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Storm Song, the Oldest Living Breeders’ Cup Winner

Celebrating 40 Years of the Breeders' Cup with Living Legends

Some moments last a lifetime. Breeders' Cup wins are like that. They affect everyone associated with the horse, from owners whose silks the horse sports in the race to breeders to consignors to grooms to farriers and so many others. They even touch those many years down the road, such as those who care for the winner more than a quarter century removed from that magical winner's circle and those signature purple and gold flowers. It is, without a doubt, a privilege to have any association at all with a Breeders' Cup winner.

Dr. Naoya Yoshida of Winchester Farm embraces that honor. He has charge of 1996 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Storm Song, believed to be the Breeders' Cup's oldest living winner. The 29-year-old mare has been at his Winchester Farm near Lexington since Dr. Aaron Sones purchased her in 2009.

“We were quite excited to welcome her to our farm,” said Yoshida.” Of course we feel pretty privileged to have these kind of mares.”

Yoshida is a veterinarian and fourth-generation horseman whose family ties to the Thoroughbred industry date back 125 years to his great-grandfather, who bred horses in the U.S. and Europe.

“It's amazing when we work in the Thoroughbred industry, we have this history. I remembered this mare when she was sold at Keeneland November as broodmare prospect [in 1997]. I was training at Hagyard and saw her and never thought I would take care of her in the future. After that I saw her name with a breeding to Dubai Millennium (GB). I used to work for Sheikh Mohammed and saw him try to buy those mares. And the next time I saw her name, she came here [to Winchester Farm]. I feel like it was destiny.”

Winchester's Dr. Naoya Yoshida with Storm Song | Sarah Andrew

Now pensioned after producing six foals during her tenure at Winchester, Storm Song was campaigned by pioneering racing syndicate Dogwood Stable. Dogwood's Cot Campbell, who was a master at finding horses that might have slipped just a little bit through the cracks, bought Storm Song from Lane's End's Book 1 consignment at Keeneland September for $100,000 in 1995. She turned out to be one of the brightest stars to carry the distinctive Dogwood Stable colors, behind her own sire, Dogwood's GI Preakness S. winner Summer Squall. Dogwood had Storm Song for just over two years, selling her as a broodmare prospect at the 1997 Keeneland November sale for $1.4 million to J. S. Carrion. Sandwiched between those two times the filly went through the ring were umpteen thrills for Dogwood partners.

“It was the greatest thrill you can imagine when she won that race [the Breeders' Cup],” said Anne Campbell, co-owner of Storm Song with her late husband, Dogwood founder Cot. “We were particularly thrilled because she was by our wonderful racehorse, Summer Squall, who of course won the Preakness in 1990, so it was just one of the thrills of our lifetime.

“Ironically, Cot woke up about three in the morning [of the race] with vertigo, just sick as a dog. I don't think he felt very well at all during the day, but he forgot about that [when she won]. I remember thinking the paddock in Toronto at Woodbine was so incredibly lovely and classy. The people, the demeanor, just the atmosphere of the whole place. It was a wonderful experience and we were overjoyed that she was clearly going to win before she got to the finish line.”

The year that Storm Song got her Breeders' Cup title was, perhaps, a simpler time. The Breeders' Cup was in only its 13th year in 1996, was being held at Woodbine–the first and only time it was hosted outside of U.S. borders–and was still in its original seven-race, one-day format. The Juvenile Fillies was the first Breeders' Cup race on the card that October day with the looming presence of Cigar's final career start in the Classic just under four hours away.

