Some racehorses peak at an early age, flashing brilliance right from the start. Others require more time to reach their best form, maturing slowly over the course of several years.
Breeder Jane Lyon’s Summer Wind Farm boasts two high-powered producers, mares whose progeny have left their mark on the sport’s history in their own ways. Littleprincessemma, purchased by Lyon when her Pioneerof the Nile colt was 2, is part of an elite sorority that currently boasts only two members: that Pioneerof the Nile colt, named American Pharoah, won the Triple Crown in 2015.
Racing is filled with the disappointing tales of horses who are bought for a seven-figure price tag but never come close to repaying their owner for signing that huge check.
Then there are horses like Royal Delta, who left her owner with no regrets about paying a king’s ransom for her, even if she did not cover a humungous price tag.
The story of Royal Delta actually has two chapters.
Guy Torsilieri, the chairman of the Far Hills race meet in New Jersey, remembers the first time he saw McDynamo in person. The then-4-year-old gelding had just picked up his first steeplechase victory, taking a maiden special weight race by 4 ½ lengths at Far Hills on Oct. 20, 2001. Torsilieri was impressed.
Bricks and Mortar had vaulted into the Horse of the Year debate with five wins in as many starts in 2019 entering the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park.
The Longines Turf, which usually lures a robust, powerful international contingent, drew four European invaders but lacked the star power of 2018 winner Enable, leaving Bricks and Mortar a true standout for the 1 ½-mile race.
