After calling an audible to win a Kentucky Derby points race earlier this month in New York, trainer Brad Cox is sticking with the same play for two of his most promising Triple Crown prospects in Arkansas. He will send out Verifying and Giant Mischief in the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) at 1 1/16 miles Saturday at Oaklawn.
Verifying, the 2-1 program favorite, returns to Oaklawn after a smashing entry-level allowance victory at one mile Jan. 14 in his 3-year-old debut. From the first crop of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, Verifying has been targeting the Rebel for weeks.
As for Giant Mischief, he's been pointing to the Rebel for months. The early 5-2 second choice, Giant Mischief hasn't started since finishing a troubled second in the $400,000 Remington Park Springboard Mile Stakes Dec. 17. Giant Mischief suffered his first career loss in the Springboard Mile, beaten 1 ¼ lengths by Wildatlanticstorm, after missing the break and spotting the field several lengths. Giant Mischief, last early in his two-turn debut, made a dazzling move on the outside to reach contention turning for home and was slowly getting to a ground-saving Wildatlanticstorm approaching the wire.
“I expected him to run big that night and he did,” Cox said. “I never expected him to break like that. Just rocked back a step right before they popped him. Just caught himself giving them too much early. The winner, obviously, got a great trip. He's a good horse as well. We're looking forward to giving him another run around two turns.”
Giant Mischief shipped to Oaklawn immediately after the Springboard Mile and spent a short time in Hot Springs before joining Cox's long list of Kentucky Derby prospects, including Verifying, in the warmer climate at Fair Grounds.
“That's totally why he's there,” said Cox, who has worked Giant Mischief five times this year at Fair Grounds in advance of the Rebel. “Just to kind of keep him on a little bit more of a consistent (training) schedule.”
Giant Mischief would have earned four Kentucky Derby qualifying points for his runner-up finish in the Springboard Mile, but he ran on Lasix. Horses are ineligible to collect points in Kentucky Derby points races if they race on the anti-bleeder medication.
Still, Cox has six of the top 18 horses (Angel of Empire, Instant Coffee, Hit Show, Jace's Road, Victory Formation, and Tapit's Conquest) on the latest Kentucky Derby Leaderboard after winning six points races in 2022-2023.
Victory Formation and Angel of Empire ran first and second, respectively, in Oaklawn's first Kentucky Derby points race, the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at one mile Jan. 1. Angel of Empire returned to win the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes (G2) at 1 1/8 miles last Saturday at Fair Grounds.
Cox entered three horses in Oaklawn's second Kentucky Derby points race, the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 28. He decided to scratch Hit Show and re-routed the son of Candy Ride to the $250,000 Withers Stakes (G3) Feb. 4 at Aqueduct. Hit Show won the 1 1/8-mile Withers, delayed until Feb. 11 because of harsh winter weather.
Giant Mischief figures to be the last of Cox's Kentucky Derby prospects to debut in 2023.
“I think it (Rebel) gives him the best shot of giving him another run around two turns,” Cox said. “Gives him a solid two months between the Remington race and the Rebel. It's probably a better introduction, a better first race for him in this region, going a mile and a sixteenth as opposed to going a mile and an eighth in the Risen Star. For him and bringing him along the right way, I think the Rebel probably makes the most sense.”
A son of champion sire Into Mischief and Oaklawn-raced Vertical Oak, Giant Mischief has won 2 of 3 career starts and $193,400 for a conglomerate of powerhouse owners, including his breeder, Stonestreet Stables (Barbara Banke), and Spendthrift Farm (Eric Gustavson). Prominent Arkansas automobile dealer Steve Landers and 2022-2023 Oaklawn leading owner Ten Strike Racing (Marshall Gramm) also have interests in Giant Mischief, who debuted at 5 ½ furlongs Sept. 22 at Horseshoe Indianapolis and cleared his first allowance condition at seven furlongs on the Breeders' Cup undercard Nov. 4 at Keeneland.
“He's a nice colt,” Cox said.
Giant Mischief and Verifying both arrived Wednesday night at Oaklawn. Four-time Eclipse Award winner Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride Giant Mischief for the first time in the Rebel. Florent Geroux is named on Verifying after riding Giant Mischief in his last two starts.
