Vision

[my miss storm cat]

On I Can See, from SA barn notes today.....

I Can See lives up to her name each time she runs, although she sees only half as well as other horses. She only has one eye. “When she comes on the outside, she always hesitates a little because she can’t see the other horses,” said her trainer, Steve Knapp, who saddled I Can See to a runner-up finish at 21-1 in Saturday’s Grade III Tuzla Handicap. “She ran a huge race,” added Knapp, who trains the 5-year-old daughter of Flying Chevron for owner Michael Miller of Laytonsville, Md. “She was born without the (left) eye. I claimed her from (Vladimir) Cerin for $80,000. She’s a nice filly and she had a lot to overcome in the Tuzla. She was so far behind and had to go so wide coming into the lane. She doesn’t wear any blinkers. She was trained on the rail when she was a baby, and I think she’s a little gamer when she does come through on the rail because she can see all the horses.” The Kentucky-bred mare has a 4-9-2 record from 36 starts, with earnings of $289,723 .

http://www.santaanita.com/news/sn.ph...anuary20th2008

[sumitas]

It just seems that any horse competing with one eye should wear protective equipment over that eye.

[my miss storm cat]

On Blind Hero.....

http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com...yID=result_452


by Lucas Marquardt in TDN:


BLIND HERO (c, 3, Unbridled's Song--Goulash {SW & GSP, $162,975}, by Mari's Book), a half-brother to Ashado (Saint Ballado), Ch. 3yo Filly & Ch. Older Mare, MGISW, $3,931,440, lost his left eye at the tender age of three days. He failed to find a buyer as a yearling at Keeneland September, RNAing for $675,000, buthe's gotten his racing career off on the right track. Sent off as the 4-1 third choice, the big grey colt raced in sixth and was caught very wide on the turn. He found clear sailing on the far outside in the lane, reeled in favored Make Me Proud (Two Punch) and bounded past that rival to score by 1 1/2 lengths. In addition to Ashado, Blind Hero is a half to Sunriver (Saint Ballado), GISW, $816,414; Saint Stephen (Saint Ballado), GSW, $313,214; and Storm Creek Rising (Storm Creek), MSP, $164,712.

Two years after his champion older sister Ashado won the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff and 10 months after she sold for a then-world record $9 million as a
broodmare prospect, Blind Hero, a son of Unbridled's Song x Goulash, entered the ring at 2006 Keeneland September with the pedigree power to be one of the sale's top-priced colts. A big, strapping gray, he had the looks, too. But the paddock accident that cost him an eye when he was just three days old also cost him any chance of bringing a seven-figure price. As it was, the Aaron and Marie Jones-bred horse was bought back for
$675,000--close to but not over his reserve. It was a disappointing moment for his consignors at Taylor Made Sales Agency. "I've got to say, I've never tried to sell a horse harder than I tried to sell that horse," remembered Taylor Made's Frank Taylor, an advisor to the Joneses. "Right
from the beginning I had loved him. Goulash threw nothing but good-looking runners, but I thought he was her best one."

Taylor's appreciation of the colt goes deep than aesthetics or pedigree, however. It was Taylor who discovered Blind Hero at three days olds, with one eye dangling, nursing from Goulash shortly after the accident. "We're not sure how he lost the eye," he explained. "There was some black paint near the eye, so I don't know if he was running next to the fence and was
bumped into or not. It's really hard to say."

Regardless, Taylor was so confident that Blind Hero would overcome his disability that he broke the colt before the September Sale, and made a video of the colt going in either direction on the lunge line to prove
to buyers his one eye wouldn't be a hindrance. The background music for the video? The Rocky theme song "Eye of the Tiger."

"When I broke him, he was such an unbelievably tough and athletic colt, and I just got the feeling that he was going to be a runner," said Taylor.
Buyers at September, however, were reluctant totake a chance on a horse missing his left eye, the one closest to the rail on the track.

