Tag: Horowitz on OTTBs

The success of the Arabian Sport Horse Championship is going to change the image of one of the oldest horse breeds in the world. The impact that this event can make is similar to what the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover has done for the Thoroughbred breed.

“The Arabian Sport Horse Championship is the best thing [that] could have been organized for our ex-racehorses in UAE,” said Elise Jeanne, a race trainer in the UAE who participated in the 2023 ASHC in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, on May 6. “Arabians have always been famous for their versatility. They have been used to improve different breeds. The ASHC is the key to a better future for our horses in UAE.”

There's a lot of similarity between the ASHC and the Thoroughbred Makeover, and both are proving to be incredibly valuable for the horse racing industry to support. They both put the spotlight on racehorses competing in new careers.

“Started in 2016, ASHC was aware of the large number of Arabian horses in the country, particularly for racing and endurance,” said Diana Abousleiman, ASHC Marketing and Communications Manager. “ASHC recognized the need to be responsible in providing alternative opportunities dedicated to the breed beyond these careers.”

The ASHC represents the vision of founder Sheikha Hissa Bint Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan for “promoting responsibility for their care and futures beyond their primary careers,” said Abousleiman. The “primary careers” for Arabians in the UAE are flat racing and endurance racing.

The ASHC takes place in Arabian-centric Abu Dhabi at the Boudheib Equestrian Academy, home to the largest indoor horse arena in the world measuring a staggering 250 meters (approximately 820 feet) by 65 meters (approximate 210 feet). That's a four-acre riding space. The Thoroughbred Makeover takes place in Thoroughbred-centric Lexington, Ky.,, at the iconic Kentucky Horse Park, home to some of the biggest equestrian competitions in the United States.

Just like how the Thoroughbred Makeover offers a variety of disciplines to spotlight the versatility of the Thoroughbred, so does the ASHC for the Arabian, including dressage, show jumping, arena eventing, and, for the first time in 2023, barrel racing. MH Lazzaz, whom Jeanne trained during a 66-race career from 2011 to 2019, actually competed in every discipline. The now 15-year-old chestnut gelding was “one of the stars of 2023,” according to Abousleiman.

“Lazzaz showed so much enthusiasm and talent for his new career as a sporthorse, not only winning and placing in many of our sponsored jumping classes in the run-up to our main event but also by competing in all the class disciplines including jumping, arena eventing, dressage, and barrel racing at our main event,” she said.

MH Lazzaz was part of the MH Stable team that won the Versatility Team Championship title by accumulating the most points across all classes of competition. The team managed and coached by Jeanne included: MH Lazzaz ridden by Alexandra Grant, MH Dorzen ridden by Anna Salakhutdinova, MH Mayar ridden by Sabine Buschen, and MH Sabi ridden by Savannah Glanville.

“At MH Stable, we breed horses over 20 years now, and we feel responsible for them,” Jeanne said. “Seeing the light again in their eyes is priceless. They are bred to be athletes and they love competition.”

I got to experience this firsthand when I was in the United Arab Emirates in March covering the Dubai World Cup for the Arabian Jockey Club. The day after the Dubai World Cup, I went with Elise to Ajman to see some of her retired racehorses at MH Stable. She was coaching students in a show jumping lesson. I asked if there was anything I could do to help, and Elise read my mind knowing that I'd want to hop on a horse. She put me on MH Seena, a 7-year-old chestnut mare that made nine starts at four different tracks in the UAE from 2019 to 2020.

Elise told me that Seena was new to jumping, and the mare communicated that to me as well when she took long stares and a few skittish steps going past the show jump standards and rails set in the arena when we started our ride. By the end of the ride, I was in love. Seena was so incredibly honest, and after being given the opportunity to process what I was asking her to do, she gained confidence and proceeded to put together her first ever course of multiple jumps. “We're done,” I told Elise after the round in the video below, and Seena exuded confidence standing in the arena waiting for the other horses and riders to finish their training. Then, she walked back to her stall with some pep in her step. Winning over the chestnut mare was a great feeling and one of my riding highlights so far this year.

