Hanging out with Curlin and Colonel John

One of the wonderful things about living in Kentucky is that some of the finest horses on the planet are just a short drive away.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the top sires in the world.  The visit to three Lexington-area stallion farms was organized by the University of Louisville Equine Business program, in which I am enrolled.

Our first stop was Lane's End, home to Horse of the Year Zenyatta, who is relaxing on the farm in preparation for her breeding career.  Unfortunately, since we only visited the stallion area, I didn't get to see Z.  But my disappointment quickly evaporated when I walked into the stallion barn.  Wow.  There's AP Indy.  Oh, look, it's Quality Road.  Mineshaft.  Lemon Drop Kid.  Smart Strike.  Rock Hard Ten.  City Zip.  Curlin.  Candy Ride.  I could go on.

It's stunning to see all of these great sires (and potentially great sires) in one place.  Check out the forelock on Quality Road.  I think it's longer than his tail!



The first stallion they brought out was the great AP Indy, whose stud fee is $150,000.  He was gracious enough to let me pet him for free.



Next up was Curlin, North America's leading money-earner and winner of the Preakness, the Dubai World Cup and the Breeders' Cup Classic.  Curlin, it seems, is anxious to get it on with Rachel Alexandra, his future mate (and also winner of the Preakness).  I got the feeling Curlin thought he was headed to the breeding shed at this moment and was a little perturbed that instead, he had to stand around being ogled by a bunch of humans.  He kept biting his handler as if to say, "Hey, I'm supposed to making sweet love right now.  Equine Business students?  Are you serious?"



Lane's End is truly close to heaven, and in fact, when horses pass on, they just stay right here on the farm.  The statue in the background of this little graveyard is of Dixieland Band, a fine stallion who died last year at the ripe old age of 29.



Our next stop was WinStar Farm, which is not only a breeding operation but a racing farm as well.  They're using some pretty fancy technology to keep horses conditioned and prevent injuries.  They have something called Equivibe, which is the use of vibration in horse therapy.  I stood in one of the stalls with a vibrating plate, and I can see why horses would love it.  Like a hot shower, I didn't want to get out!

I was also impressed as the farm manager, Tony, described his approach for bringing along young horses.  He said WinStar tries never to force them into doing something they're not ready for, like loading into a starting gate.  He wants them relaxed, not scared.  Tony said if his horses are anxious in the paddock or at the gate, they're wasting precious energy that could be used at the end of a race.  He was less enthusiastic about the polytrack surface installed at WinStar's training track.  He said it changes every time the weather does.



WinStar is home to last year's Kentucky Derby winner, Super Saver, who begins his breeding career this year.  The stallion roster also includes Tiznow, Distorted Humor, Speightstown and Bluegrass Cat, who had a monster year in 2010 as his first runners hit the track.  The best-looking of the bunch, though, was Colonel John, who went to the breeding shed last year.  Can't wait to see his two-year-olds!  Here's a short video of the Colonel being brought out.

Our final destination was Taylor Made, a smaller farm that has a partnership with WinStar.  Taylor Made stands five stallions: Old Fashioned, Northern Afleet, Forestry, Unbridled's Song (their current rock star) and Eskendereya (their future rock star). Eskendereya would've certainly been last year's Kentucky Derby favorite after his romping wins in the Fountain of Youth and Wood Memorial, but his racing career was cut short by injury.  He certainly looks like he could be a phenomenal sire:



Unbridled's Song has produced a host of Grade 1 winners, including Zensational, Midshipman and Songandaprayer.  And he's gorgeous!  Take a look:

It's pretty incredible to get up close to these famous sires.  As someone once said: A lovely horse is always an experience... It is an emotional experience of the kind that is spoiled by words.

So, I'll stop typing now.