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California Chrome Fan Day at Taylor Made, September 2015

03 Saturday Oct 2015

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California Chrome was recently showcased at Taylor Made for fans, media, and anyone who is intrigued by racing. It was my first glimpse of the chestnut colt since watching him win the Kentucky Derby over a year ago, and he is wonderful to photograph. He has since left Taylor Made to go back into training, but will return as a stallion when his racing career concludes. Below are a few of my images of him from that day and a few other photos from Taylor Made. This event was a bit of a preview of how fan-friendly many more of the farms are trying to become with the launch of Horse Country, Inc. It was a wonderful precursor to that.

The star of the hour, California Chrome

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Not to be outdone, Graydar displays his class as well.

The visit concluded with seeing some broodmares, foals, and yearlings.

Keeneland September Yearling Sale

23 Wednesday Sep 2015

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A few notes and observations from the first few days of the Keeneland yearling sale:

I was curious to see the first Frankels offered at auction in North America and how they’d be received. As some of the daily publications available at the sale mentioned, it would remain to be seen how U.S. Bidders would value a horse who strictly raced in Europe, but this is an international sale and Frankel’s greatness can transcend boundaries. I am still an amateur at evaluating conformation and maybe it is just the photographer in me who is drawn in by class and how even untested Thoroughbreds such as these yearlings present themselves, but I was impressed by this grey Frankel colt out of Rose of Summer, the dam of Laragh and Summer Front. And he certainly has a chance to shine on the track, with a sire such as Frankel and a dam that has produced the above-named runners, both winners of multiple graded stakes races, including G1’s. It is interesting too to note that while Rose of Summer has been bred to U.S.-based sires, she too has a European background as her sire El Prado was foaled in Ireland and is by the incomparable Sadler’s Wells. So there is a mix of European and American bloodlines in this colt, but it still slants towards European even on the dam’s side. Did I mention I’m a bit of a pedigree “geek”? It’s just always been an intriguing study to me almost from the time I first started following racing.

Creative Cause filly

Creative Cause filly


– This is hip 198 by Pioneerof the Nile out of Dance Darling, the dam of Join in the Dance.

I liked Pioneerof the Nile tremendously before he sired American Pharoah, so you can imagine I was even more enthused about Pharoah for who his sire was. I was keeping an eye out for the yearlings at this sale by Pioneerof the Nile, curious about how they would be received and who their dams were. Naturally, there will be a big divide of the mares he was booked to before becoming the sire of a Triple Crown winner (which still sounds amazing to say, after all these years!) and after. No doubt these yearlings in book one were impressive, either from a physical standpoint, a pedigree standpoint, or both. I admit I did just take a quick glance because I was looking for horses out of dams I recognized or was intrigued by, and most of Pioneer’s as I saw at quick glance at least seemed to be out of a lot of first time dams or those who hadn’t yet come up with major runners. But then Pharoah himself was out of a largely unproven dam, so that is no knock against these horses. Naturally, no sire can realistically be expected to produce another Triple Crown winner. Once is more than enough, to prove the quality he is capable of passing on, and that is what should appeal to any breeders.

However, this colt (in addition to catching my eye), was also one I thought had some potential being that his dam had produced Join in the Dance, who at one time was a Derby contender and is graded stakes-placed. So we’ll see how this colt fares on the track in a year or two.

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– Plum Amazing, Plum Pretty’s first foal

Not only do I feel compelled to visit the sales to see how the yearlings or other young horses produced by top runners whose careers I followed look, as well as to keep any eye on the financial state of the industry as it can be determined by these auctions, but I also go as I always do to keep a foot in the door of the industry that is my driving passion in this world. Of course, now that I have concluded my degree I actually have time to attend more of these things happening in the industry. Without trying to make this piece on the blog being too much about me, still one of the horses I wanted to see was this colt out of Plum Pretty. As I sat on a bench in the shade while he and other horses consigned by Timber Town were being shown, the man showing this colt asked if I’d take a photo of him standing up the colt. I was glad to; while now I have a job that helped me pay my tuition and other odds and ends associated with my final semester and that I appreciate and even like more than some of the jobs I’ve had to have to make ends meet in the past, of course my focus remains on the Thoroughbred world. So to connect with someone working in it, which I’ve just done sporadically so far, was a nice interlude from my usual working days. To hear that he really appreciated and was even a bit awed by – or at least considered himself lucky – to get to work with horses of the caliber of Plum Pretty, Havre de Grace, and Groupie Doll (the latter two especially being horses I’d consider myself almost blessed to get to be around every day) was wonderful. I know plenty of people do a wonderful job even while seeing it as a means to an end, but I still think your best candidates for working with Thoroughbreds are going to be those who almost find their very identity wrapped up in this business, and in appreciating horses of the caliber of those three mares. That is why I will go to every industry event I can as often as I can, because it is deeply a part of me too. So to have this day to talk horses with someone else who feels as I do, someone who even got to go to Ireland as I did and appreciated that country as much as I do – well, that was a nice shift from most of the people I run into day to day who don’t live and breathe almost to be around horses. And it was so nice, too, to know that I could take the day and just take photos once more at Keeneland, with no school pressures lingering in the shadows.

This yearling is by another of my favorite racehorses Midnight Lute, who I have watched as sire since retirement from racing.

The yearling is a colt that I probably was just walking by and noticed, and he struck me as pure class. He is out of Leaseholder, who is the dam of G1 stakes winner Tough Tiz’s Sis. Tough Tiz’s Sis herself is the dam of G2 winner Tiz Midnight, who is by Midnight Lute. That makes this colt closely related to Tiz Midnight, of course, and given that and the classy way he presented himself at the sale, I am intrigued as well to see how that promise translates into racetrack performance when the time comes for him to take that step.

Distorted Humor colt out of Love Theway Youare, her first foal

Distorted Humor colt out of Love Theway Youare, her first foal


This is a Tale of Ekati colt out of the Malibu Moon mare Catch the Moon. Catch the Moon is the dam of Cocked and Loaded, who won the Iroquois Stakes at Churchill the day before this colt was shown here. Cocked and Loaded is from the breeding program of Little River Farm, where I briefly worked this spring to gain extra income for tuition for my last class, and has stamped himself as one to watch in these early stages of pointing for the Derby next year. While I worked at Little River Farm just briefly, it is still great to see that they have horses of this caliber come from their breeding program. And that is a major boost to this yearling’s value as well.

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hip 392, by Awesome Again out of Le Marais

hip 392, by Awesome Again out of Le Marais

This yearling above is one of those horses that just makes you stop and say, “Who is that?” She looks like she just has “racehorse” and class written all over her. She is a War Front filly out of Refugee, the dam of Executiveprivilege and Hoppertunity.