When I was in Dubai in March, I rode with Elise Jeanne and her MH Stables team. Elise put me on an Arabian named Seena who was new to jumping. It was such a cool experience to ride this mare with a big personality as she prepares for Saturday's Arabian Sport Horse Championships. pic.twitter.com/jNvELoestj

— Jonathan Horowitz (@jjhorowitz) May 6, 2023

So, fast forward six weeks, and I woke up in the middle of the night on Saturday, May 6, in Mount Pleasant, Utah, where I was announcing The Event at Skyline. May 6 would be one of the biggest days of the year for equestrian sports with the Kentucky Derby and Badminton Horse Trials taking place at the highest level of their respective disciplines of racing and eventing. However, the competition I was honestly looking forward to the most that day was the ASHC. Seena was part of a second team from MH Stable, which brought eight horses and riders to the horse show.

I watched the livestream and witnessed what an incredible success the ASHC was in its first year back since 2019 because of the coronavirus pandemic. From 32 horses competing in 2019 to 91 in 2023. From 58 entries in 2019 (accounting for horses competing in multiple classes) to 103 in 2023. The ASHC was broadcast across the UAE on YAS TV. Imagine if the Thoroughbred Makeover was broadcast by NBC Sports or Fox Sports.

“For 2023, we had a dedicated ASHC team working on the promotion and organization,” Abousleiman said. “ASHC-sponsored classes for pure- and part-bred Arabians were held at clubs throughout the UAE in the months leading up to the event. The event was heavily promoted directly in the UAE equestrian community and on social media. For the event, we increased the number of classes from four to 15, and yes, we introduced barrel racing for the first time in the region. It was actually the single most popular class! Prize money was increased to 170,000 AED, by far our biggest total amount yet. There was a team competition for the first time. We also had the event set up for spectators with f&b options, live entertainment, children's activities, and trade stands.”

Converting dirhams to dollars, there was more than $45,000 up for grabs, and the substantial prize money is another similarity between ASHC and the Thoroughbred Makeover. The levels offered reflect where the Arabians are at in their retraining, similar to how the RRP organizes the Makeover. For example, at ASHC, the three jumping levels are: 50-70 centimeters, 70-90 centimeters, and 90-110 centimeters.

In addition to the successes of the horses and riders from MH Stable, another highlight was Asmr W'rsan ridden by Hasan Ali Al Saiari to first-place finishes in both arena eventing at 90-110 centimeters and barrel racing, as well as a third-place finish in show jumping at 90-110 centimeters. It doesn't get much more versatile than that. Omar Abdulaziz Al Marzouqi, who has qualified to be on the UAE show jumping team at the 2024 Olympics, competed.

The ASHC is poised to grow in 2024 with an expanded format over two days and more than 500,000 AED in prize money, the equivalent of $136,150.

From announcing and producing stories for the Thoroughbred Makeover, I've seen how that event has revolutionized the image of and opportunities for Thoroughbred racehorses. The ASHC is set to do the same for Arabian racehorses.

Announcing horse races inspired Jonathan Horowitz to become an advocate for off-track Thoroughbreds and Arabians, as well as to learn to event on horses he used to announce at the track. He also serves as Acting Director for the Arabian Jockey Club and runs the Super G Sporthorses eventing barn with his wife, Ashley. He can be reached on Facebook and Twitter at @jjhorowitz.

The post Horowitz On OTTBs Presented by Excel Equine: A Huge Opportunity For Former Arabian Racehorses In The UAE appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The next two weekends will bring out the best qualities of the Thoroughbred breed — the last weekend of April for the Thoroughbred sporthorse at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event and then the first weekend of May for the Thoroughbred racehorse at the Kentucky Derby.