"I think he would have brought $2 or $3 million if he'd had two eyes," Taylor said. Despite his initial disappointment, Taylor soon found
a buyer for the horse. "Luckily, I talked to [bloodstock agent] Mike Ryan,
and he agreed to take a shot on him." Ryan purchased the horse on behalf of Richard Santulli's Jayeff B Stable, whose trainer Alan Goldberg recalled, "We went out to Taylor Made andsaw him right after the sale, and he really was a gorgeous horse."

After being sent to Mike Boyd in Ocala, Florida to be broken, Blind Hero joined Goldberg at Colt's Neck Training Center in New Jersey last year, though the conditioner said he didn't push the horse to the races as a
juvenile. "He's such a big horse and he had a few minor issues,"
Goldberg explained. "We got him up to a half a mile in October, I think, but he started to get sore shins, so we just put him away for the winter."

Goldberg said he has been impressed by Blind Hero's ability to compensate for his lost eye, but said it has affected the colt's training to some extent.
"Little things bother him more than they would a normal horse, but he's pretty good," said Goldberg. "He lost the eye early on. I've trained a few other horses who lost an eye when they were older, and he's a lot
better than those horses."

Goldberg said he was also impressed with the colt's
professionalism in his first start. "He overcame a lot," Goldberg said. "He had really never been to the racetrack before today. We shipped
him to Monmouth Park once to breeze from the gate and he did okay, but every thing was really his first time today--first time in the paddock, first time getting tack on--and he handled everything."

Goldberg said he would likely point the colt toward a first-level allowance race before considering any stakes races. "He always showed he could run in the mornings," he said. "I don't know what he beat today, but hopefully
he'll learn from the race. And he doesn't want to sprint; he's a big, long-striding horse. And then we'll go from there. He should make a stallion for somebody someday, he's such a great-looking horse."

[philcski]

Originally Posted by my miss storm cat

On Blind Hero.....

http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com...yID=result_452


by Lucas Marquardt in TDN:


BLIND HERO (c, 3, Unbridled's Song--Goulash {SW & GSP, $162,975}, by Mari's Book), a half-brother to Ashado (Saint Ballado), Ch. 3yo Filly & Ch. Older Mare, MGISW, $3,931,440, lost his left eye at the tender age of three days. He failed to find a buyer as a yearling at Keeneland September, RNAing for $675,000, buthe's gotten his racing career off on the right track. Sent off as the 4-1 third choice, the big grey colt raced in sixth and was caught very wide on the turn. He found clear sailing on the far outside in the lane, reeled in favored Make Me Proud (Two Punch) and bounded past that rival to score by 1 1/2 lengths. In addition to Ashado, Blind Hero is a half to Sunriver (Saint Ballado), GISW, $816,414; Saint Stephen (Saint Ballado), GSW, $313,214; and Storm Creek Rising (Storm Creek), MSP, $164,712.

I'm absolutely baffled as to how he was allowed to pay $10.20 yesterday.

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by philcski

I'm absolutely baffled as to how he was allowed to pay $10.20 yesterday.

Hope you played him Phil.

[philcski]

Originally Posted by my miss storm cat

Hope you played him Phil.

Someone told me he was going to be scratched (that guy who owned his half brother ), and I didn't bother to check if he was correct

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by philcski

Someone told me he was going to be scratched (that guy who owned his half brother ), and I didn't bother to check if he was correct

Well that sucks!

Sorry.

[PPerfectfan]

Originally Posted by my miss storm cat

On Blind Hero.....

http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com...yID=result_452


by Lucas Marquardt in TDN:


BLIND HERO (c, 3, Unbridled's Song--Goulash {SW & GSP, $162,975}, by Mari's Book), a half-brother to Ashado (Saint Ballado), Ch. 3yo Filly & Ch. Older Mare, MGISW, $3,931,440, lost his left eye at the tender age of three days. He failed to find a buyer as a yearling at Keeneland September, RNAing for $675,000, buthe's gotten his racing career off on the right track. Sent off as the 4-1 third choice, the big grey colt raced in sixth and was caught very wide on the turn. He found clear sailing on the far outside in the lane, reeled in favored Make Me Proud (Two Punch) and bounded past that rival to score by 1 1/2 lengths. In addition to Ashado, Blind Hero is a half to Sunriver (Saint Ballado), GISW, $816,414; Saint Stephen (Saint Ballado), GSW, $313,214; and Storm Creek Rising (Storm Creek), MSP, $164,712.