Yoshida with Storm Song | Sarah Andrew

The 8-5 Juvenile Fillies favorite off a four-length romp in the GI Frizette S. just 20 days prior, Storm Song waited midpack in the Juvenile Fillies, tipped out on the turn, and mowed down her Nick Zito stablemate Love That Jazz (Dixieland Band) to glide clear by 4 1/2 lengths with her ears pricked. Even the Equibase chart called it a “perfect trip.” Storm Song was a no-brainer to be named that year's Eclipse champion 2-year-old filly off the merits of her two Grade I wins, with an extra score in the GII Adirondack S. for good measure. Despite placings at three in both the GI Kentucky Oaks and GI Ashland S., Storm Song never won again and retired after finishing unplaced in the GI Acorn S. at the end of May in 1997. Less than six months later, she was purchased by Carrion.

“We were practical about selling horses when the time came for us to sell them because we weren't in the breeding business,” said Campbell. “It wasn't our thing. We never looked back, we were always glad and so grateful for those horses for what they did. It's a business, so you can't be too sentimental, but you can still love them.”

Storm Song's first foal, Another Storm (Gone West), fetched $1 million as a Keeneland September yearling and would go on to produce European champion Order of St George (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), as well as GSWs Angel Terrace (Ghostzapper) and Asperity (War Chant). As one of the mares selected for what would be the single and abbreviated book of the brilliant Dubai Millennium, Storm Song was eventually purchased privately by Darley and traveled a good deal during her broodmare career, making three separate trips to Great Britain and even a sojourn to Japan, where she produced her Dubai Millennium daughter before being sent back to Kentucky with a Sunday Silence filly in utero.

She sold again in 2009 to Sones at Keeneland November for $100,000, which is where Yoshida enters her story. Storm Song produced six foals for Sones, including 2016 GI Wood Memorial S. runner-up Trojan Nation (Street Cry {Ire}). Her last foal is the now-5-year-old My Favorite Uncle (Uncle Mo), whose most recent race was a second-place finish at Belterra Park Sept. 20 for Joshua Galindo and trainer Climaco Galindo-Torres. Yoshida raised each of those six.

“She produced good-looking foals,” said Yoshida. “She was a good teacher to me and the farm crew, to see what a good-quality horse is. She's also proven as a broodmare herself.

“She is easy to handle, however, she has kind of a strong personality. She has the dignity of a Grade I-level mare. She's not difficult, but uses her strong personality to show us what she wants to do.”

Storm Song flanked by My Trusty Cat to her left and Plaisir des Yeux to her right | Sarah Andrew

Yoshida keeps Storm Song turned out with 2005 GI Humana Distaff H. winner My Trusty Cat (Tale of the Cat) and 1997 G1 Prix Marcel Boussac-placed Plaisir des Yeux (Fr) (Funambule). The trio are enjoying pensioned life together.

“We keep them in a big field by a creek and forest to keep them calmed down. They gallop so hard, considering their age. We pay very good attention to their feet and change their feeding program if necessary because of cold or hot weather, but these mares are in very good shape. They really don't need special care.”

Yoshida was asked about the first words that come to his mind when he thinks of his Breeder's Cup-winning charge.

“Sophistication. She has a very beautiful eye and face and good conformation. Balance. Dr. Sones still keeps a few daughters of Storm Song, so the story of Storm Song is still going. Hopefully we can give more exciting news from this family.”

The post Storm Song, the Oldest Living Breeders’ Cup Winner appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Ron Magers Reflects On His Decades In Racing And Breeding

“It all happened only because my wife, Elise, is very careful about where she walks…especially around horses.”

A Chicago-area veteran and established local TV news anchor, Ron Magers knows a good story when he hears one. It was Gulfstream Park in the spring of 1990 when Ron, accompanied by his wife, Elise, were making their way out of the paddock on their way to the airport at the end of the day's races. When something shiny in the dirt caught Elise's eye, she bent and scooped up what was an unassuming and fake-appearing diamond tennis bracelet. In a hurry to make their flight back to Chicago, the pair decided to figure out the identity of the missing bracelet's owner the next day.

“The next morning in Chicago, we were closing on a real estate purchase,” Magers said. “Elise pulled a pen out of her purse and the bracelet was caught on the clip. We told our attorney about the find and he suggested we start by getting it appraised to see if it is real.”