The Kentucky Derby in Louisville is about showcasing the horses that will represent the breed in the national spotlight. Each year, there are special qualities to these Thoroughbreds and their connections that draw the most coverage and biggest audience that horse racing receives in the United States. The safest bet of the Kentucky Derby is that there will be something memorable, and maybe even legendary, about the winner.

The week before the Kentucky Derby is the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. This event showcases the qualities of the breed that allow the Thoroughbred to excel in the ultimate sporting test for equine athletes. It draws international competition and an international audience. Here's how the Olympic website describes the challenges eventing presents horse and rider:

“Eventing is the most complete combined competition discipline and demands of the competitor and horse considerable experience in all branches of equitation. It covers every aspect of horsemanship: the harmony between horse and rider that characterizes Dressage; the contact with nature, stamina and extensive experience essential for the Cross Country; the precision, agility and technique involved in Jumping.”

Although the breed was developed for racing, Thoroughbreds make excellent event horses because they possess a combination of the athleticism, bravery, and precise movement that the sport requires.

Here are the fascinating backgrounds and accomplishments of the racehorses that are now competing at the highest level of eventing.

SOROCAIMA: 12yo bay gelding bred in Kentucky (Rock Hard Ten – Sankobasi)

When Sorocaima made his CCI5*-L debut (the highest level of eventing) at the 2022 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, one of only seven “five-star” events in the world, he became the first Thoroughbred to complete all three phases with the most starts on the racetrack since Irish Rhythm (JC: Daniel Alexander) did so in 2014. Sorocaima and Irish Rhythm both raced 43 times.

The bay gelding sired by Rock Hard Ten out of the Pulpit dam Sankobasi held up well over a racing career that spanned four years. Following one start as a 2-year-old in December 2013, he ran 14 times in 2014, 15 times in 2015, and 13 in 2016 before his final career race as a 5-year-old in November 2016.

Sorocaima's best season was as a 4-year-old in 2015 when he won four races and finished in the top-two in nine of his 15 starts. This included consecutive wins at Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania nine days apart. However, after only hitting the board once in 13 starts the following year, Sorocaima's racing connections decided to retire him.

“The key for OTTBs — if they have the talent and they have the soundness and they have the athleticism, if you stop before they're injured, their careers can be spectacular,” said Carrie Brogden of Machmer Hall, who bred Sorocaima together with Poindexter Thoroughbreds.

Sorocaima, who goes by the barn name of “Cam,” quickly took to eventing. His first USEA-recognized event was at the Training level of 3'3” with Nilson Moreira Da Silva in January 2018. After Da Silva piloted Cam in his first eventing season and Karli Wright for his second, Buck Davidson began competing the horse in 2020. Jill Henneberg — who was a member of the U.S. eventing team that won a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics, the trainer for Wright, and a friend of Davidson's — reached out to Davidson about how he and Cam would be a great match.

“I have this horse you need to have” and “this has your name written all over it” is how Davidson described what Henneberg said about Sorocaima. Henneberg went so far as to bring Cam from Georgia to Florida to try out and left him with Davidson for a week.

“I just didn't have the guts to call her [to say no],” Davidson said. “It just seemed easier to buy the horse, and I'm glad I did. I absolutely love riding him.”

Cam did his first FEI events with Davidson and made it to the five-star level in 2022 at Kentucky and then at the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill only four years after his first USEA-recognized event.

“He keeps improving,” Davidson said. “He's just the ultimate trier. He's the reason that I love Thoroughbreds. He's sort of old-fashioned. He's by Rock Hard Ten. He's not crazy tall, but that sort of European horse you'd see at Cheltenham for the Gold Cup. He's got big bones, and he's not the little wiry speed horse. He looks like he'd excel on the turf, and honestly he should have been a Maryland Hunt Cup horse. He would have won that for sure. He's an absolute joy to ride every day. We teach him something new, and he learns it.”

Beyond his athletic ability, Cam also has the looks.

“I always like a horse that I can look in the eye,” Davidson said. “He has the most big, beautiful, calm, relaxed, eye that you would ever want in a horse. He's got the most beautiful classical head. His answer is always yes.”

