharoah again, and that mattered most of all, but I also had a fleeting thought about lost time, a bit wistfully. That is certainly what the pandemic and some non-pandemic related health challenges I have faced represented, but the thought didn’t linger. And I knew that was because I was grateful to be around these horses once more. Paul Simon sang life is what you make of it and I believe that and in that moment what I made of it was being there mattered more than any times not being there, for we go forward as best we can. Even if life throws obstacles and curve balls our way, it also gives us lovely May days of flowers and sunshine and the serenity a farm like Ashford bestows.

Source:

Wall, Maryjean. “Texan Builds A Castle Fit For a Horse.” Lexington Herald and Leader, November 14, 1981.

This year’s Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby seemed indicative of reaching for dreams, and how sweet it can be when they are realized. In the case of the Kentucky Oaks, it was seeing D. Wayne Lukas add another Oaks victory to his tally at the age of 86, and age doesn’t have to be an obstacle to success. Certainly in his case, as a racing icon, that should never be doubt but it was great to see him reach that pinnacle again. At the post-race press conference, he talked about realizing there was not a playbook for horse trainers to learn the trade, and he made a commitment to teach others along the way, many of whom have gone on to become top-notch trainers in their own right. The owners of Secret Oath, his latest Oaks winner, mentioned that as a service to racing. Lukas also spoke about the rapport he has with those he mentored to this day, and how horse racing can create a lasting bond. He also said he wanted the victory for the owners more than himself, since he’s already had that experience. While horse racing gets a lot of bad press and isn’t perfect, how it can unite and uplift people on the good days is worth noting.

Moving on to the Derby, it turned out Lukas had an impact on its outcome by withdrawing Ethereal Road the day before it ran, citing him not seeming quite as good as he had in his training earlier in the week and wanting to save him for the Preakness if that suited him, instead of use him hard in the Derby. That moved Rich Strike into the race, with less than an hour before another horse could draw in if one scratched. In fact, Rich Strike’s trainer Eric Reed later related that he had already been notified no horses scratched and he wasn’t in the race, since it was so close to the scratch time allowing another horse to draw in. But shortly after that, his exercise rider told him they did get in and he told her she had bad information, because they had removed the security guard from his barn. Then he got a call from steward Barbara Borden who asked him if he wanted to draw in from the also-eligible list, and he had to catch his breath to say yes.

I saw Rich Strike Tuesday of Derby week, during the designated training time for Derby and Oaks contenders. I didn’t realize until later he was also-eligible, and I didn’t know anything about his race record, but I did walk away impressed by his physical appearance.

It was just the beginning of one of the Kentucky Derby’s most improbable sequence of events and results. Summer is Tomorrow took the lead initially, setting fast fractions, and Crown Pride and Messier had a compelling duel among themselves before they fell back. It had been mentioned ahead of this Derby it seemed like an evenly matched field, or at least there were no superstar standouts but a lot of horses that had a chance to make a mark on the race. That appeared to hold true when in deep stretch it looked like a handful of horses began mounting challenges, although two touted as top contenders – Epicenter and Zandon – began a duel that appeared it would go right to the wire. Their battle for the lead was such a source of focus for most watching that few noticed the chestnut colt surge forward on the rail until he grabbed victory nearly at the last possible moment. It was Rich Strike, the horse who nearly didn’t get to run the race, under a masterful ride by Sonny Leon. He and the colt even had to go around a tiring Messier to seek the victory.

While I was watching the gate crew load Rich Strike, I was thinking how lucky they kept training him like he’d start that day. While his race record did not suggest Derby success was in the cards, the very improbability makes it more fantastic. The look on jockey Sonny Leon’s face after the race of amazement mingled with perhaps a touch of disbelief was the visual echo of the incredulity in Tom Durkin’s voice when he called Mine That Bird’s rail-skimming 2009 Derby win “an impossible result.” Yet the look on Leon’s face was not indicative of not having faith in the colt he rode; in the post-race press conference it was clear all the connections believed he belonged in the Derby, even if they weren’t sure being the victor was how it would play out for him. But Leon was riding his first Derby ever – easy to see how that feeling would sweep over him after the win!

Trainer Eric Reed recounted thinking he knew they had a good horse, maybe a Derby horse, and then he and the owner worked backwards from the first Saturday in May to pick spots to hopefully get to the Derby. He quoted bass fisherman Mike Iaconelli, who said, “Never give up.” Things like this can be inspiring to people even outside the circle of those connected to the horse, and that quote from Iaconelli and how it all played out spoke volumes to me, as I’ve been facing physical challenges from an accident that have kept me from work and been tough to persevere through, and this result is such a feel-good story for the connections and for what it says to me to keep going through obstacles and when odds can be stacked against you.

As Reed relayed how he found out Rich Strike drew in, it became more evident why the “don’t give up” quote resonated so deeply. “We knew what we had. I’m not telling you by any means we’d have the Derby winner but if we didn’t think we were going to be in the Derby we wouldn’t have been prepping for this all year. We know we had a horse that was going to be capable of running good. So anybody that’s in this business – lightning can strike.

