You never forget the name of your first lesson horse – that horse who taught you what you need to know to work with every one that follows.
In this series, participants throughout the Thoroughbred industry share the names and stories of the horses that have taught them the most about life, revealing the limitless ways that horses can impact the people around them. Some came early on in their careers and helped them set a course for the rest of their lives, while others brought valuable lessons to veterans of the business.
Question: Which horse has taught you the most about life?
Chad Schumer
Chad Schumer of Schumer Bloodstock: Worldly. He taught me about treacherous agents, the actual joy of having a horse in training because he took me to the Breeders' Cup, and how sometimes things happen for a reason, and you don't realize it at the time. More than any other horse, he taught me that.
At the time we bought him, it looked like it was a terrible disaster, and then just a few months later, he took me to the Breeders' Cup. It was an incredible story. I bought this horse for clients, and one agent lied to the people and talked them out of it, so I got stuck with him and it was very scary.
The funny thing was, in January of that year, we went to Santa Anita, and it was Beholder's first start of the year. We were sitting there at Santa Anita and we were kind of fuming. We weren't going to get to go to the Breeders' Cup this year because the timing was so close [with the November sales in Kentucky], and it's hard to come back and still be able to work the sale.
We were sitting having lunch at Santa Anita having this conversation about how bummed we were that we weren't going to go to the Breeders' Cup, and just a few months later, we actually have a horse in the Breeders' Cup and we are there. It was an incredible situation.
About Worldly
(2007, A.P. Indy x Urbane, by Citidancer)
Worldly showed flashes of his talent early on, with a third in the G2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, then he spent some time on the Louisiana branch of the Kentucky Derby trail. He came back in the summer of his 3-year- old season to finish second in the G3 Northern Dancer Stakes and Ohio Derby. He won the listed Prairie Meadows Handicap at four.
Schumer came into possession of the horse in the summer of 2013, and sent him to trainer Brendan Walsh. Worldly finished second in a pair of listed stakes at Prairie Meadows and Remington Park, then he ran third in the Homecoming Classic Stakes at Churchill Downs en route to a start in the Breeders' Cup Marathon at Santa Anita, where he finished third to London Bridge.
Worldly was then sold to race in Saudi Arabia, where he became a stakes winner and successful stallion. His son Alzahzaah is a three-time Group 1 winner in Saudi Arabia, including the vaunted Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup.
The post Lesson Horses: Chad Schumer On Worldly appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
