Joe Clancy

Longtime steeplechase owner Mignon Smith died in Washington, D.C. on Friday, February 10. She was 81. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Smith graduated from the Madeira School in Virginia and Briarcliff College in New York.

It all came back pretty quickly. The hay, the straw, the horses, the mornings, the pressure (or what I thought was pressure), the mixed aroma of oats, manure, medicine, the muffled announcements at the Toyota dealership next door. Mostly, I heard the banter . . .

He’s pushy, a little jiggy and bouncy and you really wouldn’t want to start picking apart his conformation because he won’t stand still long enough to let you look at him.

British import Black Jack Blues secured the Eclipse Award for champion steeplechase horse in 2011. Owned by Irv Naylor, trained by J.W. Delozier and ridden by Ross Geraghty, the Irish-bred son of Definite Article won the Dot Smithwick and the Grand National in an undefeated American fall campaign.

Everybody has them. Life horses. They arrive, take a part of your heart/brain/whatever and stay there. For life.

Two-time Maryland Hunt Cup winner Buck Jakes – whose racing career included victories on the flat, over hurdles and over timber – was put down Wednesday after a bout with colic. The gray son of Turkoman was 24 and had been a foxhunter and much-loved retiree in Maryland since his racing career ended in 2000.

A photo from the A.P. Smithwick Memorial at Saratoga this summer won the Eclipse Award for photography in the annual editorial contest presented by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters.

Longtime steeplechase owner Henry Stern, whose neon green and pink silks won numerous major races on the American circuit, died Tuesday. He was 88.

Imagine a horse so good, opposing jockeys give him a pat on the neck after a victory. Imagine a horse so good, people toss their hats in the air as he charges to the finish line. Imagine a horse so good, he will parade past the local pub the day after an important win. Imagine a horse so good, a 10-year-old quits playing Wii NASCAR the day after Christmas to watch.

Michael O’Brien. The name meant success. He was America’s champion steeplechase jockey of 1972 and rode the stars for Jonathan Sheppard including Cafe Prince, Athenian Idol, Wustenchef and the rest.