Frankel colt out Rose of Summer

Frankel colt out Rose of Summer

The Frankel colt mentioned earlier in this post leaves the ring after selling for $800,000, the highest price for the 5 Frankel yearlings offered in the sale, no doubt helped greatly by his dam’s produce record.

As I prepared to leave the Keeneland sales grounds where all these horses were being offered, along with the hopes of their present connections and the dreams they may help their future connections realize, I stopped at the other side of Keeneland to see where another dream is taking shape – the arrival of the track’s first Breeders’ Cup. It is within reach now, and another glorious meet at this track that feels like my second home is just around the corner. As always, I can’t wait…

Pharoah Comes to Saratoga

02 Wednesday Sep 2015

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American Pharoah arrived shortly before the August 29th Travers Stakes, a much hoped-for appearance at the grand Saratoga course that boosted one of its signature races to a purse of $1.6 million.

Attendance for the day was capped, as it had been at the Belmont Stakes and at the Haskell. The desire to see the sport’s first Triple Crown winner in nearly four decades remains strong, and who wouldn’t want to say they once saw Pharoah in the flesh, in a race? It’s a story to tell the grandkids, or an occasion to share with the grandkids, if they are already here.

As usual, Pharoah didn’t look like he’d lost much ground, and it was reported that his weight has held fairly constant, a good indication of a horse’s well-being. He followed the usual routine of training in California and shipping to the track where he’d race a few days before running, and as the Zayats were interviewed in the paddock amidst an enormous amount of people waiting to see their star, their pride in him was evident. I commend Mr. Zayat for being so sporting, and taking his horse so many places people wanted to see him. It does loom, as Bob Baffert mentioned on the telecast, that he will be retiring soon, so it is wonderful they are providing the opportunity for as many people to watch him run as possible.

I was out of town visiting a friend when he ran, and watched the race over twenty-four hours after it occurred. I watched him sit back effortlessly, and he appeared to just be waiting for the cue from Espinoza to go, to run freely, as I had seen so often. When he got it, it didn’t take long for Frosted to match him stride for stride, but he still looked like he could put him away and he did begin to pull away from his opponent. Normally, he would have been gone in a blink, but he was having to really dig down and fight this time.

Perhaps that, and all the traveling back and forth was too much for even Pharoah this time. As we know, Keen Ice just managed to run him down and that left Pharoah to hold on for a gallant second place finish.

I read afterward that Mr. Zayat spoke of possibly retiring him now. I know it is a different world from when most of the previous Triple Crown winners raced. Of course, Secretariat was famously syndicated for millions, but Citation raced well past his 3-year-old year with the goal of earning a million dollars. Times have just changed in the racing industry, and a good or great colt is often ushered into the breeding shed quickly. Naturally, the risk of injury and the cost of insuring a great horse is a consideration. But I still think Zayat did the right thing sending Pharoah to the Travers.

It is moments like those, even when the horse doesn’t win, that can show what they are made of just as much as a victory can. There was no shame when Zenyatta lost to Blame in the Breeders’ Cup Classic the way she did. She never quit trying, and Pharoah never quit trying in the Travers. In fact, I believe he dug so deep when eye-to-eye with Frosted because he is all heart and every bit a champion. A lesser horse would not have kept digging in.

I know there must have been disappointment at Saratoga from those who wanted to see him win, and I know there must have been disappointment among his connections, as indicated by Zayat saying he might just retire him now. I hope he doesn’t regret for one moment his sporting gesture to let Pharoah race at Saratoga. It still showed those present the heart of a champion, and what you’d hope to see in a racehorse. Even in defeat, there can be a story worth telling the grandchildren – about perseverance and determination.

And if he has come out of the Travers well, I do hope to see him in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. It might be a tall order for a three-year-old who travels constantly and has already won a Triple Crown. But we know Pharoah will try and I think he deserves the chance, one last opportunity to show what he can do before he takes up residence at Ashford. Not that he or the Zayats owe racing anything else, of course; I’ll always cherish that memory of what it felt like to see him and Espinoza parade before the grandstand to the cheers of the Derby crowd, and how it felt when he won the Crown. But to give him one more chance to meet his adoring public would be another grand sporting gesture that those in attendance wouldn’t forget – the day they saw American Pharoah in all his majesty, close enough to touch.

Wherever he goes from here, though, he has built a substantial legacy and given people a treasure trove of memories. And that lingers longer than any single afternoon where he was passed by a single rival.

“Way to Go, Curlin and Rachel!” – A Dream Takes Shape

02 Wednesday Sep 2015

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Jess’s Dream, the first-born of Rachel Alexandra, made his career debut at Saratoga in August 2015. He settled well into the back of 8-horse field for much of the race. As the field started to bunch together at the top of the stretch, he was flying on the outside of the field and started to pick off horses one by one. It was then just a question of him having enough time to get to the wire first; he seemed to have all the run in him. He looked to hesitate a little at the top of the stretch – a bit of a reminder that was his first start, no doubt.

For all that he appeared to still be trying to figure this racing game out by the top of the stretch, it looked like the racehorse he has all the potential to be was fully in evidence by the wire. The TVG analysts said “that is what you call pedigree showing up,” and clearly with such accomplished racehorses as Rachel Alexandra and Curlin as his dam and sire, he had an above-average chance to let that quality they hopefully passed on shine.

This was further echoed in another great race call by Saratoga race announcer Larry Collmus as Jess’s Dream ran to victory. “Oh he did it! Way to go, Curlin and Rachel!”

It was another sweet reminder of Jess’s Dream’s background, just as when his younger half-sister won to Collmus’ race call that included him mentioning “Rachel’s little girl.”

When I saw Jess’s Dream at the top of the stretch in this race, still looking a little green, it was reminiscent of “Taco,” the nickname he was given as a foal and that I still sometimes affectionately think of him as. When the racehorse in him took over and he won, it was almost like watching him morph fully into Jess’s Dream before our eyes, if that makes sense. It was like watching him go from the young untried horse romping at his famous dam’s side to having all the potential to make his own name known.

It is early yet, with such young horses as Rachel’s colt and filly, to say based on breaking their maidens first time out, what they will become. But the way they both won showed so much potential, and I look forward to the ride with both of them. It is sweet, indeed, to see both her foals win their first races in their first tries, and to see that they have a shot at picking up and carrying forward her legacy, even as formidable as it was. I am sure Stonestreet feels that same joy in seeing her foals excel first time out; even with all the excellent broodmares they have, Rachel is such a paragon of excellence and it is wonderful to see these first initial strides into having her pass that glory on to the next generation. I look forward to the day I see those two run in person as well.