Two years after his champion older sister Ashado won the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff and 10 months after she sold for a then-world record $9 million as a
broodmare prospect, Blind Hero, a son of Unbridled's Song x Goulash, entered the ring at 2006 Keeneland September with the pedigree power to be one of the sale's top-priced colts. A big, strapping gray, he had the looks, too. But the paddock accident that cost him an eye when he was just three days old also cost him any chance of bringing a seven-figure price. As it was, the Aaron and Marie Jones-bred horse was bought back for
$675,000--close to but not over his reserve. It was a disappointing moment for his consignors at Taylor Made Sales Agency. "I've got to say, I've never tried to sell a horse harder than I tried to sell that horse," remembered Taylor Made's Frank Taylor, an advisor to the Joneses. "Right
from the beginning I had loved him. Goulash threw nothing but good-looking runners, but I thought he was her best one."

Taylor's appreciation of the colt goes deep than aesthetics or pedigree, however. It was Taylor who discovered Blind Hero at three days olds, with one eye dangling, nursing from Goulash shortly after the accident. "We're not sure how he lost the eye," he explained. "There was some black paint near the eye, so I don't know if he was running next to the fence and was
bumped into or not. It's really hard to say."

Regardless, Taylor was so confident that Blind Hero would overcome his disability that he broke the colt before the September Sale, and made a video of the colt going in either direction on the lunge line to prove
to buyers his one eye wouldn't be a hindrance. The background music for the video? The Rocky theme song "Eye of the Tiger."

"When I broke him, he was such an unbelievably tough and athletic colt, and I just got the feeling that he was going to be a runner," said Taylor.
Buyers at September, however, were reluctant totake a chance on a horse missing his left eye, the one closest to the rail on the track.

"I think he would have brought $2 or $3 million if he'd had two eyes," Taylor said. Despite his initial disappointment, Taylor soon found
a buyer for the horse. "Luckily, I talked to [bloodstock agent] Mike Ryan,
and he agreed to take a shot on him." Ryan purchased the horse on behalf of Richard Santulli's Jayeff B Stable, whose trainer Alan Goldberg recalled, "We went out to Taylor Made andsaw him right after the sale, and he really was a gorgeous horse."

After being sent to Mike Boyd in Ocala, Florida to be broken, Blind Hero joined Goldberg at Colt's Neck Training Center in New Jersey last year, though the conditioner said he didn't push the horse to the races as a
juvenile. "He's such a big horse and he had a few minor issues,"
Goldberg explained. "We got him up to a half a mile in October, I think, but he started to get sore shins, so we just put him away for the winter."

Goldberg said he has been impressed by Blind Hero's ability to compensate for his lost eye, but said it has affected the colt's training to some extent.
"Little things bother him more than they would a normal horse, but he's pretty good," said Goldberg. "He lost the eye early on. I've trained a few other horses who lost an eye when they were older, and he's a lot
better than those horses."

Goldberg said he was also impressed with the colt's
professionalism in his first start. "He overcame a lot," Goldberg said. "He had really never been to the racetrack before today. We shipped
him to Monmouth Park once to breeze from the gate and he did okay, but every thing was really his first time today--first time in the paddock, first time getting tack on--and he handled everything."

Goldberg said he would likely point the colt toward a first-level allowance race before considering any stakes races. "He always showed he could run in the mornings," he said. "I don't know what he beat today, but hopefully
he'll learn from the race. And he doesn't want to sprint; he's a big, long-striding horse. And then we'll go from there. He should make a stallion for somebody someday, he's such a great-looking horse."

Great story, I am going to have to put him in my stable!! I hope he does great for his connections!!!

[my miss storm cat]

http://cjonline.com/stories/122408/kan_370679936.shtml


Happy trails again; aging horse rescued
Racehorse was to have been killed for his meat
By James Carlson
The Capital-Journal
Published Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Through his one good eye, Clever Allemont sees a second life.

