There is something extra special when a flashy Quarter Horse palomino stands out amid hundreds of world-class Thoroughbreds and their ponies at this year’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships Nov. 3-4 at Santa Anita Park.

The pony is called Mr. T, and he is Scott Blasi’s beloved sidekick. Blasi is one of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen assistants. Their roster of champions throughout the years reads like a “who’s who” of Thoroughbred royalty and includes Curlin, Rachel Alexandra, Disarm, My Miss Aurelia, Gun Runner, Epicenter, and many more.

Scott Blasi aboard beloved pony Mr. T. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Blasi grew up in a horse racing family. It was a family operation. One of his first memories is of a cow horse mare named Star. “We had to ride bareback. We weren’t allowed to ride until we could actually saddle. So, if you wanted to ride, you really wanted to. We were fortunate. My brother [Churchill Downs outrider Greg Blasi] and I started a lot of 2-year-olds and then eventually we were galloping and exercising racehorses. My dad started transitioning from Quarter Horses to Thoroughbreds. They were bigger and stronger. But nothing compared to what I get to be around every day.”

Today, Blasi rides Mr. T in the early morning at Santa Anita as they ready their entrants for the Breeders’ Cup. As the sun rises, it’s easy to spot Mr. T with the Asmussen horses which includes Committee of One (Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint), Society (PNC Bank Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint), Clairiere (Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff), and Gunite (Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint).

Blasi is comfortable on Mr. T.  “It’s just hard to find a horse as big as him. He’s tall, which I like because I like being over the top of those big stud colts. They can get a little bit bully and aggressive. He’s big enough where if they push, he can push back. That’s nice to have. You can tell that he’s going to be right there for you. He’s very strong. I have ridden some very good ponies for Steve over the years, and he’s definitely one of them.” 

Blasi explains further, “You don’t mess with him. If they get too far in front of him or start laying on him, he’ll put them back in their place. They respect his size. He’s athletic enough to put you where you need to be.” He’s also a people’s horse and is extremely friendly. As for treats, Blasi says that “he’s a big carrot guy.”

Mr. T was born in 2012 and is a registered American Quarter Horse. His given name is Hot Peppy Gypsy. He is by Ha Red Hot Gypsy out of Peppy Seven Nine and is a grandson of Royal Crown’s roping stallion Starlights Gypsy.    

Mr. T is a handsome pony. (Courtesy of Susan Montayne)

Shannon Frascht (Award-winning Professional Team Roper) purchased Hot Peppy Gypsy from Oklahoma trainer Marty Powers, who thought he might be a nice “pick-up horse” for broncs at rodeos. He was 5 years old. After working with broncs and bulls all summer at multiple rodeos, he was shifted to team roping. They felt he was “too nice of a horse” to deal with ornery broncs. He was also used for ranching.   Frascht remembers that, “he pretty much did everything you wanted him to do.” 

He was sold at the Pitzer Ranch horse sale in Ericson, Neb. in 2019 and was purchased by Marc Green, owner of Green Performance Horses. He wasn’t planning on purchasing a horse that day and didn’t even have a trailer with him. But Hot Peppy Gypsy caught his eye and Green wanted him as a team roping horse. Green remembers, “He did a good job. He was always the first to greet you. He was just a nice horse, a pretty horse. You don’t find very many in our world that are that big, gentle enough to do their job, and that pretty. He’s a blessing to our family. I roped big ol’ mama cows in the pasture and team roped with him. He just wanted to get along and get better. I think that had a little bit of doing in his [future] success.” The only issue is that he is a little big for competition as an upper-level team roping horse. 

Green sold him to Susan Montanye of SBM Training and Sales in Ocala, Fla. “Ponies are really hard to come by. It takes time to make a pony. I have found that roping horses most of the time make good ponies.” She didn’t need another pony at the time but “Trump” (as Hot Peppy Gypsy was known back) really caught her eye. “He was a head horse [in roping]. I guess the reason they were selling him is that he is just too big for the job. It has something to do with the angle of their rope and the turning radius.  He was just too big for what they were doing. He is 16’2 hands. I like bigger ponies as they are especially good with the babies bouncing off of them, and he isn’t going anywhere. Unless you have the opportunity to actually pony on a big pony, you don’t necessarily know what it’s like.”

Now renamed “Mr. T,” he excels at ponying. The young Thoroughbreds might try their shenanigans with other ponies but not with Mr. T.  Montanye says Mr. T has had colts “over his neck and on his butt.” They have photos of Cyberknife rearing up over the top of him and Mr. T is unfazed. Many of the young horses that Montanye breaks are for the Asmussen barn. She offered Mr. T to Scott Blasi for the summer thinking it would be good experience for him.

Scott Blasi’s nieces care for Mr. T. (Courtesy of Susan Montayne)

“Scott has had him for quite a while, and I think he loves him. He seems quite happy with him and I’m not sure that I am ever going to get him back. That’s his best friend. He calls him his service dog and we joke about it. Where he goes, so does Mr. T. He’s pretty special. He’s a true unicorn. They don’t make them like that every day. What a blessing to have a horse like that. It makes your job easier because you can really focus on what you are trying to do. You don’t have to worry about the horse you are sitting on, because he’s going to be wherever you ask him and doing what you ask him to do.”

This year, NBC Analyst Donna Brothers will be riding Mr. T as she interviews the winning jockeys during the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Brothers says she “is really looking forward to meeting him this weekend.”  She will be riding Mr. T for all the Breeders’ Cup World Championship races. It takes a special horse to be able to handle the crowd noise and the balancing act of keeping up with a Thoroughbred that just won a race! 

Not only is Mr. T gathering fans and attention from his visits to the track in the morning, but he will also most certainly be noticeable during the Breeders’ Cup Coverage (Friday on USA Network from 4-8 p.m. ET and then continuing from 1:30-3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The coverage continues on NBC from 3:30-7 p.m. The remaining two races will be livestreamed on Peacock. 

There were many hands involved in Mr. T’s journey to the Breeders’ Cup. He has traveled an amazing route of rodeos, team roping, ranching, family time, and horse racing. They all share pride in the role they have played in the beautiful palomino’s life. 

With quiet delight, Blasi tells Mr. T’s entire story with four words: “Really, he’s very special.”