There is, as of this writing, talk of the possibility of Rachel’s Valentina qualifying for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. If it’s not rushing her, I’d love to see her there at Keeneland. We’ll see how it unfolds, but isn’t that what is sweet about young horses? They have a huge potential before them to unfurl grand careers and make people dream.

“Rachel’s little girl”

15 Saturday Aug 2015

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Rachel’s Valentina, the two-year-old filly by Bernardini and out of Rachel Alexandra, made a much-awaited career debut at Saratoga in early August, and she did not disappoint.  She was clearly the class of that field, winning with a ease that suggested professionalism even this early in her career.  This is not meant to be a comparison to her amazing dam and all that she accomplished on the track, and naturally it is early yet to say what type of racehorse Rachel’s Valentina will become, but I know I liked what I saw when I watched the race replay after the conclusion of my final exam in my final class needed to earn my Equine Management degree.

Though I look forward to watching this filly’s career unfold for its own merits, and not what her sire and dam achieved, it is hard not to feel the tug of that connection with Rachel Alexandra.  And that is why it touched me when the race announcer incorporated one simple but sweet phrase in his race call when he mentioned “Rachel’s little girl.”

I began this journey to earn my degree for the same reason I uprooted myself from my home state and from my family, to follow a calling I heard from a very young age. I didn’t know then it was a calling. I just knew how much I liked racing; I didn’t realize that it was the beginning of it becoming a deeply-rooted part of myself. I only had to spend one week in Lexington, visiting all the farms I had read about and seeing horses I had only watched on TV, to know this was where I was meant to live: in an epicenter of just about everything Thoroughbred.  And when the racing season had an occasional lull, the Horse Park could easily provide a day with horses.

My motivation for starting the degree was much the same: to immerse myself in all things horse, to be the professional at the center of it all, and much less on the sidelines. When I did begin the degree, Zenyatta was in the last few months of her race career that culminated with an attempt to repeat her historic Breeders’ Cup Classic win, and Rachel Alexandra was soon to retire.  Those were the horses lighting up the racing sky at the time, to paraphrase a quote I once heard about Count Fleet (I’m pretty sure it was about him), and no one else could compare as far as I was concerned. In fact, they set the bar so high collectively that I felt a void that persisted in the racing scene long after they retired.

When I realized how difficult some of my classes were going to be, I had to find motivation anywhere I could.  I never really was firmly in the Zenyatta camp over the Rachel camp, or vice versa.  They both meant something to me in their own ways.  So it was not favoritism, but just an example of a horse who was an inspiration when I put a photo of Zenyatta in my chemistry notebook, and wrote above it, “Do it for her and the chance to work with horses like her” – you’ve gotta dream big, right? Dreaming big is what I was doing when I moved here, and starting this degree was also a leap forward to make my dreams be realized.

Watching Rachel’s filly run, looking like she has a world of potential within her, all those feelings came back of how much I had loved following Rachel’s career, and seeing Rachel too shine at Saratoga.  It’s the kind of things dreams are made of, and now that one of my biggest goals in my life – and one of the hardest I’ve ever set for myself – has been realized, I too feel like I have a world of doors opened to me, just as they hopefully are for Rachel’s filly.  Where this road takes us now, who knows?

I look forward to seeing what comes next, for her, for me, and in the racing world in general.

After all, this year has already shown me even the wildest dreams can come true.  You have to look no further than American Pharoah’s grand story and how his stature continues to grow after his Haskell win.  It is still amazing to think that there has at last been a Triple Crown winner in my lifetime.  That is something to savor, and I can’t wait to see him in person once more. I can’t wait to be more completely immersed in racing now, and find my path in that world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pharoah’s Haskell

15 Saturday Aug 2015

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Note:  This ended up being written in a rather stream-of-consciousness” manner, as I was finishing my last course for my degree; also the reason for its late posting. But late or not, I definitely want to continue to cover Pharoah’s career in the pages of this blog.

American Pharoah took center stage once more in August 2015, just as he had 57 days previously in a Belmont Stakes tour-de-force. Since then he’d been feted by fans, media, and celebrities from all walks of life. His popularity was too large to contain within the boundaries of the racing world.  He really is a superstar, as owner Ahmed Zayat called him on the Haskell telecast.

While he has been training, and subsequently photographed and videotaped extensively since his Triple Crown win, my last class and full-time work in a new field had mostly kept my nose to the grindstone. He is the first Triple Crown winner in my lifetime, something I am so glad to see at last.  But as I had to get down to work not long after he won it, I had rejoiced in the moment and for a few days after but then everything become a blur of work.  I did buy a shirt and hat a local Kroger offered with his name on them that also honored him as a Triple Crown winner. They were more items for my racing memorabilia collection, along with the win ticket from the Belmont Stakes with his name on it and the program from Belmont for that day.

But because of getting swept up in the shuffle of work, until his race on August 2nd, I had not had a lot of time to still bask in his win and what an amazing horse he is.  I was glad of the chance to do that once more.  The whole reason I moved to Kentucky years ago, the whole reason I have put so much work into this degree, is to be part of this racing industry. And the whole reason this racing industry has captivated me so much is because of the horses like American Pharoah – not Triple Crown winners, necessarily, though they certainly have their place in drawing me in, but also the Rachel Alexandras, the Zenyattas, even the claimer that you may just lock eyes with one day who doesn’t go on to do big things but who still drew you in on a personal level.  The telecast reminded me why there are few thrills like racing, few things that after years and years still pull me in so strongly and are so exciting just because of the nature of the game, the adrenalin when the horses race by, when your favorite is going postward and the anticipation is so thick you can taste it.

And I loved that the show started with a recap of his Triple Crown journey, from the sun-splashed Derby to the parading most of the length of the grandstand, one of my favorite personal memories of all time, to the deluge at the Preakness that never fazed him, to the way he just couldn’t be stopped in the Belmont, making it look laughingly easy.  I wrote a while ago that while it is clear he is a horse of rare ability, with his incredible stride and the way he takes everything in stride, and the way he just makes it look so effortless, that it was still too soon to say what his place in history would be.  And this is not meant to be demeaning at all. I fully realize after the way he ran through his Triple Crown races, he is not a horse the likes of which we will see often.  But the prudent part of me still wanted to see how the rest of his career unfolded before fully saying, this is his place in history.

So it was nice to get “reacquainted” with him through the telecast – the reminder of all he ran through to win the Crown, the way the grandstand shook after his Belmont win, as recalled by Zayat… and I got goosebumps …. and it reminded me once more what an amazing horse he is to witness, and why I love racing, and how it is one more reason I will be grateful this degree will be behind me because I can jump into keeping up with that world once more…. ironically often put on the back burner though it makes my heart beat faster and brings me such joy….