The aging thoroughbred stallion used to charge hard for the finish line and often crossed first in the 1980s. He ran at the respected Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., carrying vaunted jockey Pat Day to victory in 1985. He was trained by hall-of-famer Wayne Lukas and trod the hallowed track at Churchill Downs.

How things changed when just weeks ago he stared at another finish line — the ultimate one. Standing in a kill lot in Lyon County with one eye clouded by blindness, he was slated for slaughter in another country.

Then, a lucky draw, and he was saved. It almost didn't happen.

Not a good place

Horse rescuer Kristin Chambers received a call about two weeks ago from a kill buyer, or a KB, as rescuers call them. He had a "horse too pretty to ship."

When Chambers arrived in Emporia on Dec. 12 she found the mare in question, then the KB pointed over her shoulder.

"Do you think you can do anything about him?" he asked.

That is when she discovered Clever, a tall, dark brown 26-year-old bay horse. He stood thin, shivering in the whipping wind behind a shoddy fence. His head, dotted with a blotch of white, hung low.

"He could sense it wasn't a good place to be," Chambers said.

She called for him, and he slowly walked to her. In her three years of saving horses, Chambers never cried while in the middle of a rescue. You just don't do it.

But Clever came nearer and Chambers saw his blind right eye. She "loved on him" and wept for the great stallion who had fallen so far.

His former owner, a man in his 70s who was readying to move, had sold Clever to the KB. Within days, Clever was scheduled to be killed for overseas connoisseurs of horse meat.

Chambers got home, posted his story online at 6:22 p.m. and by 6:50 p.m., a forum writer volunteered to pay Clever's bail. He would be freed.

The "series of miracles," as Chambers called them, were just beginning.

Old Kentucky Home

She contacted fellow horse-lover Jeanne Mason in Williamsburg, located an hour south of Topeka. Upon hearing the story, Mason instantly replied. She would house Clever at her Donegal Ranch until a new home could be found.

Meanwhile, Internet chatter swelled of the former prizewinner who stepped to the brink of death. People donated blankets, while others gave food.

The next day, Dec. 13, as Mason was unloading Clever at her ranch, Chambers ran out of Mason's house, yelling, "He's going to Kentucky!"

Another miracle. Word had spread to a worker at Old Friends, the posh equine retirement home in Georgetown, Ky. Flying Pigeon, a 27-year-old thoroughbred, had just died at the exclusive horse resort. Clever could fill the spot.

At Old Friends, Clever could roam free in the pastures, eat the finest meals and sleep in the comfiest stalls. The transfer is scheduled for shortly after Christmas.

A new, long life

The winter wind whips across the grass at Donegal Ranch, but Clever rests safely inside his stall.

For a stallion, Clever is mellow. He sniffs out a warm body, nudges a hand. With his bad right eye, visitors have to trod lightly on that side. He can be a little jumpy.

But the depression that Chambers saw in the kill lot just weeks earlier had eased. Clever, who is nearing the end of his life, could sense the love pouring down on him from around the country, Chambers said. (Sitting on the Masons' table is Clever's first fan mail. "Enjoy your new life and may it be long," it reads.)

He is eating well again, occasionally munching on Mrs. Pasture's Horse cookies, the premiere horse treat. It isn't difficult to see in the long legs and muscled haunches the horse that won his first six races and took in $350,000 in lifetime winnings.

"He was a superstar," Chambers said.

She said Clever brought out the goodness in people across America. She beams at the stallion and thinks of his rich history.

"When you've had a good run and your payment is a trip to slaughter ... " she said before trailing off, unable to finish the hypothetical.

Neither Chambers nor Clever have to think of that now.

[Theatrical]

Originally Posted by my miss storm cat

http://cjonline.com/stories/122408/kan_370679936.shtml


Happy trails again; aging horse rescued
Racehorse was to have been killed for his meat
By James Carlson
The Capital-Journal
Published Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Through his one good eye, Clever Allemont sees a second life.