Cox, with a victory Saturday, would join Hall of Famers Bob Baffert, Steve Asmussen and D. Wayne Lukas as the only trainers to sweep Oaklawn's four-race series of Kentucky Derby points races. Cox has won four of Oaklawn's last 10 Kentucky Derby points races, including the $1.25 million Arkansas Derby (G1) last year with Cyberknife.
The Rebel will offer 100 points (50-20-15-10-5, respectively) to the top five finishers toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby. All 11 entrants are eligible to collect qualifying points because they won't be running on Lasix.
The $1.25 million Arkansas Derby (G1) at 1 1/8 miles April 1 is Oaklawn's fourth and final 2023 Kentucky Derby points race.
By all accounts, breeder Carol Luttrall, 78, has always done the right thing by her horses. Until recently, Luttrall lived alone on her Texas farm with three of her homebreds in the backyard. One mare she had kept from birth, the other two she had acquired after they retired from the claiming circuit. One, a gray gelding named Deliverer, had been named the 2011 Texas Champion Claimer and had retired with 22 wins from 56 starts. Luttrall had foaled them all herself, and Deliverer was a special favorite after he nearly died at birth due to an umbilical cord issue.
“She planned on doing all the right things,” said Donna Keen, co-founder of Remember Me Rescue. “She planned to keep them for the rest of their lives.”
Luttrall's daughter, Holly Lee, remembers a childhood filled with both Thoroughbreds and rodeo horses, and always took pride in how well the family's horses looked.
In recent years, Luttrall had lived alone on the farm as an active and very independent woman, according to Lee. Lee didn't always see the horses when she would visit her mother, but she knew there was grain and hay in the barn, and her mother always said the trio were doing well. Luttrall had been experiencing some memory problems, which Lee and Luttrall's doctor thought were likely related to normal aging. Then, in late 2022, Lee said her mother suffered a stroke. Afterwards, Lee realized that Luttrall had been forgetting to take her medication, a blood thinner which carries an increased risk of stroke if it's stopped suddenly.
That's when she started taking a harder look at things.
Lee was horrified to realize that in fact, the horses hadn't been getting regular grain and hay. Luttrall's property is rocky and not a source of lots of grass, even in spring, let alone winter. All three of the horses, particularly Deliverer, had lost significant weight.
“I drew a conclusion that I didn't think she was remembering to feed the horses twice a day,” said Lee. “I wish I could have been a little more into her business, but she's very private.”
Deliverer is making good progress after about three weeks at Remember Me Rescue. Photo courtesy Remember Me Rescue
With help from the Texas Thoroughbred Association, Lee connected with Remember Me Rescue, which is a Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance-accredited facility. Knowing she didn't have the resources to care for the horses as she sorted out full-time care for her mother, Lee and Luttrall surrendered the three horses to Remember Me in January.
Keen said that fortunately, Lee caught the problem before any of the horses were too thin to be rehabilitated. All three have made progress with their body condition scores and have been wormed, given dental floats and vaccines, and had blood work done. Keen posted about the family's situation on Facebook and was heartened to receive donations from the industry, including one from owner/trainer Joe Davis, who had bought Deliverer as a yearling from the 2005 Fasig-Tipton Texas Sale, to support their rehabilitation. The two mares — 18-year-old Black Flamingo and 17-year-old Orange Colored Sky — will soon be available for adoption to a non-breeding home. Deliverer needs a little more time and weight before he'll be ready to find a new home but Keen thinks he'll get there.
“That's one thing that breaks my heart – my mother was very pro-animal welfare,” Lee said. “She never abused her animals. She took such good care of them. They came before she did. For our horses to look like they were neglected is just heart-breaking to me. It's embarrassing as all get-out. If I'd have seen a horse that looked like that, I'd have called the humane society.”
Lee said she's hopeful that sharing the family's story will serve as a lesson to others about how neglect cases can happen – and how to help prevent them.
“It's not always somebody's fault, it just depends on the situation,” she said. “In the case of elderly people who live on their own who have animals, people need to check on the animals – and them.”
When news of an equine neglect situation comes out, horse lovers often ask how a horse can end up thin or sick – what was the owner thinking? Experts say there are a few different root causes in these scenarios, and they're not always simple.