And then seeing Pharoah as the previous video gave way to live shots …. gleaming coat, muscles, incredible beyond description, and still as calm and collected as ever, the kind of horse that makes you stop and watch and you don’t even have to be told he’s the TC winner, he’s just in a realm of his own and it shows with every step and even as he stands still, there’s just that air about him the great ones have…

Exuded even through my TV screen

and reminders of his floating stride

the long shadow of the Belmont gate across the track the day he burst through, like the long shadow of the drought of TC winners but he would outrun that shadow just as he burst forward to the lead almost immediately, leave it behind and never look back

and it became clear that he would do the same today

going into the first turn it was so clear he was just waiting for Espinoza to tell him when to run, that he had all the energy and power needed and then some

none of these horses, as impressive as Keen Ice, as impressive as Upstart looked, were his match

He’s in that realm of his own and he began to run off, opening up daylight in a matter of seconds before Espinoza eased him down and he won as he always does, effortlessly, ears pricked and with reserve in the tank. He could have won by a much further distance, but no need. It was clear he was just toying with his rivals and it was another race he made look like a easy paycheck, a little hack through the park for the fun of it, and I got goosebumps once more because though he made it look easy it was clear he only made it look easy because he just is a far superior horse to most, and yes I am a little more ready now to say what his place in history will be.  Whatever his race record is from here, he will be one of the best I’ve seen ever. A 3-year-old can still be somewhat of an unknown quantity and I had of course never seen a Triple Crown winner to compare. But he was showing what I suspected, what it takes to be a TC winner is a rare breed indeed.  Summer still lingers but the winds of fall will blow in soon, and there is a bit of a sense of the limited time left of his race career.  It is a time to savor,  not be sad about, but we are humans, we look ahead and you want to grab those moments and experience them.

I want to remember them as personal memories.

Watching him through a TV screen is incredible, but the part of me that waited so long for a TC winner wants to see him in action once more. Wants to go to wherever he races next.  It is not a thing I want to wish I’d done. I want to make it happen. First I pass this class. Then Pharoah lets them know the plan. Then hopefully I find myself on a plane to join him wherever he runs next.  Stay tuned…..

(Since I’ve written those words, it has become clear it may not be that feasible to go wherever he runs. Yet if he continues to do well and bounce out of races as remarkably as Bob Baffert indicates he does, then he will be in my “backyard” at Keeneland in October and there will be time to see him in action once more, and then of course at Ashford as he takes up stud duties. Whether I see him in person or not, I look forward to what the rest of his career brings.  It may be a tough task to win the Classic this fall against top older horses, but he has made so much look effortless. I give him a serious chance there, and even if he doesn’t win all his remaining races, an on-the-board finish in the Classic will not diminish his legacy in any way. I don’t see it as diminishing Zenyatta’s when she finished second to Blame, and I don’t see it as diminishing his if he doesn’t win. But I have faith he can, absolutely.)

Triple Crown glory, at last!

07 Sunday Jun 2015

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June 6th, 2015. Belmont Stakes day. There was yet another chance for a Triple Crown to become reality, as American Pharoah attempted to turn Derby glory and Preakness success into racing’s most elusive prize. A list of the names of horses who had prevailed in the first two legs and come up short in the third, the most taxing of all, revealed again that a very good horse is just not enough. He has to be great, in a class of his own. And that is just how American Pharoah was being described in the weeks, days, and especially when it got down to just hours until he contested the Belmont.

I’ve heard horses who were just one race away from being potential Triple Crown winners described as definitely being worthy and having what it takes to pull off that accomplishment. I understood, to those who were rooting for a Triple Crown winner, that it is hard not to seek out the reasons why any particular horse with a chance just might be the one to do it. I understood because I have walked that path too, since Silver Charm had his shot in 1997 and for quite a few horses after him. The racing-obsessed part of me wanted to see a Triple Crown winner in my lifetime. By the time Silver Charm had a shot, it had been 19 years since a horse won it, and I was 18. Too young to have been alive when Affirmed and his young jockey won it. So it went, through Real Quiet, War Emblem, Charismatic…. on to Big Brown in 2008. I now believe Barbaro had the most likely combination of talent and ability to pull it off, out of all the horses that made their run through the three races from 1997 to 2014. But as is well-known, it was not his path to see his try at glory go beyond a few strides into the Preakness. Everything they said about him and that I saw myself – his floating running action that made everything look so effortless, most notably – really made me think it was his to lose. It is a shame he was injured, for his own sake naturally, but also because all questions about the capability of the undefeated colt who looked like he literally soared when he ran were left unanswered.

Then Big Brown had a shot in 2008. For reasons that have been forgotten, I really thought he would be the one to pull it off. Disillusion followed when he was pulled up in the Belmont, and never really given a chance to try. And that is when I began to quit expecting a Triple Crown winner. This is not meant to sound pessimistic. It was just pragmatic, realistic. I didn’t think it was an impossible feat. The right horse could probably still pull it off. But it was so much easier for a horse to win two legs and not the third, and there didn’t have to be a Triple Crown on the line to witness historic achievements in racing. Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta proved that.

Still, it was a good story to see California Chrome and Victor Espinoza have their moment in the spotlight last year. It was even more incredible to see Espinoza win back-to-back Kentucky Derbies, after he captured this year’s edition with American Pharoah. It brought back memories of the first time I witnessed a Triple Crown race at a track, when Espinoza and War Emblem captured the Preakness, and I cheered them on with a large group of people that had gathered to watch on the big screen in the Churchill Downs paddock. That memory stretches back to my earliest days in Kentucky, when I was just a visitor finally making my way to a bit of a personal mecca, the horse farms of the Bluegrass region and of course the home of the Kentucky Derby. I liked Espinoza’s seemingly sunny nature then and I liked to see it again as he added more Derby wins to his resume, handfuls of years later.

But most of all, I liked American Pharoah on a deep level, in a way I couldn’t shake. That too stretched back to earlier memory, this one rooted in the initial foray into an interest in racing that bloomed into a passion that never left. It was when Unbridled won his Kentucky Derby and trainer Carl Genter memorably provided a stretch call for owner Frances Genter. That now lives in Derby lore, and maybe it captivated me because it really showed how amazing it can be to someone to win that race. And maybe too I just liked Unbridled’s name, and the freedom it represented to follow your own path or your dreams.

