Consider it early retirement. At just 8 years old, Who's Counting could have continued in his steeplechase career. He won eight of 38 starts, on the flat and over jumps. One of his wins was a stakes and he placed in several graded hurdle races. But when your trainer/regular jockey is moving back to Ireland and doesn't want to leave you behind, you get your passport in order.
There was a time, not all that long ago, when Super Ninety Nine's future hung in the balance. A scary bout with cellulitis caused by a suspensory injury left him hospitalized and later in extensive rehab. With his ability to continue as a breeding stallion called into question, his connections went all in on giving the horse the best care possible.
The saga of Cruisewithbrandon might best be summed up in one statement: What's meant to be will always find a way.
Today is Mikey's birthday. He's 24."
"Thoroughbreds are my love, my love, my love."
For the first three years of his life, he was Bub the Scrub. Bred by South River Ranch, he was foaled April 8, 2003, in Ohio. Sire Covered Wagon, a son of Gone West, placed in a minor stakes but finished his career in 15 consecutive claiming starts. Dam Jasinjodie, by Repriced, lost all four starts. Bub the Scrub ran three times himself -- finishing 10th, eighth and seventh -- and earned $165.
Royal Ascot has the Windsor Grays. In the Mid-Atlantic, steeplechase racing has the River Hills Foxhounds outriders. Led by the Paxson family --
a cadre of immaculately turned-out horsemen on (predominately) gray horses -- the squad has become a fixture on the jump racing circuit. And one notable standout over the past several years is the striking dark bay gelding Tracking.
It's fair to say Fran Burns is familiar to anyone affiliated with Thoroughbred racing in Maryland. The winner of the 2022 Joe Kelly Unsung Hero Award recently retired as president of the Maryland State Fair. She led the Sunrise at Old Hilltop backstretch tours during Preakness Week at Pimlico Race Course for 15 years. Along with Georganne Hale of the Maryland Jockey Club, Burns helped run the former Thoroughbred Alliance Show Series and the annual Canter for the Cause at Pimlico Race Course.
