Stories about your favorite retired racehorses. For archived stories, click here.
"He was a proper hurdle horse. Low and quick, efficient. That’s where he excelled. He just rolled over them like speedbumps; he left holes in the hedges. America suited him down to a tee.”
In the show ring, he is Ferdinand The Bull. At home, he is Ferdinand (never Ferd or Fred). To The Jockey Club, he’s Cugino. By any name, he has been the ultimate partner and family horse for Megan Childs Campbell for 15 years.
Bob Haynes stood at the rail of the Laurel Park paddock in April 2006, studying the horse he was about to claim. Running for a $20,000 tag, the horse checked off all the boxes for Haynes. The 4-year-old Maryland-bred Partner’s Hero gelding was strong, well built, a good mover. Spotting Bird Mobberley, daughter of breeder/owner/trainer Gretchen, Haynes saw something else he wanted – the sunglasses perched on Bird’s head.
Carl “Bunny” Meister Jr. and his wife, Linda, received an offer they couldn’t refuse. The buyers of their 133-acre Tarad Hill Farm in West Chester, Pa., planned to build a new home on the property, and the Meisters were welcome to stay in the farmhouse Bunny has occupied since the 1960s. But the change in ownership dictated that the Meisters rehome their horses, several of whom have lived at Tarad Hill for years.
Richard Valentine understands love at first sight. He knows it’s real. He’s got the Eclipse Award trophy to prove it.
In her role as photographer and photo editor for Thoroughbred Daily News, Sarah Andrew has known countless Thoroughbreds, both on and off the racetrack. Many of her subjects are household names photographed in some of the biggest stakes races in North America. But it’s a 24-year-old New Jersey-bred winner of one race who has her heart.
Sean Clancy traveled to Keeneland for the 2010 November sale on a mission. Mill Ridge listed Juddmonte Farms’ Eagle Poise in its horses-of-racing-age consignment. Mark Grier provided motivation. Already the owner of a few flat horses and a regular at the Far Hills Races in his hometown, Grier asked Clancy to find a good, solid prospect for jump racing.
Speak with Chris Boniface or her son Fritz for more than a few minutes, and the subject inevitably gravitates to Moonsox. The experiences differ slightly, but the deeply rooted affection for the 14-year-old chestnut gelding dovetails. Chris repeatedly calls him “quirky” and “very special.” Fritz unashamedly admits, “Moonsox is the love of my life.”