In addition to competing Thoroughbreds at the highest levels of eventing, Davidson advocates on behalf of the breed as a board member for the Retired Racehorse Project.

“I love Thoroughbred horses; you're not going to beat a good Thoroughbred horse,” he said. “Cam is the epitome of a Thoroughbred.”

That's a feather in the cap for Sorcaima's breeders.

“The one thing I cherish on our farm and the land on our farm is soundness,” Brogden said. “He had bone like tree trunks. He had size and mass. He had a great brain. So to me, I love that they're getting that kind of soundness. He's been at the elite level for several years now, which is pretty amazing.”

PALM CRESCENT: 17yo dark bay gelding bred in New York (Quiet American – Edey's Village)

Palm Crescent's longevity and success as an eventer is matched by the longevity and success of his siblings on the racetrack.

In terms of longevity, Palm Crescent's dam, Edey's Village, also foaled the following warhorses:

• Seamans Village (by Maria's Mon), a 2004 chestnut gelding, raced 47 times with 2 wins.
• Parkinson Field (by Strategic Mission), a 2007 dark bay gelding, raced 46 times with 5 wins.
• Echstein Village (by Freud), a 2008 chestnut gelding, raced 71 times with 8 wins.
• Itsallaboutyou (by Harlington), a 2011 bay gelding, raced 97 times with 22 wins.

In terms of success, Watts Village (by Forestry) was a stakes winner in Japan and Korea. He made 19 starts, won eight of them, and finished in the top-three 15 times. He became the first Korean-trained horse to win a race outside of the country when he won the 2013 Japan-Korea Interaction Cup at Ohi Racecourse in Tokyo.

“Watts Village was a bit of a trailblazer with his win in Japan,” said Alastair Middleton, who works for the Korea Racing Authority's (KRA) international simulcast in various roles, including as a race caller and blogger.

There's a connection I found between this race, the 2013 Japan-Korea Interaction Cup in Tokyo, and the 2023 @KyThreeDayEvent. The race's winner, Watts Village, and Palm Crescent, an OTTB in the Kentucky five-star, are brothers. Thank you to @korearacing for sharing the video. pic.twitter.com/D5oUnIpv1F

— Jonathan Horowitz (@jjhorowitz) April 21, 2023

Like Watts Village, Palm Crescent has been a trailblazer in the sport of eventing, and like his other brothers, he's been quite the war horse. On the track, Palm Crescent was a frontrunner like Watts Village. His one victory in 12 starts came when he led the entire way of a maiden race at Charles Town in West Virginia in December 2009.

After retiring from racing in April 2010, Palm Crescent, who goes by the barn name of “Palmer,” competed in his first USEA-recognized event in February 2011 with Jennifer Simmons. Then, Jan Bynny began competing Palmer in March 2011 and brought him up to the Preliminary level of 3'7”.

“He has a great mind; he's a beautiful type,” Bynny said. “You can't ever tell how good they're going to be, but I loved everything about him. His gallop was to-die-for, and I thought he was going to be good enough for the flat.”

When Bynny sold Palmer to a client, Chase Shipka, she said, “This horse will be your Kentucky horse. I guarantee he will go to Kentucky one day.”

After Shipka started focusing more on competing in dressage, Meagan O'Donoghue took over the mount and has campaigned Palmer since 2015.

O'Donoghue previously competed at the five-star level with the OTTB Pirate (JC: Pirate's Gold Star), who was bred and raced in Illinois, the same state where O'Donoghue grew up. She and Pirate competed three times in Kentucky in 2013, 2014, and 2015 and went over to England for Burghley in 2014. This will be Palm Crescent's third Kentucky five-star, plus he's competed at the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill and at Burghley.

“I'm so grateful for the two Thoroughbreds that I've had in my life to fly me all over the world,” O'Donoghue said. “I got to know the breed in general and appreciate them for their trainability and their heart and how useful they can be beyond the racetrack—whether it is making them up to be a top-level event horse or someone's amateur dream horse. They fit into so many different boxes.”

