Tag: Lesson Horses

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?

Kazushi Kimura, jockey: “I won my first Grade 1 with Gretzky the Great. That moment is not going to be forgotten, and I'm always happy to ride for the Casse barn, Gary Barber, and Eclipse Thoroughbreds.

“I've always loved watching him, and riding him in the morning. Even if I couldn't ride the horse because I had a different one, I still loved watching him.

“He always tried to listen to me. Some horses are just tough to ride, and are never going to listen, but Gretzky was so easy to ride. I really like that type of horse.

“I'm always happy to win stakes races, but a graded stakes, especially a Grade 1, is so much different for my career and my achievements. I hope there are more coming.”

About Gretzky the Great
2018, c., Nyquist x Pearl Turn, by Bernardini

Canada's champion 2-year-old male of 2020 broke his maiden in his second career start at Woodbine, then parlayed that into a hard-fought win in the listed Soaring Free Stakes. The horse and Kimura each earned their first Grade 1 victory in the following start, the G1 Summer Stakes, which they won by 3 1/4 lengths.

Gretzky the Great earned a “Win and You're In” berth to the 2020 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Keeneland by virtue of his Summer Stakes win, and he went on to finish sixth.

At three, Gretzky the Great spent the spring at Turfway Park, where he finished third in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes, then he made a winning return to Woodbine that summer in the Greenwood Stakes.

Trained by Mark Casse for owners Gary Barber and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Gretzky the Great retired with four wins in 11 starts for earnings of $379,866. He retired to Ocala Stud in Florida, where he will stand his first season in 2023.

The post Lesson Horses Presented By Breeders’ Cup: Kazushi Kimura’s First Taste Of Grade 1 Success appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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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?

Jim Lawson, CEO of Woodbine Entertainment: “My family's always been in horse racing, and in 1984, we had a horse named Let's Go Blue. I'd graduated from university, and I was spending a lot of time at the racetrack. Of my siblings, I was the one that was closest to horse racing – I never thought I'd end up working here, by the way.

“Let's Go Blue won the Queen's Plate Trial Stakes by five lengths, and won it galloping. He came into the Queen's Plate as the favorite, went off at 3-5, and he was bumped…I remember it like it was yesterday…There was an entry that really squeezed him the whole way around, and then another pushed him back. Then, he came on again and a horse squeezed him into the rail, and basically bodychecked him into the rail.

“It was 1984, so we didn't have the head-on replays to show to the public. I went to the stewards and I did see the tape, and it was egregious what happened – really, a calculated risk by the jockey to move over and bump him.

“As I think of that, I think of two things: First, I think of something my dad said afterward. I was a young, budding lawyer at the time, and I said to my dad, 'You've got to appeal.' He looked at me and said, 'I've been in sports my entire life, as have you, and sometimes, you have to learn and respect the referee's call. That's what you do, and you get on with life.' He said, 'I don't want to hear it again. We're not appealing.'

“I always reflected on that, and to this day, it kind of haunts me, especially now, being in the role that I'm in. But, I think whether it was the horse or the whole situation, it was character-building. I think we can all learn a lot from racing, and the lows and highs of racing. We all know there are way more lows than highs, and those lows teach you to be appreciative of what you've got. We were fortunate enough to have a horse in the Queen's Plate, and you move on, and it's character-building. You're going to take your lumps, but don't let it get you down.”

About Let's Go Blue
Dk. h. or br. h., 1981, Bob's Dusty x Brunswick Dawn, by Amber Morn

Let's Go Blue raced as a homebred for Mel Lawson's Jim Dandy Stable, and he was trained by Janet Bedford.

He won his first two starts, both at Woodbine, including the Swynford Stakes, before finishing second in the G3 Grey Stakes in his graded stakes debut. Including the Grey Stakes, five of his eight starts following his Swynford victory would be runner-up efforts in stakes races.

Let's Go Blue then won his division of the Plate Trial Stakes at Woodbine, and he left the gate in the 1984 Queen's Plate as the 0.85-to-1 favorite. He finished second by a half-length behind Key to the Moon in the Queen's Plate, following a troubled trip. Following the Queen's Plate, Let's Go Blue headed west to win the Canadian Derby at Northlands Park and the G3 B. C. Derby at Exhibition Park.

The horse got better as he got older, and he arguably did his best work during his 4-year-old season in 1986, when he earned the Sovereign Award as Canada's champion older male on the strength of a campaign that included victories in the Fair Play Stakes at Woodbine, and the Speed to Spare Championship Stakes at Northlands Park.

Let's Go Blue retired with 13 wins in 42 career starts for earnings of $757,597.

At stud, Let's Go Blue sired 43 winners over 14 crops, with combined progeny earnings of more than $2.3 million. His top runners included Cailoto, who was a stakes winner at Pimlico Race Course, Blue and Red, who was a multiple stakes winner at Woodbine, and Grade 3-placed Crafty Boy.

The post Lesson Horses Presented By Stonestreet Farm: The Character-Building Influence Of Let’s Go Blue On Woodbine CEO Jim Lawson appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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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?

Wesley Ward, trainer: “I think every trainer needs a horse to kind of get them going. Everybody's here to be in the big races, and that's what everyone from Beulah Park to Saratoga or Del Mar, or even Royal Ascot, are doing. They're trying to get a horse that can compete on the big stage.

“I started training, and didn't really know what I was doing, even though I was a jockey and rode all over the world. I was figuring things out and learning, and thought my only chance to get a good horse would be to go to the sales, instead of claiming. It was a lot easier to claim, because the owners you're trying to get to invest in your stable want instant gratification and action, so with claiming, you get one, and a couple weeks later, you run it back. When you first start training, it's hard to get someone with patience. A lot of the farms that I train for now are breeders, but then, they wouldn't give me a shot because I was unproven.

