The Secret Past Lives of Rolex OTTBs + Thoroughbreds For All!

Michael Pollard and Mensa, an OTTB who won over $92,000. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Nobody shows up to Rolex like a thoroughbred and this year’s field is full of them. As we mentioned in our Rolex By the #s: Horse Stats post earlier this week, there are 24 thoroughbreds competing this weekend, comprising over a third of the entries, and many of them are off-track.

That inspiring statistic wasn’t lost on the Retired Racehorse Project (formerly Retired Racehorse Training Project), who took it upon themselves to do a little digging into the horses’ racing backgrounds. Erin Pittman researched their racing names, pedigrees and track records and was so kind to share with us what she found out.

Rolex Three Day Event – Thoroughbred entries:

Collection Pass (Kate Chadderton/Rege Dvorsky)       AUS
Collection Pass (PA), 2002 gelding, Collection Agent – Winged Passage – Assault Landing
Race Record:  6 – 0 – 0 – 0, $0
USEA Competition Record:  0 – 1 – 3 – 5 (84)

Expedience (Kaitlin Spurlock/rider)       USA
Aye Promenade (WV), 1997 mare, Aye’s Turn – Promenador – Cannonade
Race Record:  2 – 0 – 0 – 0, $0
USEA Competition Record:  0 – 4 – 6 – 15 (187)

Here’s To You (Emily Beshear/Deep Purple Eventing)      USA
Supplize (KY), 2000 gelding, Will’s Way – China Sky – Skywalker
Race Record:  3 – 0 – 0 – 1, $1,290
USEA Competition Record:  1 – 3 – 4 – 8 (198)

Houdini (Katie Frei/rider)             USA
Rocky Times (WV), 2004 gelding, Hot Rock – Nancy’s Star – Big Sal
Race Record:  5 – 0 – 0 – 1, $1,180
USEA Competition Record:   0 – 1 – 2 – 5  (117)

Irish Rhythm (Rachel McDonough/rider)           CAN
Daniel Alexander (ON), 1999 gelding, Vice Chancellor – Dawnsari – Dawn Flight
Race Record:  43 – 1 – 3 – 4, $25,923
USEA Competition Record:  0 – 1 – 2 – 5  (26)

Madison Park (Kyle Carter/rider  & Jennifer Carter)      CAN
Magic Retribution (WA), 1998 gelding, Monaco Magic – Mistress of Mine – Band Practice
Race Record:  11 – 1 – 0 – 0, $2,744
USEA Competition Record:  5 – 3 – 12 – 14 (362.5)

Mensa G (Michael Pollard/rider, Nathalie Pollard & Carl Bouckaert)      USA
Merisa G (KY), 1998 gelding, Colonial Affair – Fire the Secretary – Stop the Music
Race Record:  40 – 5 – 7 – 4, $92,901
USEA Competition Record:  1 – 4 – 9 – 13  (527)

Parker (James Alliston/rider)           GBR
Eastside Park (NJ), 2002 gelding, Marquetry – Hello Mom – Caveat
Race Record:  15 – 0 – 0 – 3, $8,145
USEA Competition Record:  2 – 4 – 3 – 11 (290)

Pirate (Meghan O’Donoghue/rider)        USA
Pirate’s Gold Star (IL), 2002 gelding, Pirate Stronghold – Stars Heir – Risen Star
Race Record:  10 – 1 – 0 – 2, $3,840
USEA Competition Record:  1 – 2 – 5 – 7  (260.5)

Relentless Pursuit (Dana Widstrand/rider)        USA
Super Rover (IL), 1996 gelding, A Lee Rover – Sumptious Gal – Super Hit
Race Record:  3 – 3 – 0 – 0, $13,201
USEA Record:  0 – 2 – 2 – 11 (232)

Shiraz (Colleen Rutledge/rider)             USA
Bold and Burley (FL), 1998 gelding, Gallapiat – Bold Blossom – Fountain of Gold
Race Record:  14 – 2 – 0 – 1, $10,862
USEA Competition Record:  5 – 2 – 9 – 15 (226)

Sir Rockstar (Libby Head/rider)        USA
Sir Rock (KY), 1998 gelding, Rockamundo – How Unusual – Great Sun
Race Record:  16 – 1 – 1 – 1, $12,016
USEA Competition Record:  0 – 1 – 3 – 8  (100.5)