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Dr. Clara Mason is an ambulatory equine veterinarian based in West Virginia who is known for her work on a variety of animal abuse and neglect cases, particularly equine cases. She works closely with state legislators to make better animal welfare laws, and often consults with law enforcement and prosecutors on ongoing neglect or abuse situations. In 2019, she was recognized by American Association of Equine Practitioners' Good Works for Horses campaign for her work to improve equine welfare.
Mason said she finds that most neglect cases fall into one of three categories for horses. One of them is mostly a matter of bad luck – people getting in over their heads due to a sudden job loss, inability to source hay, or (as in Luttrall's case) a physical or cognitive challenge that has made it difficult to consistently distribute food or organize vet and farrier care.
Another root cause Mason finds is knowing, overt neglect. In this situation, a person doesn't have the experience or compassion to feed a horse properly – even if they're able to do so, which they sometimes are.
“We've had a bunch of those where the barn is full of hay, yet the horses die of starvation,” Mason said. “It's just a matter of what [the owners] prioritize for their day, and feeding the horse was not part of it.”
Then there are more complex, mental health disorders that can have a similar result. Mason said she encounters people who cannot grasp that they are neglecting their horses, even when the horses' condition makes that obvious to others. Animal hoarding falls into this category.
The TRF rescued this gelding and three others from a neglect situation in New York in 2019
“That's our biggest challenge anymore, is absolute, straight-up hoarding,” said Mason. “People will pretend to be a 501(c)3 and they're actually not a charitable organization. Perhaps their heart is in a good place, but oftentimes it's not. The basis of hoarding is there's no love for the animal, it's a desire to own the object. In most hoarding cases, the person gets to brag they have 100 horses they've rescued when clearly they shouldn't have rescued one.”
These can be the most challenging cases, Mason said, because often the owners resent being told they're not properly caring for their animals and may be resistant to advice or directives from law enforcement or veterinarians about what they should be doing differently. People in these situations as the result of a mental health problem can often be repeat offenders.
Gail Vacca, founder and president of the Illinois Equine Humane Center, said hoarding cases are the most difficult to crack. In one situation, Vacca recalled the ILEHC was called in to deal with starving horses belonging to the same woman on and off for more than six years. Even as she had horses taken from her by authorities, the owner would visit Illinois racetracks periodically to source more horses.
“She told everybody at the track she was a hunter/jumper trainer and if they needed to place a horse, give her a call and she'll make sure it gets a good home,” said Vacca. “Part of her problem was she thrived on being a hero for people at the track.”
Meanwhile, Vacca said the woman would move her horses frequently, leaving boarding farm owners with unpaid bills and skinny horses in her wake. Vacca said the person also moved the horses across different counties, which made it difficult for local authorities to recognize that she had a pattern of neglect complaints. Her professed status as a rescue also made it more difficult. Vacca said she has encountered several people who will have one skinny horse they've had for some months and a newer acquisition in good weight, but will tell authorities the fleshy horse is one they've rehabilitated and the skinny one is a newcomer to their rescue.
“You had to think there's some serious underlying mental illness for her to keep doing this,” Vacca said. “She went through so much effort to keep the horses so she could starve them.”
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The best approach to a neglect case depends on its root cause.
The official position of both the AAEP, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and many in law enforcement is that education should always be the first solution to a neglect situation when possible. In theory, teaching someone how to properly care for an animal rather than simply seizing it should lessen the likelihood of recurrence. It's also a practical consideration in places where county officials don't have an easy way to house large animals like horses.
Mason is often called in by local law enforcement to formalize a plan showing the areas of horse care that are lacking and listing a series of solutions. She'll also make out a guide with a timeline for follow-up by police showing them what to look for to gauge whether an owner is resolving the issues successfully.
In cases where someone has become temporarily overwhelmed by a physical or financial problem, Mason finds they are more likely to accept assistance, like referrals to local hay banks or donated veterinary services. In some situations, Mason discovers owners who just didn't know that what they were doing was wrong. She encounters cases where a skinny horse is being given enough food but has gone so long without a dental check-up the owner doesn't realize the horse can't properly chew the food they're getting. In other scenarios, a horse may be an adequate weight but suffering from chronic laminitis because the owner doesn't recognize the symptoms or hasn't found a farrier who can help. And she also sees cases where a horse is considered a neglect case because it's obese, often due to inappropriate feeds or feed amounts; for whatever reason she has seen a number of obese horses whose owners tried feeding them loaves of bread to add calories, which is not appropriate.
