Kentucky Derby 2013

Well, as we all know the Kentucky Derby is quickly approaching.  Louisville, KY, Churchill Downs, $40 General Admission ticket.  The 139th Running of the Roses, 1 1/4 mile, 20 horses battling for the win of their lifetime.  Big horses, big names, big money and big hats.  Who are your favorites?  Will you be betting this year, or even better do you get to go?!
Check out The New York Daily News for their top picks.  Or visit the Kentucky Derby  official page for information on all of the Derby contenders.  You can actually watch races already run by each horse there too.  Horse Racing Nation is also a great page to check out.

Revolutionary seems to be the #1 pick

Will Verrazano take the top place back as the day approaches?

XO Loves,

Me

The Pamplemousse, #1 in TB Series

Alright, so this guy has recently made a place for himself in my top favorites.  I mentioned in my last post that I really want a foal out of him.  His stud fee seems pretty steep, but in the racing world it's really not bad.  Just another huge expenditure to save for!  So here's some background on this huge odd colored stallion.

The Pamplemousse was born in April 2006 at Clarkland Farm in Kentucky.  He's a 16.3 hh gray roan stallion by Kafwain-Comfort Zone, By Rubiano.  The Pamplemousse broke his maiden at Hollywood Park on December 14, 2008, winning the San Rafael Stakes.  He also won the Sham Stakes, a race which he led the entire way and won by six lengths.  He ran five races, winning three and placing once.  It was said by the media that "he is that rare thoroughbred with sharp speed and the ability to carry it over a distance of ground." The Pamplemousse was the odds-on favorite for the 2009 Santa Anita Derby, but was scratched the morning of the race due to a torn tendon.  Trainer Julio Canani said, "The Pamplemousse had more raw ability than any horse I ever trained. Not only was he fast, but he could carry his speed a long way. I really believed he had Classic potential, it was a travesty that he never had a chance to prove it."  This gorgeous big stud had some serious potential and was well favored for the run at the Triple Crown.

The show Jockeys is awesome, if you've never seen it, you should totally check it out! One of The Pomplemousse's owners Alex Solis Jr. is featured in an episode, and his jockey Alex Solis is one of the jockeys followed.  The Pamplemousse returned to light training in June 2009, but didn't race again due to an ankle issue.  He was retired from racing and turned out to stud at Tom and Nancy Clark's Rancho San Miguel near San Miguel, CA.  Ownership was syndicated with a $10,000 buy in for forty shares and two free breeding's for the first two years. It was decided that a fifty mare book would be a good start for The Pamplemousse.  Only twenty-two mares were bred to him in 2011.  His first foal was a filly born at Rancho San Miguel on January 11, 2012 out of Broke the Slump.  I tried, but couldn't find any pictures from his first foal crop.

 

Here are some good thoroughbred links you might enjoy: 

 Blood Horse  

The Daily Racing Form 

The Jockey Club 

Thoroughbred Times 

The Pamplemousse winning San Rafael Stakes 

The Pamplemousse dominating the Sham Stakes  

Xoxo Loves,

Me

Freedom

                    (My favorite mare, Zenyatta, showcasing her unbelievable 28ft stride at Del Mar)

Not only am I a descendent of peoples that have warred over the centuries, but all of the men in my family have crossed oceans to fight and protect our freedom.  Freedom can mean several things for example; "the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint" or "the power to determine action without restraint".  Everyone understands this form of freedom.  But not everyone has experienced the kind of freedom that is only felt.

As the sky lightens and the sun creeps towards the top of the ridge I think about what it means to truly feel free.  Granted I'm only watching the sun rise because I haven't gone to bed yet.  The fresh, crisp, clean smell of early morning almost assaults my sleepy senses.  The air is cool, I haven't slept and I'm free to do as I please.  With no one to tell me different.

But horses, horses are different.  Some are wild and free, some are captive and free and the less fortunate are restrained.  I've recently began a new adventure.  A quest to better my skills and gain as much knowledge as possible.  I've seen wild horses, horses kept in fields, pastures, big pens and stables.  And they all have a different look in their eye.  Freedom.  Some have it, some yearn for it and some will never know it's sweet release.

Race Horses.  They're trained hard at a young age, kept in stalls and fed high energy diets.  Every move planned, every action accounted for.  But on race day, on the track, they get to be free.  Even if it's only a matter of a few seconds.  The perfect rhythm between breath and heartbeat.  The horses that love to run live for those moments of freedom.

Millions of people take riding for granted, but that's because they've never allowed themselves to feel free on the back of a horse.  It's always amazed me, when someone more experienced can take your normal horse and quickly get more from them than you ever have.  My big red mare loves to run.  She's an appendix, so I suppose it's been bred into her.  The difference is, she also has heart.  She's fast, and sometimes that raw power and crazy speed scares me.  She's a great horse and has always taken care of me.  It's that split second when I let her go, that quick feeling of panic, of relinquishing control as I feel the power in her muscles, her stride lengthen and her head reach out that I feel free.  I smile with reckless abandon when I let her gallop in the dark.  Having total faith in her love of freedom because I have no other choice.

Horses are a grand example of what it's like to feel free, even for a short time.  You can see it in their eyes, the way they carry their heads, hold their tails and run like their world goes on forever.  I appreciate, treasure, love and wonder at: Freedom.


Xoxo Loves,

Me