MMarylandaryland HHorseorse OOctoberctober 22010010 OOffiffi ccialial ppublicationublication ooff tthehe MMarylandaryland HHorseorse BBreedersreeders AAssociation;ssociation; VVol.ol. 775,5, NNo.o. 1100 Second careers come naturally to some Inside by Maggie Kimmitt Maryland Fund Report ................ 5 Maryland Fund stakes recaps Ben’s Cat ................................... 4 Fascinatin’ Rhythm .................4 With Thoroughbred re- smart, and there’s a place for Danzig), a stallion that we get Maryland’s leading sires .............. 6 tirement currently in the fore- all of them. Ann got us started a lot of these horses from; we front as one of racing’s hot in this. Sometimes we have love Langfuhr. Not only do MHBA membership form ............. 6 button issues, organizations people coming to us and ask- they make good race horses, Millioniare Richard’s Kid ............. 3 dedicated to the placement ing what we’ve got. We’re just but they can jump. One horse of these athletes are being horse lovers. And one horse that Ann and I had together 1 Race horse re-trainees ................... 1 formed in significant – and lover to another, the word was Spilled Honey (Langfuhr encouraging – numbers. Yet, spreads out.” —Honey Sipper by Drone). without hanging up a shingle The word began spread- He won a lot of races on the or forming a non-profit agen- ing innocently enough when grass for us and then we sold cy, Maryland-based trainers Merryman suggested to her him as a steeplechase horse. MARYLAND HORSE BREEDERS ASSOCIATION INC. Catherine H. (Holly) Robinson dear friend Stacie Eggleton, a He’s a hunter now.” 30 East Padonia Road and Ann Merryman have qui- former exercise rider, that she It is in the hunt field where Timonium, MD 21093 etly gone about the business purchase the Norquestor geld- the Merryman/Robinson P.O. Box 427 of re-training race horses for ing Magic Roland. charges have excelled. At the Timonium, MD 21094 several years. “Ann said he was, to put season’s opening hunt of the 410-252-2100 Merryman and Robin- it bluntly, ‘too slow’ as a race Elkridge-Harford Hounds in Fax 410-560-0503 son have, by the very nature horse. He never beat a horse. 2009, there were reportedly www.marylandthoroughbred.com of their methods, prepared But it did not take Magic Ro- nine horses in the field who BOARD OF DIRECTORS young horses for second ca- land very long to transition had been placed by the pair. R. Thomas Bowman reers from the onset of their from the race track to the hunt One was Big Mike (Citi- President educations. Merryman is field and hunter classes,” said dancer—Cielo Vuh, by Con- A. Brice Ridgely based at The Orebanks, her Eggleton. quistator Cielo). Originally Vice-president family’s farm in Sparks, while Robinson’s long-standing owned by Merryman and Milton P. Higgins III Robinson operates from her association with noted Cana- Mike Cataneo, the gelding Secretary-treasurer Laurel Park barn. dian breeder/owner Gustav was a special favorite of Mer- Cricket Goodall “We like our horses, and to Schickedanz has provided ryman’s. Executive director see them go on and do some- a direct pipeline of talented “Ann put her heart and Amy H. Daney, Rebecca B. thing else is great,” Robinson prospects. soul into that horse,” Robin- Davis, James T. Dresher Jr., Carlos A. Garcia, JoAnn said. “I mean, it’s a little bit “I got to know Gustav,” she son said. Big Mike showed Hayden, Ann Merryman, of our way of training. We began. “He loves his horses. promise on the turf before Suzanne Moscarelli, E. Allen take the young horse out, He goes hunting in Middle- chipping a knee. After recov- Murray, Michael Pons, William and whether he continues burg; has a farm, an old plan- ery he did return and win a S. Reightler Jr., Sally Thomas, on in his racing career or not, tation, in South Carolina. He few races, but during a win- Frank P. Wright he’s seeing things and doing ships all his horses down ter layup he was hunted with Directors Emeritus things, so he’s been predis- there – all of them, mares, foals, Elkridge-Harford and seemed J. William Boniface, King T. Leatherbury, Donald P. posed to all of it when he gets weanlings, everything – so he to find his niche. Former jock- Litz Jr., Robert T. Manfuso, done. There’s a Thoroughbred can watch them grow up. He ey Andrea Seefeldt Knight Katharine M. Voss for everybody. They’re very campaigned Langfuhr (by rode him, fell in love with him, ‘He’s always been trained like resurrected little horse. He he comes late; suppose we just was 7 and that was his first let him get sound?’ ” stakes win. My head was like My Lord was given 11 a bobble-head; I’ll never for- months off before resum- get it until the day I die. I was ing training in May 2005. He out there like ‘I think he can rewarded Ross and Merry- . I think he can. I think he man’s patience on Preakness can!’ He was so far back. It Day 2006 when he won the was such a cool race.” $100,000 Baltimore Breeders’ My Lord raced two more Cup Turf Sprint Stakes under times. Upon his retirement he Rosie Napravnik. went on to a new career with Merryman filled in some Amy and Peter Fenwick. blanks: “Not only does Holly “You know,” Robinson give horses good homes, she concluded, “the important gives children good homes. thing with all of these horses is Rosie had lived with Holly that they are now doing what since she was 15; she went to they should be doing. and Hereford High School. Here that they have found the right Big Mike, a winning son of Citidancer, found his niche with the was Rosie, our resurrected homes.” R Elkridge-Harford Hunt and owner/rider Andrea Seefeldt Knight. little child, winning on our and subsequently purchased inson. When Tru Slew was the handsome chestnut. injured, Robinson contacted But perhaps one of the Liz McKnight, Master of most heartwarming success Elkridge-Harford. McKnight stories is that of a former Nick reschooled Tru Slew as a fox- Zito trainee named Fey Tru, hunter and eventually sold owned by William J. Condren him as a timber prospect to of Go for Gin fame. The son of Ed McLaughlin, who won the Capote and the *Grey Dawn II Foxhall Trophy with him. So mare Starclock broke down in impressive was Tru Slew that his final start at Belmont Park Mark “Stix” Griffiths contact- 2 in 1995 and arrived in Mary- ed Robinson to inquire if she land still wearing a cast. had any more horses like him “We had never really had in her barn. She put Griffiths any experience with a cast,” in touch with Marvin Swank, Merryman explained. “We and Griffiths purchased Tru had picked him up from the Slew’s brother for Marshall vet. I noticed there were pres- Elkins. sure points on either end of the Another Elkins pur- cast, so he took the horse back chase was Stealth Fighter. and took the cast off for us. By Deputy Minister out of When he did, I’d never seen Lady Lochinvar (by Lord At anything like it. The ankle was War-Arg), Stealth Fighter lopsided; it was almost like was sold for $450,000 as a there was another joint. It was yearling. Merryman’s cli- just unbelievable. So we tried ent David Ross claimed him to tell Mr. Condren that we at Churchill Downs in 2004. thought it might be best to put “He hunts with Greenspring him down, but he didn’t want Hounds – he is the biggest, to do that.” classiest horse; so beautiful,” Kawana Swank was work- said Merryman. ing for Merryman at the time. But for Merryman, by far Her father, Marvin D. Swank, the most personally reward- had horses with Robinson and ing account is that of My owns a farm in Ohio. Lord. Another claim for Da- “Fey Tru was a colt but vid Ross, the chestnut geld- FENWICK CAROL he was so sweet and kind,” ing is a son of Lord Carson Swank said. “I said I don’t Peter Fenwick is aboard My from the Vice Regent mare Lord, while his wife, Amy, think my dad really wants a Love of Our Life. rides another race retiree colt at the farm, but let me call “He was so lame when they got from Merryman him and talk to him. He took we claimed him, but I looked and Robinson, Bware of the him and bred his mare to him him up and saw that he held Dark. They are true family each year.” the five-eighths track record mounts – shown left with the kids, Daisy and Tommy, at One of the resulting foals, at Monmouth and at Fair opening cubbing with the Tru Slew, was trained by Rob- Grounds. I said to David, BARRIE B. REIGHTLER Mount Carmel Hounds. Richard’s Kid vaults to millionaire status with second consecutive victory in Grade 1 Pacific Classic Richard’s Kid did it again. Last year the Maryland- bred delivered a breakout performance in California’s richest race, the $1 million Pacific Classic-G1 at Del Mar, winning at odds of 24-1. On August 28, bet down to a far less generous 9-2, he staged a virtual replay, com- ing from off the pace to score by three-quarters of a length in the 2010 edition of the Pa- cific Classic. The $600,000 winner’s share of the purse boosted the 5-year-old’s lifetime earnings to $1,566,370, making him the 20th Maryland-bred million- 3 aire and ninth-richest Mary- land-bred runner of all time.