Whatever it was, I followed that early interest in Unbridled – as said in a previous post – through the generations, until his great-grandson American Pharoah had his shot to win the Derby, proving himself to be the best of a class of deeply talented three-year-olds. They are no doubt still good horses, and some may still be close to greatness. But at every step of his Triple Crown run, from Louisville to Baltimore to New York, American Pharoah had a way of making them mere footnotes to his own legacy. I sensed that even when he entered the paddock for the Derby. There was just something about him that did put him in another class. I will never forget thinking, “Finally!” when he won the Derby, thinking how at last an Unbridled descendant wore the blanket of roses on the first Saturday in May. I will also never forget all the jubilation I felt when Espinoza brought him past my section of the grandstand and it was such an exciting moment to cheer on the newest Derby winner that it felt like my Derby win too, in a sense.

Victor Espinoza tips his cap to the roar of the record Derby crowd, cheering for him and American Pharoah

Victor Espinoza tips his cap to the roar of the record Derby crowd, cheering for him and American Pharoah; my favorite post-Derby memory from this year

Then of course it was on to Baltimore. I had to work on Preakness day, which fell on my birthday again this year. I didn’t get to see the race until it had already been run, but I had no doubt American Pharoah would win it. About the next step – that elusive Belmont Stakes victory – I wasn’t so sure. He was very good, maybe even great, but I hesitated to get my hopes up too much. If it happened, it would happen. All the previous attempts made me just take a “wait and see” attitude. But beneath all that, I must have felt like he had a real chance. There were several good reasons for this: the impression I gained of him at Churchill Downs, that characteristic that emanated from him even before he won the Derby, of how good he really is; the way he shook off the less-than-ideal track conditions in the Preakness, as Pimlico was hit by a torrential downpour just minutes before the race, and still won it with ears pricked, easily and well within himself. There just almost didn’t seem to be a challenge for this colt whose gallop was described as being like a floating action, almost like he soared when he ran. That to me was reminiscent of the description given to Barbaro’s stride. Between his Preakness and Belmont, when I saw how even the sloppy track couldn’t stop him and the way it looked like nothing had been taken out of him, the way he moved so easily, I think deep down I really began to think it was time for the next name to be written into the list of Triple Crown winners.

When I had a dream a few days before the Belmont that he won it, and that I felt disbelief that it had actually happened and then joy like I felt when he won the Derby, it made me pause. I don’t place any stock in dreams for any kind of capability of telling the future, but I do believe sometimes they tell us something we realize on a subconscious level but don’t let come into our thoughts in our waking hours. I didn’t see that dream as a “prophecy” by any stretch of the imagination, but I did see it as further revealing that American Pharoah probably had what it took more than any horse had since Affirmed won the Triple Crown in 1978.

I read the statistics: Horses that haven’t raced at Belmont traditionally haven’t fared well at the track. American Pharoah had not raced at Belmont. Jockeys have to be familiar with the track. Espinoza had a small number of winners out of total mounts. But then, his total mounts at the track were a small pool too, given he is mostly California-based.

That is one thing about statistics. They represent what the average is, the norm. But all it takes is the right conditions for them to find an anomaly to the data they represent. I considered that. I still wasn’t trying to get my hopes up but under the surface I still couldn’t shake the confidence I had in Pharoah. In this case, all it took for those statistics not to matter was the right horse. If he truly was worthy of winning the Triple Crown, none of that would matter.

What I had realized in all the years of seeing horses fall short was that even if a horse only lost the Belmont by a nose, that was all the distinction necessary between a good horse and a great one. A Triple Crown winner would need no excuses, or for everything to go perfectly. Everything would go perfectly because he would just be great enough to make it go perfectly. That may sound naïve, since they are horses and can have off days and still be great, but I do believe what so many do: The Belmont is considered the Test of the Champion for a reason. Only the best horse will prevail there, after five weeks of travel and different race distances and surfaces.

So I found my way to Keeneland, in between working at a horse farm in the morning and before going to work at a different job that evening. I still wasn’t saying it out loud, that it was going to be all Pharoah at the wire. But I wasn’t ignoring my gut feeling either, borne out of my impression of him personally, even of the dream, and of everyone’s descriptions of how well he was still training and still floating over the ground with that effortless stride. I had considered going to Churchill to see him the weekend before the Belmont, where the interest in him was so strong that the track opened up special training hours for him in response to all the calls from people wanting to see him. I ended up opting for a relaxing day, but I followed the progress of his last two gallops there with interest.

When I pulled into the Keeneland grounds, it felt like a bit of deja vu, back to the day when I went there to bet on Empire Maker to win the Derby. I was in that fervent, “he-just-has-to-do-it” stage then, while I was being a bit more settled about Pharoah. But the same desire was there, to have a win ticket on each horse, almost like putting my money where my mouth is gave my hopes of victory for them more weight.

But in fact, I didn’t feel so over-excited about Pharoah as I almost had about Empire Maker, because it really almost seemed like a logical conclusion he was going to win and that is all there was to it. All these years of not seeing Triple Crown winners made me a bit cautious to say that out loud, but deep down I just knew.

So I got my win ticket with his name on it and a program from Belmont to fit into my racing memorabilia collection. Then I went to work, and finally got to watch the race when the day it was run was nearly concluded. Even though I said I wouldn’t get my hopes up again, even though I wondered how the game plan of going to the lead immediately would impact his chances at the finish, I felt hope surge to a crescendo as I saw he was running so easily and with barely controlled power. He was just asking to be let loose when the time was right. It was extraordinary, after all these years, that a horse had plenty in reserve, that he was just waiting to be asked to run. And his ears were pricked, and he was still running well within himself when Espinoza gave him the signal to go. He took up a two-length lead so smoothly it really did seem he just glided there, and everything fell into place. There was just nothing any horse in the field could do against all that latent talent that lives in American Pharoah. He opened that lead easily to 5 ½ lengths at the wire, and then I knew for sure at last what it takes for a horse to be a Triple Crown winner. It takes the horse that makes it look effortless, because if a horse even fell just a nose short, he was struggling with the task as it was laid out. All it took was the right horse, and here he is at last, the first one I’ve seen in my lifetime. I just knew nothing was going to get to him, and then began my litany of “He’s gonna do it, he’s gonna do it, he’s gonna do it” all the way down the stretch. It was just like the dream I had, with disbelief followed by joy.

There’s still disbelief, not in what Pharoah is capable of, but just that the words “Triple Crown winner” can finally be used again for a new name in the list of those that have accomplished racing’s hardest achievement. Just as I thought when he won the Derby and it went to an Unbridled descendant, “Finally!” The Triple Crown has been won again. It is amazing just to be able to type those words, to see them be true at last.