When education isn't the problem, horses are usually reliant on the public to report cases of neglect to local law enforcement. Details and documentation are often key to communicating the issue. Mason cautioned that if you're concerned about animals on a property, you may not trespass onto that property to investigate yourself – but you can document what you see.
“You can't deny someone visual access, meaning if the horse is in the pasture and you can see the horse safely from the road, take a picture. And then next week, maybe do the same thing,” she said. “It's hard to assess an animal based on your memory, especially if you're not familiar with a thin horse, but photographs speak volumes.
“Sometimes what happens is there's a legitimate case, but people have documented it by some method that's illegal and then it gets shot down when it gets to court because the people have violated right to privacy.”
After reporting the horses to law enforcement, Mason said you should resist the urge to feed them. For one thing, this may require you to trespass to do so. For another, without a veterinary work-up it's hard to know if you might harm the horse by bringing it a new feedstuff. But possibly most importantly, law enforcement may go by the property and see feed, assume it came from the owner, and think all is well.
Z Camelot and Silver Cliff, two of the severely underweight horses from the Mercer County neglect case, shown in 2016. They have since made full recoveries.
When it comes to prevention, Vacca and Mason agree that you shouldn't take someone's word for it when they say they're a rescue, even if they claim to be a 501(c)3. You can verify a non-profit's tax-exempt status here, but Vacca said you should also give preference to organizations that are accredited.
“Now we have the TAA. We have accredited aftercare groups,” said Vacca, who noted that Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries also accredits equine rescues that are not primarily for Thoroughbreds. “There's no excuse to go out of the safety net that the industry has provided with the TAA. No excuse.
“If TAA groups are full, ask them to help you place the horse. Let them do the vetting. Don't try to do it yourself. You're not well-versed in it, you won't have the time and experience.”
Prioritizing education for law enforcement and prosecutors is also key to getting neglect cases handled. Many attorneys and police officers may not be familiar with horses, and may not know how to spot neglect. Equine veterinarians like Mason can provide local authorities with resources, and some groups like the Kentucky Horse Council offer regular training for investigators to help them spot neglect and abuse.
“Everybody knows what a skinny dog looks like, but nobody really knows what a skinny horse looks like,” said Mason. “Once you educate law enforcement, whether it's the sheriff or the prosecutors' office, once they're educated, they seem to embrace it.
“Everyone knows how busy law enforcement is. They've got bigger fish to fry these days than some thin horses, however human abuse begins with animal abuse and there is paper after paper on that. We've tried to convince law enforcement to please not ignore those calls.”
He just won the GII Risen Star S., has a strong pair entered in Saturday's GII Rebel S. and accounts for 10 horses being offered in the latest round of the Derby Future Wager. When it comes to 3-year-old talent, Brad Cox's lineup has tremendous quality and tremendous quantity. In the spotlight virtually every Saturday that includes a prep race for the GI Kentucky Derby, Cox found the time to join the team for this week's Thoroughbred Daily News Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to discuss his Derby prospects. Cox was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week.
So far as the Rebel, in which he will start Verifying (Justify) and Giant Mischief (Into Mischief), Cox is optimistic he can pick up another major win on the road to the Derby.
“I think that Verifying is a very good horse,” he said. “The last time out at Oaklawn, he showed the ability to set close to the pace. I think the fractions [in the Rebel] will be similar, maybe even quicker. I don't expect to necessarily be on the lead but somewhat forwardly placed in a good stalking position. If he runs as well as he's training, I think he's going to be right there. He's a good colt. Giant Mischief is also a very good colt. I thought he ran a winning race at Remington [in the Springboard Mile], but, obviously, just didn't get away well. He made a big middle move and then kind of flattened out. This was by design to give him a little time after that race. He had three good runs at two, three positive races. And I thought he showed in his Remington race that he could stretch out. We're looking forward to getting him started at three.”
Like most trainers with top horses and clients, winning the Derby has become a focal point for Cox, who said he's living a dream with this many good horses.
“This has been my dream for a long, long time, to get into this position, acquire good colts from top outfits, top breeders, top owners throughout the country,” he said. “These horses, you need to have a lot of them to be on this stage. That we have so many at this point just proves that we've got a really, really good program. It's a team effort and it's years and years of training young horses and being able to stop on them when they need to be stopped on and then having them ready to go in the fall of their two-year-old year or to begin their three-year-old season to try to make that push for the Kentucky Derby because it is very, very demanding.”
