North American buyers know they are taking big gambles when they acquire runners from overseas through private purchases. It can be difficult to tell how they will acclimate and at what level of competition they can be effective.
Tag: The Sport
Unbridled: The Gentle Giant Who Delivered a Magical Kentucky Derby Moment
Few horses have been able to blend the kind of success that Unbridled enjoyed both on the racetrack and in the breeding shed. A strapping, 17-hand colt with a long, ground-gobbling stride, he was slow to develop at 2 after a promising 10 ½-length victory in his career debut. The son of Fappiano was then plagued by a sore hoof at 4, succinctly explaining why he won just eight of 24 career starts.
2023 Kentucky Derby Hopeful Snapshots: Lugan Knight
Welcome to 2023 Kentucky Derby Prospect Snapshots, where we’ll take a look each week at a recent winner on the Triple Crown trail, usually from the Road to the Kentucky Derby schedule from which the racehorses earn points toward qualifying. The 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve will be held May 6, 2023, at Churchill Downs.
Racing Hall of Fame Trainer Allen Jerkens: The Chief
Allen Jerkens took out his trainer’s license as soon as he turned 21, and he only waited that long because his father forbid him to do so any sooner. He enjoyed solid success almost from the very beginning and won his first stakes race in 1955 with a horse named War Command, whom Jerkens had claimed for $8,000. Seven years later, he agreed to become the private trainer for Jack Dreyfus Jr.’s Hobeau Farm. Though Hobeau Farm didn’t always deal in the most fashionable of pedigrees, it did provide Jerkens with volume. And Jerkens certainly had a knack for getting the most out of his horses.