I saw a USA Today journalist recently wrote that a Triple Crown winner will not “revive a dying sport” mostly finding its fandom among senior citizens and no younger people. She clearly was out of touch with the racing world. I know all across Lexington, this victory was celebrated. My jobs bring me in contact with a lot of the public, and I know this to be true. And of course, Lexington is a cradle of racing. It is a city where people still stop to follow all of racing, not just its biggest days. It is a city where young and old flock to the races, where kids are brought to a Keeneland meet as a spring and fall ritual, one they continue into their teens, twenties and beyond. Maybe that is a statistical deviation, because Keeneland is such a unique track, but I see young kids gather at Louisiana tracks, at Santa Anita, at Churchill… American Pharoah’s history is rooted here, too, with his dam and sire both residing in central Kentucky, with his great-grandsire Unbridled lying at rest at historic Claiborne farm….

I won’t deny the racing industry has lost traction in the entertainment realm since Affirmed won the Crown. It is a different world. But American Pharoah pulled off a feat we may not see again for a long long time. His accomplishment means everything to many people who live and breathe racing, who find their livelihood because of it. And it means a good, lingering memory for its many fans across the globe, of the day Pharoah proved once more what Triple Crown greatness really means. That is an achievement that will endure and long be remembered. And I am so glad I got to be there on the first step of his journey on Derby day. What a glorious run. What a tremendous horse.

Preakness Reflections, and Old Friends

27 Wednesday May 2015

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The Preakness broadcast this year included an update on Alex’s Lemonade Stand, 10 years after it intertwined with one of racing’s biggest days by having its stands set up at Pimlico. while the colt whose name was a common link to the young girl who started it all, ran on to Preakness glory after nearly falling to the dirt.  It was an improbable turn of events, and showed how dreams can be still be realized out of what seems like defeat.

Afleet Alex came from somewhat modest beginnings, and Alex’s Lemonade Stand was also begun simply.  The Preakness broadcast this year recapped how founder Alex Scott hoped to raise $1 million through her lemonade stands, a goal realized shortly before pediatric cancer claimed her life.  Today the lemonade stands have raised over $100 million, all to help fight pediatric cancer, and Afleet Alex is a stallion at Gainesway, having sent a few colts to the Triple Crown trail.  While his standout Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Texas Red was unable to get to the Derby, and likely wouldn’t have been a match for American Pharoah, he did have Materiality in the race.  Materiality’s impact was minimal, as well, but he did rank in Steve Haskin’s Derby Dozen.

So Afleet Alex’s name still ripples through Preakness lore even as his colts didn’t have the hoped-for impact on the Triple Crown trail, yet, but he’s shown he can get a horse that can compete at the top, even if the story right now is fittingly all American Pharoah.

And why not?  He made his Preakness victory look effortless, with his ears pricked and as he romped even with the deluge that poured down shortly before the race began and quickly turned the track to slop.

He’s clearly in another class among his fellow three-year-olds.  Time will tell if he’s in another class among Thoroughbreds, period.  He reminds me a little of the feeling I had watching Fusaichi Pegasus win his Wood Memorial, his final Derby prep.  I just had every feeling he would win the Derby after that, and though I saw potential in Carpe Diem and so many of the other very talented three-year-olds in the Derby field this year, I just couldn’t shake the feeling American Pharoah probably had the measure of all of them.  And when I heard he’d already excelled in the slop, the messy track conditions for the Preakness weren’t much of a concern, and Espinoza wisely changed tactics and kept the colt near the front.  It made all the difference, and the race was theirs, by a wide margin.  Every time I hear people talk of Pharoah’s floating action, it reminds me too of how Barbaro was said to run in a similar way, like everything was easy for him.

The Belmont, as we all know, is the tallest obstacle for its distance and demands of a third top effort against top horses in a five-week span.  But racing is built on dreams.  More Triple Crown dreams have been ended than won in the Belmont, but a horse like American Pharoah is enough to make you cautiously optimistic. Whatever happens remains to be seen, but he’s given us and his connections a good run, regardless of the outcome on June 6th.

One other Preakness recollection that came to mind the day he won was of Rachel Alexandra’s Preakness win, as the golden petals from the blanket of black-eyed susans clung to her dark coat like jewels on a mantle after the winners’ circle ceremony.  I was at  her Preakness, the only one I’ve ever attended, and that image is one of the most enduring from that day.  Like American Pharoah, she won the Preakness in a year when it fell on my birthday.

I had to work the day of the Preakness, so I postponed my birthday celebration for the next day.  After working part of the morning at a horse farm where I recently started working, I went to Old Friends to visit Silver Charm.  I saw him in March on a cold rainy day and in December not long after he arrived, but I had yet to feed him carrots and I looked forward to the chance to know his personality a little better.

I had seen him ago at Three Chimneys, when I first visited Kentucky, and he was understandably very territorial about his fence line.  That had been my only glimpse of his personality before.

Silver Charm now holds court where the fiery Creator once did.  He is wise, matured, and I felt a tug of connection as he was a total gentleman taking carrots from my hand.

Silver Charm

Silver Charm

We were told by the tour guide that he is still a stallion and not inclined to accept pats on the nose, as most stallions aren’t, since it is a sign of dominance to them.  Yet I have to admit, that just that once, I found it hard to resist not trying to pat him because I felt that tug of connection towards him, this horse I have liked since his own romp through 2/3 of the Triple Crown, his Dubai World Cup victory, and beyond to now when we stand face to face over another fence line in Kentucky.  He tolerated the nose pat, today at least, and I loved the chance to get to know his personality even more than I had that day at Three Chimneys.  It does mean more and is easier now that he is retired from stud duty and available for visits instead of stud duty.

We also saw Game on Dude, who has such a kind eye, and Porfidio wanting attention. It had been a beautiful day to spend with horses.

Sarava

Sarava

Game on Dude

Game on Dude

IMG_6137

Porfidio

Porfidio

 

 

Kentucky Derby 2015: Pharoah!

24 Sunday May 2015

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Nestled among all the racing books on my shelf is one called The Kentucky Derby Vault.  It is an interactive look through Derby history, from its earliest beginnings.  It takes the storied race and all who participated in it from just being words on a page, and invites you into their world.  You can take a replica of an 1889 race program published by the Louisville Jockey Club, and be informed that trains will arrive from Cincinnati in three hours. Perhaps you see the gentility in your mind’s eye, reading this program, as they make their way to the track aboard the train, before ascending to the grandstand on the day in mid-May this program was for.  Or perhaps you pick up the postcard advertising the new Louisville Jockey Club of 1903, when track vice president Matt Winn had a clubhouse built and improved the grandstand. Now you can see the gentility arriving by train having a clubhouse to inhabit.