Tsunami (Sally Cousins/rider)        USA
Tsu Tsu Ro (PA), 1999 mare, Roanoke – Tsu Tsu Slew – Tsunami Slew
Race Record:  24 – 3 – 2 – 4, $35,170
USEA Competition Record:   0 – 6 – 5 – 11 (591)

Pure Thoroughbreds – unraced (and, in two cases, un-registered)

Enchantez (Lindsey Oaks/David Oaks)        USA
Devil’s Dante (IN), 2000 gelding, Devil’s Joy – Class Reunion – General Assembly
USEA Competition Record:  0 – 1 – 2 – 5 (58)

Gin &Juice (Hawley Bennett-Awad/rider & Linda Paine)        CAN
unregistered (CA), 2000 mare, Audio – Qtrpastree – Court Ruling
USEA Competition Record:  6 – 2 – 11 – 7 (804)

Inmidair (Jan Byyny/Rider, Jo Byyny and Richar Byyny)      USA
Unnamed (NZ), 1999 gelding,  Wallenda – Jasmine June (NZ) – Pompeii Court
USEA Competition Record:  0 – 5 – 12 – 9  (559)

Petite Flower (Buck Davidson/Caroline and Sherrie Martin)         USA
Unregistered (PA), 2002 mare, Amber’s Lust – Tears of a Loss (IRE) – Prince Rupert (FR)
USEA Competition Record:  0 – 1 – 2 – 4 (286)

I was sitting with one of eventing’s most enthusiastic thoroughbred cheerleaders, Laine Ashker (who sadly had to withdraw her own Anthony Patch due to an abscess) during the dressage the morning when she stopped by to chime in on EN’s live blog. She noted that although OTTBs have a reputation for being a bit hot and sensitive the ones competing this weekend seemed to be taking everything in stride, keeping their cool despite the electric atmosphere and volatile weather. And, of course, tomorrow will be their day to shine at exactly what they were born to do: run and jump.

We’ll be all be joining together to celebrate the breed this evening at Thoroughbreds For All!, an evening of education and fellowship for OTTB fans combined with an invitation to shop in Kentucky for the thoroughbred of their dreams. The event begins after Rolex cross country at 5:30 pm on Saturday, April 28 15 miles from the Kentucky Horse Park in the covered arena at West Wind Farm, 4787 Haley Rd., Lexington KY 40516.

From New Vocations:

This year’s Thoroughbreds For All! event star line up will include: Olympic dressage rider Linda Zang, Pan American Games eventing gold medalist Lynn Symansky, and Kentucky Oaks winning jockey Rosie Napravnik.  All three will share their experience in working with retired racehorses to an expected crowd of over 600 Thoroughbred enthusiasts. A southern style dinner and cash bar will be included in the evening festivities.

This year’s event will focus on the versatility of the Thoroughbred by incorporating a variety of riding disciplines throughout the evening. Linda Zang, who is best known as America’s most respected international dressage judge and a veteran of the 1980 Olympics, will lead a session on retraining the Thoroughbred for dressage. During her session Nuno Santos will ride one of America’s most promising and best-bred dressage horses, Ken’s Kitten, by leading sire Kitten’s Joy.

Rosie Napravnik, who currently sits at the top of the jockey standings at Fair Grounds Race Course, is ranked fifth on the North American leader board. She became the first woman in history to win the Kentucky Oaks in 2012 and broke Hall of Fame jockey, Julie Krone’s 20 year standing year end earnings record that same year.  She will not only share her experience but will also demonstrate it with her own retired racehorse, “Sugar.” Napravnik’s demonstration will include a tack change to showcase the versatility and athletic ability of the Thoroughbred.

Lastly, Lynn Symansky, who with her retired racehorse Donner, helped the United States win gold at the  2011 Pan American Games Eventing Competition and placed fifth at last year’s Rolex CCI**** will share her experience in retraining Thoroughbreds for eventing. Lynn will use one of New Vocations’ horses during her session as well as an advanced horse to demonstrate different training tips.

All sessions will be moderated by Steuart Pittman of RRTP and Anna Ford of New Vocations.The event will run from 5:30pm to 9pm and will include a southern style dinner and cash bar. Tickets are available for purchase online at http://thoroughbredsforall.eventbrite.com for $35 each.

Many many thanks to our friends at Retired Racehorse Project for their assistance with this post — they just launched a beautiful new website yesterday, go check it out!