Bynny continues to follow the successes of her former horse and her former student. When it comes to Thoroughbreds, Bynny explained about O'Donoghue, “That's her jam, and that's a little bit my jam,” and said, “It's like a fairytale you would want to hear for a second career because the horse became exactly what I thought he would be.”

WABBIT (JC: MOLINARO KISSING): 13yo grey gelding bred in Ontario, Canada (Line of Departure – No Kissing

You don't have to be a successful racehorse to succeed at the top levels of the sport of eventing. Known as Molinaro Kissing through five races at Woodbine in his home province of Ontario, Canada, in the summer of 2013, his best finish was a fifth-place in his debut.

The grey gelding has made more of a name for himself eventing under the name of Wabbit with Canadian Olympian Jessica Phoenix. This will be their third trip to the Kentucky Horse Park. In 2021, they finished 10th in the CCI4*-S held in conjunction with the CCI5*-L. Then, they moved up to the five-star level in Kentucky in 2022 but suffered a fall on cross-country. They completed their first five-star in the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill last October.

THE UNRACED THOROUGHBREDS AND THE THOROUGHBRED CROSSES IN KENTUCKY

Campground (Forest Camp – Kneel) and Twilightslastgleam (JC: Twilightslastgleem | National Anthem – Royal Child) initially trained for a racing career but were unraced. Both Campground, ridden by Erin Kanara, and Twilightslastgleam, ridden by Jennie Saville, made their five-star debuts at the 2022 Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill, finishing 15th and 16th, respectively.

In addition to these horses representing the Thoroughbred breed, other five-star entrants at the Land Rover Kentucky-Three Day Event have Thoroughbred influence through their dams.

Covert Rights is out of the OTTB dam Let's Get It Right. Let's Get It Right's sire is Covert Operation, thus the connection with the name Covert Rights. After three races at Pimlico in 1994, Let's Get It Right partnered with Colleen Rutledge up to the Advanced level of 3'11”, the highest national level offered under the governing body of the United States Eventing Association. Rutledge bred the chestnut mare to the Clydesdale-Thoroughbred stallion BFF Incognito. Now, she and Covert Rights will be competing in their seventh five-star, having first competed in Kentucky in 2015.

At 9 years old, Nemesis is the youngest horse in the Kentucky five-star field, and he's out of the Thoroughbred dam Sara's Muse by the showjumping stallion Novalis 46. His rider, James Alliston, has previous experience with OTTBs at eventing's highest level. He rode the gelding Parker (JC: Eastside Park | Marquetry – Hello Mom) at Kentucky. After starting to work with Nemesis, he and his wife, Helen Alliston, thought so highly of him that they reached back out to breeder Danielle Burgess in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, to see if she had any more horses available out of the same Thoroughbred dam. They bought Flinterro Z, who is one year younger than Nemesis. The brothers both won FEI levels at the 2023 Twin Rivers Spring International this month.

Overall, the Thoroughbred influence in eventing is strong, and the biggest races and events bring out the best in the breed.

“It's a special thing,” O'Donoghue said, “to see a horse go through the rigorous training of being a racehorse at such a young age and withstand that and then have this heart and open mind to learn a new trade and also fall in love with it because at some point in any discipline at some level they really have to love what they're doing.”

Announcing horse races inspired Jonathan Horowitz to become an advocate for off-track Thoroughbreds, as well as to learn to event on OTTBs and to expand his announcing of and writing about equine sports to horse shows around the United States. He also works for the United States Eventing Association and runs the Super G Sporthorses eventing barn with his wife, Ashley. He can be reached on Facebook and Twitter at @jjhorowitz.

 

The post Horowitz On OTTBs Presented by Excel Equine: Thoroughbred Influence At Kentucky’s Biggest Equine Sporting Events appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Sergio de Sousa and Ann Holbrook spoke on March 8. It's something they do frequently, and this time, it was to celebrate the birthday of the horse that brought them and the racehorse and sporthorse worlds together and changed the game for the recognition of OTTBs – Cozmic One.