Perhaps you jumped much further ahead to 1973, and picked up a grandstand ticket in section 126, to discover such a spot would have been $18.75. That’s right, seeing Secretariat begin his romp through the Triple Crown would have cost $18.75.  Even if inflation was accounted for, that had to be a bargain to see him in all his glory right before your eyes. Or perhaps the full page photo of Unbridled, his jockey tucked so neatly into the horse’s neck he looked like one with the horse as they ran for the wire all alone made you pause, and then relive the moment his trainer Carl Nafzger called the race for Unbridled’s 92-year-old owner.   There are so many moments in the Derby vault worth replaying, and as I made my way to Churchill Downs in a small convoy on Derby day 2015, I was adding more memories to my own personal Derby vault.

Some of those memories, to be sure, are the ones read about or seen on TV.  Any hardcore racing fan worth his or her salt will have those in the memory bank.  Those will certainly do until attending the Derby and building up the memories in person become possible.

Definitely, Secretariat is in the vault of my memories.  But that goes without saying. I didn’t have to be born yet to have the big red horse fire my imagination.  Anyone who loves racing would say the same, I’d suppose.  Yet I had what felt like a bit of a personal link to him.  My mom watched his races on TV and hearing her tell how it felt to watch him win the Belmont with such dominance was so breathtaking, so incredible, that it took a few minutes for it to even sink in that he had won the Triple Crown.  Any horse that can capture a classic race that emphatically certainly deserves that to be seen as a sublime triumph in itself.  The bigger picture, of winning the Triple Crown in the process, I can see taking a moment to register.

Then there was Unbridled.  Racing was in my blood and the first Saturday in May meant nothing else but parking in front of a TV to see the Derby unfold.  I was 11 in Unbridled’s year, and I remember his name was one I loved, and the spontaneous race call and “I love you” that Nafzger said to Unbridled’s owner stuck with me, as it did with so many.

It has now been 25 years since Unbridled won his Derby.  I visited Lexington in 2002, just missing seeing him along with all the other stallions and farms I came to see.  But I followed his progeny.  The one that captivated me as he had? Empire Maker.  I believed in this horse fervently, and being unable to get off work while the 2003 Derby was run, I waited in line to place my wager on him in the Derby, longer than was probably necessary.  He didn’t have the measure of blue collar runner Funny Cide that day, but the tables were turned in the Belmont.  Redemption. That may have made me one of the few people rooting against Funny Cide and his owners, who saw their dreams realized beyond belief, but that Unbridled fervor lingered in me.

When Empire Maker sired Pioneerof the Nile who was favored in the 2009 Derby, I was in attendance.  It was my second Derby, and my first time seeing a horse from the Unbridled line run in the classic race in person.  He just had to win!  Of course, Mine That Bird snuck through the rail and Pioneer had no chance to catch him.  It was not his day.

American Pharoah would be the next to take up the cause, son of Pioneer, grandson of Empire Maker, great-grandson of Unbridled.

There’s nowhere better to be than under the spires on the first Saturday in May. That was confirmed among other attendees when I heard someone singing lyrics from the popular song “Uptown Funk”:

“Saturday night and we in the spot” rapidly answered with the next line, “Don’t believe me just watch!”

I read through the litany of familiar jockeys’ names as they all went postward.  In a sense they feel like old friends, these who ride on the Kentucky circuit or are just nationally known, as I follow racing year in and year out.

And then the moment came for one more three-year-old to write his name into Derby history, and American Pharoah did it! He was looming large near the top of the stretch and looked like he had all the run in the world still in him and he did, for he was all alone at the wire, though Firing Line was pressing the issue.

It had been noted ahead of the race that American Pharoah was not battle-tested, but he has class and a deep well of talent too, and there was no denying that when he drew home clear like he did. I felt so much excitement seeing him surge to the front, and it was thrilling too that Espinoza brought him down nearly the whole length of the grandstand and we got to cheer the newest Derby winner right in front of us, as Espinoza tipped his cap to the cheers of the record-setting crowd growing to a crescendo.  It was another glorious moment under the twin spires.

And that is an incredible memory for my own personal Derby vault. I really think it’s the best one I’ve put in that vault since I’ve begun attending. And if you could have bottled that feeling, the same feeling Nafzger had all those years ago when Unbridled won and he was so elated, everyone would be a racing fan.

We left as a glorious sunset illuminated the grandstand and the moon was starting to rise over the track. The twin spires were bathed in a golden glow and then the cool white of moonlight, and gradually faded to dark. The crowd streamed out, the cheers faded to echoes, but Derby day 2015 remains written in memory, and will linger every time I read American Pharoah’s name above the saddling stalls in the year ahead, or in its permanent spot in the line of other Derby winners that stretch across the facility.  It was thrilling for all the elements all the good horses entered brought into it, all the intriguing story lines every Derby carries, and all the potential this field had, but in the end there could only be one wearing the roses, and this year it was such a thrill to know it really was the best horse who won, and to have that moment to share Espinoza’s joy, post-race.

 

I wasn’t allowed to take my DSLR camera, so these images are not of the usual quality, but I wanted to share them because they still show my experience that day.

A Day in the Life at Stonestreet

24 Sunday May 2015

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Breezes blew across the pasture, brisk and strong. The green field was a smooth track and I ran and hopped along, full of baby exuberance.  Besides, there were people! A pretty big group of people! Of course they must have come to admire me and see what I could do.  These legs were hard to master at first, but look how much fun you can have with the things they let you do.

When I saw the people come closer, I had to come closer too, to say hi.  They met about me about halfway across the pasture and ran their fingers along my back.  A few steps behind was the solid reassuring presence of my mother or my dam, as I’ve heard her called.  I don’t really know what words mean mostly.  I just hear them said, some of them enough that they have a bit of a familiar rhythm.  What I do know is she is always there and so is her milk.  That’s enough to keep a baby content, plus all this time outside to play… and oh yeah, did I mention the other thing… people! They’re so great.

I hear more words float by on the breeze, from the one who I see a lot, the lovely lady with black hair.  She is telling them to the strangers standing by, all so eager to pat me and get to know me.  Even though I don’t understand the words, the cadence is soft and soothing.  These people are happy.

“imprint training….

lots of foal handling from the beginning…”

It sounds like a good thing, and if I knew what they meant, I’d know they were saying that they work with all of us babies from day one to get them used to people and used to being handled.  Whatever they’ve done it works.  But somewhere inside me, in my very nature, is another reason for me being so sweet and people-oriented.

And that’s her, grazing a few feet away while I soak up all the attention.  She’s mellow and sweet, and I seem to have picked that up too. I’m only a little more than a month old, but it doesn’t take long for temperament to show.