A local jeweler examined the piece and determined that not only were the stones real, but that they were of high quality and worth quite a bit of money. Ron's attorney made a quick phone call back to Gulfstream Park to inform them of the found item of value and, within a couple of days, heard back from a man in California whose wife had lost her bracelet while visiting Gulfstream.

“It turns out that the California man knew Chicago jeweler Lester Lampert, [so] we took the bracelet to Lampert who had it returned to the owners in California. The owner had offered a reward so we gave him the name of a Chicago charity we supported and suggested he send the reward as a donation.”

A story with a happy ending. But, little did Magers know, his story was just beginning.

“Another attorney, Howard Feinstein, called me [later] to say that he knew our attorney and had heard about the bracelet story. He had also been told of our love of horse racing and that we were thinking about buying a racehorse,” Mager said.

From humble beginnings, a partnership was formed.

“[Howard asked], did I have $10,000 that I'd be willing to throw out the window in hopes of having some fun and learning about racing? That's the way he [Howard] approached things. He also joked that anyone dumb enough to return that bracelet was the kind of person that he wanted to take advantage of. [I liked that], Howard was fun.”

As the pair settled into their partnership, Ron's love for the sport only grew and by the summer of 1991, he was ready to buy a horse on his own.

“Trainer Bob Voelkner turned down several horses I proposed claiming,” Magers said. “He finally agreed to put in a claim for a filly named Lemhi Go who was running for a tag of $16,000.”

Lemhi Go (Lemhi Gold), a 3-year-old Virginia-bred, won the race and there were four other claims put in for her besides Magers's. One winning shake of the dice later, Ron Magers was now the owner of his own racehorse.

And what a horse she would go on to become. Racing under the aptly named Diamond Stable, Lemhi Go picked up wins in the GIII Arlington Matron H. and the GII La Prevoyante H. before retiring with a record of 41-12-5-6 and earnings of over $330,000

“When her racing career was over, we sent her to Needham/Betz Farm in Kentucky to be sold as a potential broodmare,” Magers remembered. “That choice came at the urging of longtime horseman, Rob Marcocchio, who had done business before with that farm.”

Thankfully for Magers, he was talked out of the decision to sell.

“A few weeks later, the farm owner, Bill Betz, called me to say he didn't want to see this mare sold. I told him I knew nothing about the breeding business and wasn't sure it was for me. His proposal was to have the mare appraised, the farm would buy half, and we would be equal partners sharing the same risk while I would learn about breeding.”

In what would prove to be a wise choice, Magers kept Lemhi Go and bred her that first year to GISW Gone West. The resulting filly, named Triple Treasure, sold for $650,000 as a yearling. Magers retained Lemhi Go's second foal, a filly by MGISW Summer Squall, before finally selling Lemhi Go, in foal to 3-year-old champion colt and GI Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled, in the 1996 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale for $400,000. That Summer Squall filly, later named Temporada, would go on to produce a Kentucky Derby contender in 2016 GII Xpressbet.com Fountain of Youth S. winner Zulu (Bernardini).

“Elise and I continued to breed a band of mares with Needham Betz and other partners for more than 25 years,” said Magers. “We had great success along the way and one of our last crops of yearlings included champion 2-year-old filly Echo Zulu (Gun Runner).”

Echo Zulu wins the GI NetJets Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies | Eclipse Sportswire

As Magers prepares to step away from the racing and breeding industry after over 30 years, he couldn't help but go back to where the whole story started.

“We stepped away from the breeding business in 2019 but, in wrapping [that up], we bought back three babies from the partnerships out of a line that traced back to Lemhi Go,” said Magers. “All three raced at Gulfstream Park with trainer Ralph Nicks and all three were mid-level claiming winners running in bright, coral-colored silks with a black diamond on the back.”