Cozmic One was born on March 8, 2012, bred by Holbrook, along with her husband at the time, Jerry Moss. You'd be hard-pressed to find a foal that had a bigger spotlight on him than “Coz.” The bay colt was out of Zenyatta – the bay mare with a big stature (17.2 hands), big personality (those dance moves in the paddock), big finishes (coming from the back of the pack to win 19 of 20, most notably the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic in 2009), and a big following (twice runner-up as Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year, quite the accomplishment considering that horses aren't usually considered for the prestigious award).

When Cozmic One made his racing debut as a 3-year-old on April 17, 2015, he was saddled and paraded in the vicinity of a life-size statue of his mom at Santa Anita Park. Coz finished sixth and raced four more times over the next two years, retiring in October 2017. That month, Isabela de Sousa, a teenage phenom show jumper and show hunter, won the Show Jumper title at the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover for the third year in a row aboard her OTTB, Late Night Mark.

With Isabela experiencing Zenyatta-like success at the Breeders' Cup-equivalent for OTTBs, her dad, Sergio de Sousa, had an idea.

“I didn't know the Mosses at all; I know David Ingordo a little bit,” he said, referring to the bloodstock agent that recommended that the Mosses buy Zenyatta as a yearling. “I said, 'Would that horse ever be available?' It was a bit of a joke actually. …The idea was to bring more attention [to the Thoroughbred Makeover].”

When Cozmic One arrived at the Kentucky Horse Park for the 2018 Thoroughbred Makeover, there was a buzz like the event had never experienced before. Cozmic One was the first national celebrity to compete at the largest Thoroughbred competition featuring 10 different disciplines. There had previously been some successful stakes horses that were regional fan favorites like Called to Serve, Eighttofasttocatch, and Icabad Crane. Television crews and turf writers flocked around Coz and Isabela. This past year, there was the same buzz around Whitmore, the 2020 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner that became a fan favorite for his big personality as much as his many years of racing success.

Cozmic One and de Sousa were fifth after preliminaries for Show Jumpers competing at the height of 2'6” at the 2018 Thoroughbred Makeover and made the Finale. The judging at the Thoroughbred Makeover is based upon an evaluation of where a horse is at in their retraining for a new career post-racing and their potential to excel in that discipline. The judges saw that potential in Cozmic One, although the horse also showed his greenness knocking rails during their jumping tests. Morgan Boyer and Interactif Spy ran away with the title. Competitors get to choose at which height to showcase their horses. While most of the 97 entrants, like Coz, competed at 2'6”, plus some at 3', Interactif Spy was the lone horse to jump 3'3”.

“For Isabela, it was a lot of pressure on her,” Sergio said. “It was quite a bit of work with that horse. He lost a lot of condition after he was gelded. So, the transition for him for his body was difficult. And, trying to figure out his mind, too, he was always a very high-energy kind of horse. Still to this day, you kind of have to make things his idea to do it. But, it was great. A lot of people told us they started doing [the Thoroughbred Makeover] because they were following the horse and what Isabela was doing at the time.”

In the five years since the 2018 Thoroughbred Makeover, the bay gelding has had time to develop his own identity away from the spotlight.

There's enormous pressure on Thoroughbreds to show immediate success on the track. In one sense, that's understandable. Stud fees have reached six-figures, and yearlings seven-figures. Thoroughbreds can begin racing at 2 years old. The most famous races in the United States, the Triple Crown, take place when they're 3 years old. In another sense, that's unfair. These horses are still growing into their bodies and their identities. The increased pressure combined with the increased costs of operating a racing stable now don't lend themselves to late-bloomers like John Henry or Seabiscuit.

“There's that thing for horse racing when you line up in the starting gate and you have the million-dollar horse and the $20,000 horse, they don't know how much they cost and who they are,” de Sousa said. “When you open the gates, one of them runs faster than the other.”