More words, lots of talking, they sure do use their voices a lot.  I use my body to tell them how I feel…. oh that spot …. yes keep scratching! I stretch out my neck and lean into the scratching fingers as the conversation flows on.

“What made you interested in Maggy Hawk?”  – oh, I know those words! They call my dam those words too, or sometimes just Maggy.

“I’ve liked Afleet Alex for so long I just wanted to see his dam, and that’s neat to hear she is as friendly and sweet as she is.  That’s one thing that always stood out to me about him, how sweet and people-oriented he is.”

People… that word almost seems like one I’ve heard enough to sound familiar.  People-oriented, hmm…. don’t know what that means, I think as I stand as close to the visitors as I can.  They are not strangers to me even if we just met.  I’m pretty young, but I don’t think I’ve ever met a stranger.  Every time they move a little further away, especially the one who keeps putting something that looks like a long shiny eye in front of her face, I move closer.  They can’t be ready to leave yet. I’m still here, and I sure would like some more back scratching.  I try to reach my back myself a few times with my teeth but my neck just isn’t quite long enough yet to really hit the right spot.

More talking, of course… I sure have learned that is what people do.

“fuzzy little ears…”

“so cute”

“it’s amazing how fuzzy she is”

The lady with black hair, the one I see a lot, is talking about how laid-back Maggy is and just keeps an eye on things in a real calm way and just then she raises her head and gives a low rumble of a nicker from deep in her throat.  Time to go! Only one thing could drag me away from people.  She speaks and that always means something to me, not just in tone like with people.  I go to her side in a big hurry and decide while I’m there I may as well nurse.
The people laugh, started by the black-haired lady… “She would have to prove me wrong” and everyone else watches as I nurse.  I nurse on the side closest to them for a few minutes before ambling off.  There’s still so much to do.  I wander the fence line, from one person to another, like a little Stonestreet ambassador.  Or maybe Storkstreet is more fitting at this time of year! I’ve heard that said too.

“little baby kisses!” one of the people says as I reach my nose up to her mouth, curiously, and just let the contact linger for a moment.  “I love that!”

The person next to her sees that and reaches her mouth towards me for her own nuzzling moment. I don’t know why her face is so short and her nose doesn’t make contact with mine, but I guess she can’t help it.  I still reach out to get acquainted by scent.  So important, that scent acquaintance.  I learned that the day I was born.

Closer to the gate, I reach down to nibble some grass. It’s not milk but it’s still good.  Enjoying that, I try the dandelion stems, no longer flowering or carrying seeds.   Not good! Spit that out.

The lady I’ve seen a lot here seems to be herding the other people away.  Sometimes I get taken to certain places by people, sometimes by my dam. I understand that, the way their movement is being controlled.

A few more words reach my ears. They’re still happy words.  It’s a good day for me, for them, for Maggy, and across Stonestreet.  There is peace here, and quiet.  It is the perfect nursery and place to grow up.  When we go in, it’s to large, luxurious stalls.  Our pastures are large too, with so much room to run and play, and filled with sweet green grass.

“She thinks this is her best day ever, all these people, all this attention…”

I see all the people still watching me.  There’s a lot of affection in the eyes on me, in the hands that reach out for a few more touches.

“Okay, 90% her best day.  All that was missing was food!”

There was more laughter.

In stillness I stand by the gate, all baby charm and tiny fuzzy cuteness, and watch them go.  They only turn away at the last possible moment and then they’re gone.  I go back to Maggy. I  have a life to live here under the bright blue skies and in the perfect nursery at Stonestreet Farms. I feel like a lucky filly, with a perfect life, and hopefully one day we find my dam and sire have passed on talent and a fire to win.  That seems so far away though. For now I’ll just keep being a little Storkstreet ambassador who loves to see people come and visit.  I have a feeling these people that met me today won’t forget me.

“I wish I could just take her home…”

Nope, they won’t forget me!

[A note about this piece:  So I wanted to try something a little different this time.  I normally do a narrative of my experiences at horse farms or race tracks, and try to maintain at least a semi-professional or completely professional tone.  Sometimes feelings about the horses I cover, an affection for them, does color my writing.  Some may not see that as professional, but as far as I’m concerned, this blog is not strictly for news.  I do hope to someday be a racing journalist and that will necessitate covering racing for news.  But I think there has to be heart in covering this sport too; first of all, because these horses put their hearts into racing, when they have the will to win and the desire.  They do this even if they are not the most talented horse in the race, sometimes.  And second, so many people from all walks of life and levels of participation in this sport, whether they are grooms, owners, trainers, or fans, find a personal connection with the horse.  To me, even on days when it’s just about news and photos, and setting a scene for what happened during a race day, there’s still usually a chance for connection with the horse, even if it’s just a fleeting moment of having a horse linger and look you in the eye with their deep gaze on the way back to the barn. Even if you don’t know their name, you will think of that moment later. It’s just a way a horse, a Thoroughbred, can have of touching the soul.  And then too, most of us have that one horse – at least – that has a place in our hearts.  So if that blurs the boundary of professionalism… well, for once I was drawn to write this type of story since the filly we met just had such a memorable little personality already…]

I am not sure at the moment what has become of the photos I took that day, but I can try to paint the images through words, and add the photos later if I come across them again.  Maggy Hawk was sleek and beautiful, a testament to the care received at Stonestreet.  She’s an amazing-looking mare.

It really is a serene farm, and this was the most I had seen of it yet.  Previous visits had “only” involved seeing Rachel Alexandra, absolutely in the top five of my list of favorite racehorses. But seeing the rest of the farm was great too, from the beautiful soothing pond with its swans to the pastoral scene of the large pasture that Maggy Hawk and her Smart Strike filly occupied, with its line of light green leafy trees around the fence perimeter.

On the late April day of this visit, Rachel was in a field with retired barren mares.

It was interesting to hear how self-sustaining Stonestreet is.  Each Stonestreet farm has its own workshops, and they make everything on site from their own wreaths for holidays to foal tags and fences.  All the ingredients are in place for a perfect home for horses, driven by the passion and enthusiasm Jess Jackson had for the sport, and carried on well by Barbara Banke.  This attention to detail and enthusiasm is evident across the whole farm and in any winner’s circle where Stonestreet horses are.

It was clear too, so close to the Derby on the day we visited, how much excitement Carpe Diem had generated.  Owned in partnership with Winstar, the silks he wears alternate between that farm’s and Stonestreet’s. On Derby day he would wear Stonestreet silks, and the expectation was high that he would carry them to victory.  It’s one more probable success story from this world-class farm.