Magers admits, “It is a delightful way to end our career with horses.” He continued, “Diamonds will last forever and, for us, so will the stories and memories that came with a career in racing and breeding.”

The post Ron Magers Reflects On His Decades In Racing And Breeding appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Secretariat’s Legacy Calendar To Benefit Old Friends, Among Other Charities

A new calendar honoring Secretariat features his legendary daughter Weekend Surprise and her descendants. The Secretariat's Legacy calendar is the continuation of a series originally celebrating the last living sons and daughters of Secretariat (“Secretariat's Living Legends”), but with only one son and one daughter left, it was time to make a transition.

While the theme has changed, the goal is the same – to celebrate Secretariat through his descendants and raise much-needed funds for equine charities. For the second straight year, the beneficiaries are Bright Futures Farm, Old Friends and Victory Alliance Ranch.

The calendar series launched in 2018 has raised more than $22,000 for charities through 2021. “Racing fans, especially Secretariat fans, have loved the Living Legends calendars, and I hope they will enjoy this new take on Secretariat's legacy through his important descendants,” says writer/photographer Patricia McQueen, whose creative project is part of her research work on Secretariat as a sire.

The 2022 calendar is all about Weekend Surprise, and she is featured on the cover and in the January spread. Secretariat's stakes-winning daughter was 1992 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, and her important descendants included in the calendar are:

Summer Squall, her son who won the 1990 Preakness Stakes;
A.P. Indy, her 1992 Horse of the Year son who went on to elite status as a sire;
Charismatic, the 1999 Horse of the Year by Summer Squall;
Mineshaft, the 2003 Horse of the Year by A.P. Indy;
Rags to Riches, A.P. Indy's champion daughter who won the 2007 Belmont Stakes;
Bernardini, the 2006 champion 3-year-old colt by A.P. Indy;
Honor Code, A.P. Indy's final champion, a member of his last crop;
Tapit, A.P. Indy's grandson who is a legendary sire himself;
California Chrome, a two-time Horse of the Year and great grandson of A.P. Indy; and
Justify, the 2018 Triple Crown winner and great-great grandson of A.P. Indy (and Storm Cat).

As in previous calendars, the Tony Leonard Collection continues to generously support the series with a beautiful photo of Secretariat after the Preakness Stakes with Ron Turcotte aboard. Mr. Turcotte has kindly agreed to autograph a limited number of calendars to help raise even more funds.

As noted, all profits from the sale of the calendar are allocated to three worthy organizations: Bright Futures Farm, an equine rescue and sanctuary accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance; Old Friends, another TAA-accredited organization; and Victory Alliance Ranch, an equine rescue and sanctuary supporting veterans and special needs children.

The calendars are available for $25 each at www.SecretariatsLegacy.com. Free shipping within the U.S. is included. Everyone who orders a 2022 Secretariat's Legacy calendar will also receive a free four-page tribute to the “Last Secretariats,” who have all been included in the Living Legends series; only 33-year-old Border Run and 32-year-old Trusted Company remain.

The post Secretariat’s Legacy Calendar To Benefit Old Friends, Among Other Charities appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Trainer Neil Howard Plans Transition To Assistant For Shug McGaughey

Trainer Neil Howard, a mainstay on the Kentucky Thoroughbred circuit for nearly four decades, told the Daily Racing Form he plans to disband his stable and take a role as assistant for Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey.

“This is a business of change,” Howard, 72, told DRF. The last year or two, I'd been thinking of doing something like this. Shug recently presented me with this opportunity and I took it. That's the long and short of it.”

Howard is best known for his conditioning of Horse of the Year Mineshaft, as well as Preakness winner and Derby runner-up Summer Squall. Over his 42-year training career, Howard saddled 1,256 winners from 6,934 starters, including 186 stakes races (85 graded). Howard was also the private trainer for Lane's End Farm from 1983 through the late 2000s, when Farish began employing multiple trainers, including McGaughey.

Howard plans to make the transition over the next several weeks.