Officially, Cox has won the Kentucky Derby. The Cox-trained Mandaloun (Into Mischief) was awarded the win in 2021 after Medina Spirit (Protonico) was disqualified due to a medication overage. But Cox said he doesn't really feel like he's won the race and wants to win it by sending out the best horse.
“It hasn't felt like winning the Kentucky Derby,” he said. “If you're awarded the race how do you explain that to people? I have to say, 'Oh, yeah, I've won it, but my horse didn't cross the wire first.' If I met a stranger and they didn't know much about horse racing, I'd have to explain how I won the Derby. I definitely don't feel that we've won the Kentucky Derby. We know the Kentucky Derby is not the richest race run in America, but I think it is without a doubt the most prestigious. All the eyes are on racing that day with the telecast, the crowd and everything. And it's the thrill of victory, bottom line. I haven't experienced that thrill and I look forward to it someday.”
Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, XBTV, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders and West Point Thoroughbreds, Randy Moss, Zoe Cadman and Bill Finley reviewed last week's races at the Fair Grounds, including the Risen Star and the disappointing effort by Hoosier Philly (Into Mischief) in the GII Rachel Alexandra S. Steve Asmussen's 10,000th win was also discussed with Finley predicting that Asmussen is setting records that will never be broken. To preview the G1 Saudi Cup, Cadman caught up with jockeys Mike Smith and Frankie Dettori in a new segment on the podcast, 1/ST things 1/ST at Santa Anita.
As she ran her hands over the dark bay gelding's mane, Nora Calhoun, for a moment, recalled the day of May 13, 2005.
It had been some time since the wife of former Thoroughbred trainer, the late John Calhoun, had seen the still-sturdy son of Wonneberg, the horse known as Maple Tints during his racing days at Woodbine.
The reunion between the two, last summer, was at times emotional for the woman who had welcomed the Ontario-bred into the world nearly 18 years ago.
“Maple was foaled at 2:15 in the morning,” recalled Nora, who owned the horse her husband bred and trained. “Because he was black at the time he was born I nicknamed him 'Midnight.' He was 15 days overdue, so I lost a lot of sleep waiting for him to make an appearance. He always did things his way from the beginning. John and I tried for over an hour to get him up to nurse. He would have none of that. We finally left him and went to bed, but I couldn't sleep, worrying that if he wasn't up, he wasn't nursing, and that first milk was so important. So, I got up numerous times for the rest of the night, stripping his dam, Worthy Turn, and bottle-feeding him because he was down every time I went into the barn.”
Her persistence was eventually rewarded.
“Finally, when I went in at about 6:30 in the morning, I looked at him and said, 'Are you ever going to stand?' and lo and behold he bounced right up. I knew then that he had been enjoying breakfast in bed and double dipping.”
Maple Tints made his racing debut on Aug. 3, 2007, at Woodbine, and finished fifth. It wasn't until his seventh start that he broke his maiden, the milestone coming 15 days before his third birthday.
Sent on his way at 21-1, he rallied to secure a half-length win at one mile over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course.
The dramatic, come-from-behind score put Calhoun through her paces.
Literally.
“One of my favorite memories of Maple Tints was the day he first ran on the turf and won that race,” she offered. “He was behind the field turning for home. I was watching with my sister outside on the second floor at Woodbine. Apparently, so my sister says, every time he passed a horse, I would go down another step all the while cheering very loudly, until he reached the finish line in front. I was so proud of him.”
Maple Tints, who would never contest a stakes race, compiled a record of 4-2-5 from 58 starts, to go along with $200,354 (U.S.) in purse earnings.
The highlight came in the form of consecutive scores in late 2009. It would be 26 starts before his next win, in what would be his final trip to the winner's circle, on July 11, 2012. His final start came on Nov. 23, 2012, at Woodbine.
Not long after that chapter of his life came to a close, Maple Tints joined the ranks of the LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society, one of the most respected horse retirement and adoption organizations, and the first industry-funded adoption program in Canada.
At that time, LongRun, established in 1999, hadn't moved into its sprawling 100-acre property in Hillsburgh, Ontario, the place that is now home to over 50 retired racehorses.