That same pressure translates to a certain degree to when racehorses come off the track. The Thoroughbred Makeover is the largest competition for the breed in the world, and it's for horses in their first year of retraining following a racing career. In one sense, that's understandable. It capitalizes on these horses' connection to racing and creates a market that has seen more people turn to Thoroughbreds for their next sporthorse prospects. In another sense, that's unfair. It's not entirely representative of the fact that it takes years to develop the skills to succeed in eventing, show jumping, polo, barrel racing, and more. The Retired Racehorse Project does make sure to present that their competitors are just starting their new careers, but when the profile of the Thoroughbred Makeover is as big as it is, it's easy to get carried away. That's what happened to a certain degree with Cozmic One.

With Isabela off to Europe to grow her show jumping career, her dad, Sergio, took over the mount on Cozmic One. Coz had about six months off because of a muscle pull after the 2018 Thoroughbred Makeover. The show jumping dad started bringing Cozmic One back to work slowly.

With Sergio in the saddle, Coz has now settled into a comfort zone competing between .8m and 1.0m, or about 2'7” to 3'3”, with strong placings in TAKE2 Thoroughbred show jumping competitions. They competed at the TAKE2 Jumper Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park in 2021 and 2022. In 2022, they were recognized for finishing fourth in the United States Hunter Jumper Association's (USHJA) Zone 5 of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio in the Thoroughbred Jumper section.

“The greatest hope for any horse owner is that their horses have the highest quality care, the opportunity to be engaged, and to live their very best lives,” Holbrook said. “Cozmic One has been completely blessed and fortunate in this way, and he continues to be so in his retirement with the enthusiastic welcome and dedication of Sergio and the de Sousa family.”

While there's often a push to raise the jumps, that doesn't have to, nor should it, be the case. While the TAKE2 Jumper Finals are currently held at heights of 1.0m and 1.05m, or about 3'3” to 3'6”, de Sousa believes scaling back could be more representative for the breed.

“The TAKE2, which I think is an extension of the Makeover, they should drop the classes to .85 because a meter, a meter-five when you go to these shows like at the Kentucky Horse Park, most people are amateurs like me that are showing Thoroughbreds,” de Sousa said. “Most other people are showing warmbloods. If you drop the height, I bet you'll have a lot more entries.”

All the while, Ann Holbrook, Cozmic One's breeder, continues to be involved in the horse's life. She co-owns the bay gelding, now 11 years old, with Sergio de Sousa, bringing the race and sporthorse worlds together for the benefit of the horse.

“Thanks to the incredible attention and sensitivity of Sergio, Coz has continued to grow and be an inspiration and, as Sergio says, 'ambassador' for other retired racehorses,” Holbrook said. “And of course, he undoubtedly feels completely loved by Sergio's generous and beautiful nurturing. It is wonderful to witness his special relationship with Coz. It certainly fills my heart with love and gratitude.”

For Holbrook still to be involved with Cozmic One all these years after breeding him gives Coz the best racehorse mom and sporthorse dad that a Thoroughbred could ask for.

Announcing horse races inspired Jonathan Horowitz to become an advocate for off-track Thoroughbreds, as well as to learn to event on OTTBs and to expand his announcing of and writing about equine sports to horse shows around the United States. He also works for the United States Eventing Association and runs the Super G Sporthorses eventing barn with his wife, Ashley. He can be reached on Facebook and Twitter at @jjhorowitz.

 

The post Horowitz On OTTBs Presented by Excel Equine: The Success Of Cozmic One And The People Around Him appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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There are many ways to present horse racing during a broadcast of the Sport of Kings. There's the sport, the gambling, the stories about the people involved, the history, and more.

When I appeared on the international broadcast of last Saturday's Obaiya Arabian Classic at the Saudi Cup that was carried by Fox Sports in the United States, I was prepared to talk about all of these things. However, Nick Luck and Michelle Yu, two of my favorite and most well-versed racing broadcasters, asked me something that isn't often discussed on horse racing television but should be: about the breed itself.

