There’s a new little big horse at Fair Hill Training Center, though you might not see him.
Grade 1-winning sprinter Imperial Hint checked into the on-site therapy center last week for a break. He’ll get some turnout time, sessions in the cold saltwater spa, plenty to eat and at least a little bit of special attention. He most likely won’t ever see the racetracks so don’t worry about him threatening whatever the fastest half-mile breeze times are at the facility.
“He’d probably go in :45 and change, maybe faster,” trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. said with a laugh.
But it’s not happening.
“He’s just here for some R-and-R,” said Bruce Jackson, who owns and manages the therapy center in a barn at the training center. The facility includes barns, turnout paddocks and round pens, the cold spa, a hyperbaric chamber, salt vapor room, and other amenities designed for recovery and rehabilitation. “The horse looks great after the trip he’s been on. His weight is good, he looks good, he acts super.”
Imperial Hint finished third in the Dubai Golden Shaheen March 30, and will use Fair Hill as a recovery step toward a summer campaign. The 6-year-old won four races in each of his first three seasons on the track – 2016, 2017 and 2018 – including Grade 1 triumphs in the Alfred Vanderbilt and Vosburgh last year. Imperial Hint opened 2019 with a third in the Pelican Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, then chased X Y jet and Japanese runner Matera Sky home in the Dubai race.
The Florida-bred, owned by Raymond Mamone, has earned more than $1.8 million. Carvajal said the Fair Hill stay involves recovery after a long trip to Dubai, the race and the return trip. Plans call for a stakes campaign through the summer and fall so now is the time for a break.
“I’m happy he’s having a little vacation,” said the trainer. “He deserved a little time to refresh and gain some weight and everything. That way we can have a good season.”
In Dubai, Imperial Hint broke from the inside post in a field of field of nine, was behind the eventual winner X Y Jet and had to stay inside until the stretch. Imperial Hint made up a little ground late for jockey Jose Ortiz, and was beaten 2 lengths (a half-length for second). Carvajal was pleased with his horse’s effort, though the circumstances could have been better.
“I had a good idea how he might run,” he said. “I was not very happy with the post position he had. You have to have a little luck to get to the outside or you have to break and go. If he got a little better trip it would have been a better race.”
Wednesday morning, Imperial Hint was gazing out the back window of his stall while tethered to the wall for a short grooming session. The son of Imperialism was covered in sand after a good roll and really only interested in the feed tub he could see but not reach. Visitors were OK, but he was off duty.
“He’s a proud little horse,” said Jackson. “He gets turned out, he’s going to a paddock now. Obviously we started in a round pen and he’s still in the process of transitioning to a paddock for a bit longer. It’s a great time of year for that, the grass is wonderful. He’ll spend as long as he wants out there and tell us when he’s ready to come in.”
Jackson takes in horses of all abilities, race records and reputations but the big names are special.
“Absolutely,” he said when asked if the stars offer a stamp of approval for the business. “It’s all about helping horses and to get these kinds of horses in here means we’re doing something right.”
The therapy center has hosted 60 individual Grade 1 winners of 94 Grade 1 races. Thirty-eight of those horses won Grade 1 races after being at Fair Hill. Like Imperial Hint, Mind Your Biscuits and X Y Jet spent time with Jackson after racing in Dubai last year. Chad Summers, trainer of Mind Your Biscuits, recommended the place to Carvajal.
Carvajal’s stable will move from Tampa Bay Downs to Monmouth Park soon. Imperial Hint will join the team while being aimed for the True North Stakes at Belmont Park June 7 or Saratoga. Regardless, Carvajal expects big things from the son of Imperialism.
“He’s the older horse now and there are a lot of newcomers out there,” said Carvajal. “We’ll train at Monmouth Park and try to follow the same plan as last year. He’s a racehorse. People look at his size and his pedigree and all that stuff, but he’s a true racehorse. He loves to train and he loves to run.”
But he’s on vacation now.
Imperial Hint in his stall at Fair Hill: “Leave me alone, I’m on vacation.”
