Off Track Thoroughbreds

Big Brown, winner of the 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness, and sire of 2015 Kentucky Derby contender Dortmund, has been offered for a free breeding to a NY claiming mare. Photo courtesy Sunrise Stallions

A chance to breed a retired N.Y. racemare— free of charge— to 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Big Brown, the sire of 2015 Derby favorite Dortmund, has been offered to philanthropic horsemen as a reward for their efforts last month to do right by the same racemare.

Following the successful effort by Dallas horseman John Murrell and New York trainer Carl Domino to claim back race mare Rock N Cozy from race trainer David Jacobson last month, Big Brown’s people stepped up with an offer.

Sunrise Stallions GM Eric Bishop, upon learning how Murrell and Domino claimed back the prized mare for $15,000 in a heartfelt effort to retire her from racing, says he made the offer out of respect for their conduct as horsemen and admiration for the mare’s success on the racetrack. Rock N Cozy earned $231,000 in 39 starts, showing heart and stamina.

Saying that if any men deserved the opportunity with Big Brown, it was the gentlemen who swooped in to claim back Rock N Cozy from Davidson in a $15,000 claiming race at Belmont Park May 20, a race which the mare won. (Please read the earlier story here: http://offtrackthoroughbreds.com/2015/05/27/horsemen-thats-it-were-getting-her-out/)

As a way of rewarding these actions and helping to promote good breeding practices in a state that could benefit from a good pairing such as would come from Big Brown and Rock N Cozy, Bishop says he offered the free breeding, an $8,000 value, as a way to thank the men for setting a stellar example in the racing business.

Rock N Cozy grazes with Carl Domino by her side.

“There are a lot of good people in this business and a lot of not-so-good people in this business. When we saw what John Murrell and Carl Domino did for Rock N Cozy, we decided we wanted to do something nice for them, because they’re good people,” he says, noting that the beautiful gray mare, with her strong track record, great conformation, and giant heart would also be a great match for Big Brown.

“Here’s a mare who’s run close to 40 times. Not too many Thoroughbreds are in that position, and she even went out as a winner,” Bishop says, referring to her win in her last race at Belmont Park on May 20.

Murrell and Domino, who each work on Thoroughbred welfare efforts— Murrell with frequent financial contributions to rescue Thoroughbreds from the slaughter pipeline and Domino, serving on the board of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation—were honored by the offer.

Emphasizing that no decision has been made yet for Rock N Cozy, Murrell says he is well aware that some in the horse-welfare world might oppose breeding her, based on arguments of overpopulation and unwanted horse problems.

Rock N Cozy was claimed in May by John Murrell and Carl Domino. Photo by Frankie Olaya

“I am active in taking horses out of bad situations when my funds and efforts allow it, and I certainly emphasize with individuals who would have an adverse reaction to a breeding because it creates more horses in the world,” Murrell says. “I understand that, but at the same time, I am also a horseman and I make money in the racing industry. I do it the right way. New York racing has a long history of good programs for New York breds and I think a breeding with Big Brown could be a great boost to the New York industry.”

Domino notes that Rock N Cozy, who was a particular favorite of his wife Sophia, is a solid racehorse in her own right. Earning just over $230,000 on the track, she always tried, regardless of the surface she ran on or the competition around her. “She’s an honest horse and she’s nice to be around. If you look at all of her races, she always tried,” Domino says. “She’s very honest and has a nice conformation.

As Domino and Murrell decide whether to accept the very generous offer from Big Brown’s people at Sunrise Stallions of New York, the mare is being let down, enjoying grass and just being a horse, Murrell says. If they take Big Brown up on the offer, it would occur sometime next year, he says. If they decide not to breed her, Murrell and Domino will begin looking for a permanent home for the mare.

Barkinspider had a body score of 2 out of 10 when he was found on the Louisiana roadside.

Nobody was looking for Barkinspider the day the shockingly thin colt was collected from a Louisiana roadside like a heap of discarded trash.

Just another unwanted ex-racehorse of no particular value, the petite gray T’bred’s coat had fallen out in patches where the rain rot had gotten to it, and his eyes had dulled with a look of defeat.