Admittedly, the fact that there was an Arabian race broadcast on sports television networks throughout the world was a special occasion, but the same conversation could be had about the Thoroughbred or Quarter Horse breeds. That could lead to more of an understanding about horses in general that could help with racing's messaging about how the sport plays a positive role in the lives of horses, both on and off the track.

Here's how the conversation went, and if you are inclined to watch the whole clip in the tweet embedded here, I hope you'll appreciate how seamless the conversation went from racing as a sport to horses as the special animals that make racing one of the most intriguing sports in the world.

I enjoyed this moment on the broadcast of @thesaudicup where @TheMichelleYu, @nickluck, and I not only talked about what a great race the Obaiya was about to be but also about what makes the Arabian breed and what makes racehorses special. I'm writing about it for @paulickreport. pic.twitter.com/nj30YXLzUF

— Jonathan Horowitz (@jjhorowitz) February 28, 2023

“You know all about the Thoroughbreds, but you've got a real passion for the Purebred Arabians. Just tell me why,” Nick said.

I proceeded to answer about the long careers of these horses, how they race all over the world, and the rivalries that they develop. Then, I decided to go slightly off track, which was probably slightly off script.

“Recently, I started riding myself, and I have an Arabian that I event on,” I said. “So, you put it in front of an Arabian—we just mentioned about distances and surfaces, but any type of sport as well—and the Arabian, with the mind that they have, will likely excel at it.”

That could have, maybe even should have, been the end of the conversation. After all, the horses were walking behind our set in the parade ring.

However, Michelle asked a follow-up question, “What additional passion did you find for the Arabian once you started to ride an Arabian?”

“Just how keen they were,” I responded, and I proceeded to talk about our family's Arabian, AA Two Face, that we evented and raced simultaneously last year.

It was a brief cool moment to share about the versatility of racehorses without it seeming forced.

Then, it was time to get back to the horses in the race, with my segue being, “But he was nowhere near racing the caliber of these horses.”

Nick, being the professional he is, chimed in, “So the truth of it is, they can do anything, but today, Jonathan, we've got to find the one that can do anything the fastest.”

We switched to talking about the race, and racing would be the focus for the remainder of the broadcast, as it should be.

That racing broadcasts are willing to take a moment to celebrate racehorses as athletes beyond just racing can play a role in assisting with racing's image and social license to operate.

NBC Sports did something similar with Whitmore during its coverage of the 2022 Breeders' Cup Sprint, a race Whitmore had won two years earlier. They showed footage of the celebrity chestnut gelding winning at Keeneland and then competing down the road in Lexington at the Kentucky Horse Park in Competitive Trail at the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover. Donna Brothers rode Whitmore for her coverage of the Sprint.

“He's really become a little bit of a mascot for the Thoroughbred racehorses that have moved into other sort of disciplines,” Brothers said in an exchange with NBC Sports' Ahmed Fareed. “I don't know what you think, Ahmed, but he's doing great out here.”

It turns out Donna, while aboard Whitmore, interviewed Irad Ortiz Jr., who rode Elite Power to victory in the Breeders' Cup Sprint two years after riding Whitmore to win the same race at the same track. Elite Power would then go on to win the Riyadh Dirt Sprint in his next race at the Saudi Cup, where retired racehorses also got their moment in the spotlight thanks to the approach Nick and Michelle took to their race coverage. I hope that continues during coverage of this year's Triple Crown races and more because it's a positive narrative for horse racing.

Announcing horse races inspired Jonathan Horowitz to become an advocate for off-track Thoroughbreds, as well as to learn to event on OTTBs and to expand his announcing of and writing about equine sports to horse shows around the United States. He also works for the United States Eventing Association and runs the Super G Sporthorses eventing barn with his wife, Ashley. He can be reached on Facebook and Twitter at @jjhorowitz.

 

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