Betsy Sinclair, a former schoolteacher living in Wellington, a southeastern Ontario village nestled near the shores of Lake Ontario, was familiar with the organization.
Retirement, which offered the opportunity for the couple to welcome a horse into their lives, led Sinclair to LongRun.
“We got Henchman through LongRun,” said Sinclair, of the Ontario-bred son of Endeavor. “I have had a connection to horses almost my entire life. We lived on a farm and had a workhorse. I had the horse gene, so that horse started my life around ponies and horses. I was a schoolteacher for 35 years and my husband worked for Panasonic and traveled all over the world. It really wasn't conducive to having a horse and we didn't have a farm, but after we retired, we had the time and opportunity.”
Unfortunately, Henchman wouldn't be in Sinclair's life for long.
“We eventually discovered, through a number of tests, that he had end-stage liver disease. We did everything we could for him, but there came a time when we had to say goodbye. When Henchman passed away, I realized how much I missed having a horse around. I love them. There is just something about a horse that is therapeutic. It's so nice to have your psychiatrist so handy.”
It was Maple Tints who would fill that void and role for Sinclair.
Along with her husband, she travelled to several Ontario farms connected to LongRun to look at horses, hopeful of finding one they could eventually bring home with them.
“It was going farm to farm to farm. One of the places we visited had three horses. The third one they brought out was Maple, and Arthur, my husband, said, 'That's the horse. This is the one that has a presence.' So that's how we got him.”
Sinclair and Maple Tints have been together since 2017.
It has been, she said with a smile, the perfect fit for both.
“We've been to the Royal Winter Fair, in competitions – last year he won Reserve Champion at an Arabian show. He just has a wonderful presence. Even if he never went to another show in his life, I don't care. He's just so laid-back and he's very smart. He's easy to get along with. A friend of mine, Olivia Stevenson, at the barn where he stays rides him a great deal. She often shows him for me when I can't make it. She told me that he treats me differently than he treats her. She said that when she gets on him – she's about 22 – that he gives her a workout. When I get on him, he's more laid-back. So, that's the kind of guy he is.”
Sinclair makes multiple drives each week, about 20 minutes in the summer, closer to half hour in the winter, to the facility where Maple Tints is stabled.
Every trip is a welcome one for Sinclair, who has bestowed a royal title to her beloved horse's barn name.
“In the barn, he's known as King Arthur. He has his harem of ladies that he goes out with every day. He doesn't like going with the boys. He has quite a bond with the ladies.”
Calhoun and Sinclair have forged a close bond of their own.
Although they are miles apart – Calhoun lives in Riverview, New Brunswick – the pair connect often, whether it's a quick phone call or through email.
“I am so thankful for LongRun and what they do for retired racehorses,” said Calhoun. “If not for them, Maple Tints and Betsy Sinclair wouldn't have found each other. Or would they? I think they were meant to meet. Betsy is the person a breeder or previous owner wants to find to take care of your horse when you no longer can. There is nothing Betsy won't do to keep Arthur happy and healthy, and I am so grateful that she is his owner now.”
Seeing Calhoun and Maple Tints reunited was a special moment for Sinclair.
“Knowing Nora as I do, she loves to be involved in his life. She misses John and she misses the horses. So, the joy in her eyes when she saw this beautiful horse again was wonderful.”
Maple Tints continues to do well in his post-race life, one that could see him add new skills to his repertoire in the near future.
“We are working on dressage with him,” noted Sinclair. “That's where we're going to try and take him in the next few years. So, we'll see where this adventure takes us. He's 18 now, but he looks amazing.”
At least most of the time.
A rainy day typically brings out a different look for Maple Tints.
“He's a smart boy, he's easy to get along with, and he's very good looking, except when he rolls in the mud which is one of his favorite things to do. It also seems like whenever I take someone to visit him, he presents as this brown horse with mud all over him. If it's a rainy day, he's into the mud. But I wouldn't trade him for a million bucks. He's an incredible horse and I love him.”
It was something Calhoun saw, first-hand, during her reunion with the horse she has still a great affinity for.
She knows her husband, who trained until he was 92, and passed peacefully at the age of 94 after a lengthy illness on March 14, 2016, would feel the same way.
“When I visited them last August, I could see the mutual love. That's exactly what I wanted for my Midnight. I'm sure John would fully agree with me.”