When horse-rescue personnel from the Lafayette Parish Animal Control led him onto a trailer to drive him to safety, he offered neither protest nor fight. It was as if the energy to hope for a better life had been drained away by that time, recalls Anne Marie P. Muller, an attorney and avid equestrian.

Barkinspider
New name: Regarding Henry
Barn name: Henry
Sire: Mom’s Little Guy
Dam: Star of Maurice
Foal date: April 17, 2009“What struck me more than anything was how defeated he seemed,” Muller says. “After I saw his picture on Facebook, I drove an hour to go see him in person, and while I stood with him in his pasture, he allowed me to hold his head in my hands.

“I remember thinking, ‘How do you walk away from that?’ If it wasn’t going to be me, who else would it be? I had to take him.”

Muller decided quickly. Not knowing what lay beneath the wreckage of an animal found wandering a highway—had he escaped from somewhere terrible, had a careless owner just dumped him? — Muller knew that this was the horse she wanted to help.

“I’d been thinking about rescuing a horse for some time,” she says. Having ridden “made” horses herself, and having witnessed many excellent riders doing the same on highly trained animals, Muller felt in her bones that to be a truly great horseman, she would have to bring a horse along from the bottom up. “Anybody can ride a made horse if they’re a decent rider, but to be an excellent rider, a more complete rider, you have to train a horse from scratch,” she reasons.

Regarding Henry blossomed into a sweet child’s ride.

And it so happened that on a late September day last year, as Muller was deciding to rescue the little animal from his lonely pasture, the Animal Control center that had scooped him up was about to grapple with an abuse and neglect case involving 75 horses. The all-too-common scenario was “overwhelming” Animal Control at the time, and Muller made haste to get the little guy she would rename Henry to a new home; her home.

“I drove back a week later with my trailer” on Sept. 21 “and I remember that after I opened the trailer, he walked right in, and he whinnied all the way back to the barn,” she says. “He seemed brighter immediately.”

The road to a new life wasn’t without its setbacks, but looking back on the past year, it’s remarkable to Muller how “easy” the little colt’s transition has been.

He regained weight eating good hay with a gradual addition of grain and other feed to his meal plan, and Muller was able to put him into light work a few months after he arrived.

Starting with light ground work, followed by light rides; her plan to gradually build up muscle as he put on weight rewarded her with a nicely rounded, not fat, horse with a mind ready to work.

Henry and his 8-year-old rider Emma Munroe make a pretty picture at a recent show.

“He was putting on weight so fast that I didn’t want him to get fat. Instead I wanted to slowly develop his muscle at the same time,” she explains. “But being as frail as he was, I didn’t want to push him either.”

Another consideration in his training was that he was still a colt. So, she gelded him as soon as it was appropriate. “As his energy returned, I wanted him to have the brain to deal with it. I thought it was important to get him into a routine early,” she adds.

When she thinks of all the things that could have gone wrong, of the horror stories she’s heard about rescue horses, Henry seemed ridiculously easy to bring along. Aside from rain rot, which cleared up with medical treatment, and poorly shaped feet, which are slowly being reconfigured to allow his frog more comfort, Henry’s recovery from starvation and neglect was a very smooth ride.

“There are so many stories I hear about with rescues, with abscesses, and bucking,” she says. “He didn’t have any of those issues, and the first time I rode him, he was easy.”

In no time, Henry started competing in local shows with 8-year-old rider Emma Munroe. At a recent show, the pair was First Reserve Champions in a walk-trot equitation class, Muller says with pride. And in a pre-green 2-foot-six course, he has shown a great aptitude for jumping. He jumps so big with his balanced, well-muscled body that Muller fully believes her little throw-away horse will never go unvalued again.

“A horse needs to have some kind of value. It’s very important for them to have some kind of marketability,” she says. “There are so many Thoroughbreds in Louisiana that need training and need futures that there are not enough horse people to take them all.

“Henry has value to me, and he’ll have a home for the rest of his life now.”

—Author’s note: This story was originally published on Aug. 22, 2013. #TBT