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Maker of the Crown is the kind of horse who gets your attention. He’s huge, gray, elegant, masculine. His pedigree is aristocratic. His sire, Empire Maker, won the Wood Memorial, the Belmont Stakes and was second in the 2003 Kentucky Derby behind Funny Cide.
Nearly all the major Kentucky Derby preps are in the books, the hardware was handed out at the New York Thoroughbred Breeders Annual Awards Dinner and the spring steeplechase season is starting to hit its stride.
Phillip Dutton occasionally risks sounding like he’s on replay when discussing the reinvention and remarkable progression of Icabad Crane. But there’s no exaggeration or overstatement in his assessments of the now 10-year-old gelding who continues to consistently surpass all expectations.
Wendy Uzelac Wooley was beside herself. “I found Canoodler!” she squealed into the phone. Anyone who knows her understands the significance of that statement. The “Canoodler Saga” began six years ago when Wendy, then an amateur photographer, was shooting the races at Hawthorne Park in Illinois.
Two days from the Ides of March and we’re playing a little catch-up here at This Is Horse Racing.
America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred is back in action. With regular partner Phillip Dutton aboard, Icabad Crane graduated to the preliminary level at the Full Gallop Farm Horse Trials in Aiken, S.C. Feb. 25. The 10-year-old New York-bred finished a strong third with no penalties in the cross country or show jumping phases of the competition. This same farm was the site of Icabad Crane’s debut in eventing just 11 months ago.
The second month of the year is just about in the books with March barreling down this weekend and with it plenty of excitement in the world of racing.
When Keri Brion got wind that Sportswriter was being retired, she jumped at the chance to play a role in his second career. Brion, assistant to Jonathan Sheppard, had kept her eye on the gray gelding ever since her fiancé, Andrew Wolfsont, had ridden him for trainer Kim Graci.
Valentine’s Day is over and done, Laurel Park got its President’s Day weekend stakes programs in, Kentucky got buried under a blanket of snow and Mardi Gras kicked into full effect down in New Orleans and everywhere else they celebrate the holiday.
Ah winter. What more can we say about this winter that hasn’t already been said, grumbled, barked or maybe even screamed?