“I had a guy that was assigned to us and he would give me a lot of information every day, each time a horse would withdraw, and one time we were twenty-fourth and we got up to twenty-second. And then the Lexington Stakes came and we were back to twenty-fourth. We came here on a prayer and I told my dad and I told Rick the worst thing that could happen to us is they call a day or two before the Derby and say, ‘You’re going to get in,’ and not be prepared. We trained against all odds, nobody thought we could get in, we got a defection, we got another one. The morning of the entries at 8:45 I was notified there were no scratches. We were not going to get in. The security guard was told to leave the barn. I texted my dad it didn’t happen, texted some friends, ‘We didn’t get in. Sorry guys.’ I went in to my crew because I knew they were going to be really let down and I said, ‘Guys, we didn’t make it but we were number 21.’ And I said, ‘We’ve got to get ready for the Peter Pan next week. If we run well, we’ll go to the Belmont and show them we belong.’ And I was trying to keep their spirits up. It didn’t matter how I felt. I had to keep my crew going, and they were really sad.

And then about five minutes to 9, my pony girl Fifi calls me on the phone and she goes, ‘Don’t do anything with your horse. Don’t move him.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ She calmed down and said, ‘No, you’re getting in.’ I said, ‘No, I’m not. Somebody gave you bad information.’ And she goes, ‘I’m telling you, I just got notification Wayne is scratching and you’re going to get in.’

Then Barbara Borden calls, and she says, ‘This is the stewards. Tomorrow in the twelfth race, the Kentucky Derby, do you want to draw in off the also-eligible?’

And I couldn’t even breathe to answer to say yes. I was like, ‘What just happened?’ I was told no, I lost my security guard and now I’m in.”

The morning after the Derby, Reed told gathered media, “I don’t get these horses, 10 or 12 a year like some. I get one a lifetime, so I’ve got to protect him. I’d like him to be here in a couple years and not just have a few races and something goes wrong.”

Reed said Rich Strike will ship to his private training center in Lexington while they assess if he looks set to contest the Preakness. When asked if he felt an obligation to go to the Preakness, he replied, “My obligation is to Rich Strike first, and if Ritchie’s ready to go and I think it’s the right thing for him, we’re gonna go. I need him around a long time. As long as he’s okay after a week and I know it’s the right thing to do we’ll do it. And I want to go – that’s naturally what we want to do – but I have to do what I’ve done from day one with this horse and that’s manage him to take care of him, cause he’ll take care of the rest if I do.”

A toast to the newest Derby winner!

An expected thunderstorm burst forth shortly before the designated training time for the Derby and Oaks horses the morning of May 3, but fortuitously it ended a few moments before the horses were due on track. The anticipation waiting for the horses to appear before me was tremendous, and wonderful. I watched the horses gather at the gap on the large screen, only recognizing White Abarrio for his light gray coat and distinctive blue and yellow tack, and Ethereal Road because D. Wayne Lukas was beside him on a pony. Trainer John Ortiz adjusted the tack on Barber Road, as he also was alongside his charge on a pony. The adjustment seemed to reveal the point of pride having this Derby contender, his first, represented. Barber Road (his name quite reminiscent of Barbaro’s to me, though no doubt not intentional) stood calmly but with complete focus on the track.

Mo Donegal was the first of the Derby contenders to run by that day, then as always the action was fast and furious, so much that as I tried to get photos of some horses running by, others just making their way near the grandstand photobombed them!

I was glad to see Messier, Taiba, and Classic Causeway. While I don’t have a Derby pick – this year I want to see how it unfolds – those three intrigued me due to their sires, with the last named being interesting due to being one of the last small crop for Giant’s Causeway and carrying the torch for his sire one more time. This also is the only time I will see the Derby horses in the flesh Derby week, so it made it even better to see them and also that it was with a small crowd present.

Before the Derby and Oaks designated training period ended, Barber Road loaded into the starting gate for schooling. That is the first time I’ve seen gate schooling during Derby week.

As the analysts mentioned during their running commentary that morning, now all is maintenance and keeping the horses happy until the big day. The stage is set, indeed, with luxury merchandise tents and fencing in place outside the track, and the contenders on site. Wishing a safe trip to all!

As April wound down, it was lovely to experience time with horses at Old Friends and Kenny McPeek’s Magdalena Farm, as well as take in a few more races at Keeneland.

It is always wonderful to see Silver Charm enjoying time among his lush paddock – in fact the grass must have been quite tempting as he didn’t leave it immediately to come over to the fence for carrots. Now the oldest living Derby winner, his looks belie his age.

Nearby, Swain stood in a pasture. A fairly new arrival to Old Friends, I had not seen him in about a decade when he gazed out of a window from his stall. In fact, he was focused so intently on the scene that I recall joking with my companion he must see something we couldn’t, like his own personal circus, and that is why I still think of the phrase “Swain’s Circus” when I see him. Of course, he was also a top-notch racehorse and I have heard that one definition of the “look of eagles” is when a horse seems to look right through people around them and off into the distance, presenting a noble demeanor. Either way, he left an impression on me that day long ago and while the tour group I was with did not walk down to see him, I took the opportunity while they explored the equine cemetery. I was glad to get the chance to see Swain again, and while a slight dip in his back (to be expected) revealed years that have passed since he was foaled, he looked great too for his age. I don’t know his demeanor and therefore didn’t try to interact – plus he seemed content to stand in peace – but his face looked sweet.

When we arrived at Old Friends, I had noted Medina Spirit’s gravestone, newly arrived. It was poignant to see, and someone had placed a wreath of roses at its base.

Then it was on to Magdalena to see a few mares and foals.

Keeneland wrapped the spring meet two days after I went on that farm tour, and I snapped a photo of its serene beauty.