“After a year or two, I figured claiming wasn't going to get me where I wanted to go, to hopefully get me a good horse. I was always going to stay at a claiming level, and even though I was a young guy, I'd be looked at as a claiming type of guy.

“So, I started going to the sales, but I could only afford inexpensive horses where I could put a group together. At the 2-year-old sales, I tried to focus on the horses with the fastest times, because at least they could run, but they had to have issues to where I could afford them.

“I came across a horse named Unfinished Symph that had thick shins, and looked like he was going to need a lot of time. His pedigree didn't look great, but he could obviously run, being as though he had the fastest time.

“We bought him for $13,500, and I could only afford a quarter of the horse at the time. We gave him time, and got him over his shins and ran him. We tried to give him an easy race, but he came back with a shin after the race, but he got the race experience.

“I gave him a long time off, from August to January, and at that time of the year, when the horses turn three, the shins are gone, and you're on to other issues. We ran him, and away he went, and he just took me to where I wanted to go, and gave me a kick start in my career. He just got beat in the Breeders' Cup Mile, he won the Shoemaker Mile, and all these mile turf races. He was a great horse where he put me in a different light at that time from prospective owners and clients to where I could get them to invest in better horses.

“Everyone needs that certain horse that can get them going. I'll never forget him.

“He was a great horse to be around, too, just a positive type of horse. Always up at the front of the stall, always happy. When he came over to the races, he never got hot or washed out. He was always bouncing.

“Everyone needs something to get you going, and he was the one.”

About Unfinished Symph
B. h., 1991, Aloha Prospector x Accuwoman, by Akureyri

Bred in Maryland by Stanley Joselson, Unfinished Symph was purchased by Ward at the 1993 Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. Spring 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale. He raced once as a juvenile, finishing eighth in a Del Mar maiden claimer.

Unfinished Symph broke his maiden in his 3-year-old bow, a maiden claiming race at Santa Anita Park, then he won an allowance race at the same track a month later. He was facing graded stakes company by the spring of his 3-year-old season, first finishing second in the G3 Spotlight Breeders' Cup Handicap, then winning the G3 Will Rogers Handicap and G3 Cinema Handicap in succession.

Near the end of his 3-year-old season, Unfinished Symph shipped to Churchill Downs to compete in the 1994 Breeders' Cup Mile, where he spent most of the race on the lead, and held on gamely to finish third behind Irish-born Barathea.

The colt's 4-year-old season included scored in the G2 San Francisco Mile Handicap and the G2 Shoemaker Mile. He retired with six wins in 18 starts for earnings of $651,145.

Unfinished Symph had a brief stud career, siring just one crop of five foals before his death in 1998. Four of those foals would become winners on the racetrack. Three of Unfinished Symph's five foals were trained by Ward for at least part of their on-track careers.

The post Lesson Horses Presented By Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders And Owners Association: Wesley Ward’s Long-Term Payoff With Unfinished Symph appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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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?

Graham Motion, trainer: “Probably Flatterer was the most important to me at that stage. I was very young, I was straight out of high school, and I ended up looking after him. The responsibility, the work ethic, the success, the traveling – I did that all with him. He was an incredibly important horse, and I was just lucky to come around when he was at Jonathan (Sheppard)'s.

“He carried the most weight ever (by a winning horse in a steeplechase race). Not only that, he was such a brave horse. We ran him in the French Champion Hurdle, and I've never seen a horse as tired as he was after that race. He was kind of out of it when he was cooling out, because I think he was just that tired. To see a horse try that hard can have an incredible effect on you.

“I didn't ride him. At Jonathan's, we all did everything, but I sort of became his groom. We didn't really have set horses like we do at the track, but I ended up looking after him because he was very important. He traveled a lot, and I got to travel with him. Betsy Wells, who was Jonathan's assistant, and at the end of the day, I would put him on the cross ties in the barn, and I would just take care of him. I learned a lot about taking care of horses, wrapping his legs. That was kind of my job at the end of the day, every day.

“He's been lost in the shuffle a little bit because the money's so much better than it was then, but he did so many amazing things. He was an amazing horse.”

#tTBT Graham leading Flatterer to the paddock for the Breeders' Cup Steeplechase at Fair Hill10/31/87. pic.twitter.com/JjVISMf9Q5

— Herringswell Stables (@HerringswellStb) January 30, 2014

About Flatterer
1979, h, Mo Bay x Horizontal, by Nade

Flatterer was the top North American steeplechase horse of the 1980s, earning the Eclipse Award as champion steeplechaser each year from 1983 to 1986. He raced as a Pennsylvania homebred for trainer Jonathan Sheppard and owner William L. Pape, and he started his career on the flat, where he was a multiple allowance winner at Keystone Race Track.

He was moved to the jumps at the beginning of his 4-year-old campaign, where he won at first asking. Flatterer would go on to win 13 stakes races as a steeplechaser, including four runnings of the Colonial Cup at Camden. Even back-breaking imposts couldn't hold Flatterer down, posting three wins carrying 170 pounds or more, topped by a record 176 pounds in the 1986 National Hunt Cup.

Flatterer was also competitive overseas, where he finished second in the 1986 French Champion Hurdle. He was runner-up a year later in the English Champion Hurdle.

Flatterer retired with 24 wins in 52 starts for earnings of $534,854. He was named to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame in 1994, and he died in 2014 at age 35.

The post Lesson Horses Presented By Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders And Owners Association: The Steeplechase Star That Brought Graham Motion Along As A Horseman appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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