It happened Saturday, May 4, 2013, when Stuart Janney III and Phipps Stable's favored Orb charged to the lead in the stretch of a sloppy Churchill Downs strip to win the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands.
"It means everything to me," trainer Shug McGaughey said. "It's a race I've always wanted to win, a race I've always wanted to compete in if I thought I had the right horse, and finally today we had the right horse."
The two owners (cousins) and their families have been racing thoroughbreds for decades without winning the most sought-after race in the world, the Kentucky Derby. In fact, in 1969 because of a coin toss, the father of Orb co-owner Ogden Mills Phipps lost the rights to a foal out of the mare Somethingroyal. The mare had been bred to the Phipps’ stallion Bold Ruler. Penny Chenery, on behalf of her father, won the coin toss, and the resulting foal, a chestnut colt, became Secretariat, the 1973 Triple Crown Winner.
Like Shug McGaughey, my dreams have come true many times. One that stands out is the first time I became a horse owner. My bay gelding was not a champion thoroughbred, but an American Saddlebred, the grandson of legendary champion Wing Commander. Trained as a five-gaited pony, my daughter rode Mr. Too Little in pleasure pony classes.
Selling my first book to Kensington Publishing was a dream come true. Continuing to write and publish books is also a dream fulfilled. Here is the revised version of my first book with 30,000 words added.
What about you? Do you dream? If so, what about? Do you set a goal and go after your dreams? Do you make them come true?
"If you can dream it, you can do it" Walt Disney
I enjoy learning some of the history pertaining to the Kentucky Derby and its horses. Thanks for sharing that tidbit, Jan, and yes, I dream, too. Winning the lottery is always a fav, but I really need to buy a ticket to win. Hugs!
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