The aging thoroughbred stallion used to charge hard for the finish line and often crossed first in the 1980s. He ran at the respected Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., carrying vaunted jockey Pat Day to victory in 1985. He was trained by hall-of-famer Wayne Lukas and trod the hallowed track at Churchill Downs.

How things changed when just weeks ago he stared at another finish line — the ultimate one. Standing in a kill lot in Lyon County with one eye clouded by blindness, he was slated for slaughter in another country.

Then, a lucky draw, and he was saved. It almost didn't happen.

Not a good place

Horse rescuer Kristin Chambers received a call about two weeks ago from a kill buyer, or a KB, as rescuers call them. He had a "horse too pretty to ship."

When Chambers arrived in Emporia on Dec. 12 she found the mare in question, then the KB pointed over her shoulder.

"Do you think you can do anything about him?" he asked.

That is when she discovered Clever, a tall, dark brown 26-year-old bay horse. He stood thin, shivering in the whipping wind behind a shoddy fence. His head, dotted with a blotch of white, hung low.

"He could sense it wasn't a good place to be," Chambers said.

She called for him, and he slowly walked to her. In her three years of saving horses, Chambers never cried while in the middle of a rescue. You just don't do it.

But Clever came nearer and Chambers saw his blind right eye. She "loved on him" and wept for the great stallion who had fallen so far.

His former owner, a man in his 70s who was readying to move, had sold Clever to the KB. Within days, Clever was scheduled to be killed for overseas connoisseurs of horse meat.

Chambers got home, posted his story online at 6:22 p.m. and by 6:50 p.m., a forum writer volunteered to pay Clever's bail. He would be freed.

The "series of miracles," as Chambers called them, were just beginning.

Old Kentucky Home

She contacted fellow horse-lover Jeanne Mason in Williamsburg, located an hour south of Topeka. Upon hearing the story, Mason instantly replied. She would house Clever at her Donegal Ranch until a new home could be found.

Meanwhile, Internet chatter swelled of the former prizewinner who stepped to the brink of death. People donated blankets, while others gave food.

The next day, Dec. 13, as Mason was unloading Clever at her ranch, Chambers ran out of Mason's house, yelling, "He's going to Kentucky!"

Another miracle. Word had spread to a worker at Old Friends, the posh equine retirement home in Georgetown, Ky. Flying Pigeon, a 27-year-old thoroughbred, had just died at the exclusive horse resort. Clever could fill the spot.

At Old Friends, Clever could roam free in the pastures, eat the finest meals and sleep in the comfiest stalls. The transfer is scheduled for shortly after Christmas.

A new, long life

The winter wind whips across the grass at Donegal Ranch, but Clever rests safely inside his stall.

For a stallion, Clever is mellow. He sniffs out a warm body, nudges a hand. With his bad right eye, visitors have to trod lightly on that side. He can be a little jumpy.

But the depression that Chambers saw in the kill lot just weeks earlier had eased. Clever, who is nearing the end of his life, could sense the love pouring down on him from around the country, Chambers said. (Sitting on the Masons' table is Clever's first fan mail. "Enjoy your new life and may it be long," it reads.)

He is eating well again, occasionally munching on Mrs. Pasture's Horse cookies, the premiere horse treat. It isn't difficult to see in the long legs and muscled haunches the horse that won his first six races and took in $350,000 in lifetime winnings.

"He was a superstar," Chambers said.

She said Clever brought out the goodness in people across America. She beams at the stallion and thinks of his rich history.

"When you've had a good run and your payment is a trip to slaughter ... " she said before trailing off, unable to finish the hypothetical.

Neither Chambers nor Clever have to think of that now.

Thanks for posting this, sunday. A member of this forum is responsible for posting "bail" on Clever Allemont to get the ball rolling. He's a blessed horse and may be at Old Friends as I write this.

[prudery]

Originally Posted by Theatrical

Thanks for posting this, sunday. A member of this forum is responsible for posting "bail" on Clever Allemont to get the ball rolling. He's a blessed horse and may be at Old Friends as I write this.

Hahaha--you modest thang--I was on the phone with Theatrical when I read the original post---we bailed him together to honor two lost friends ...

I nearly gagged when Kristen said who he was---I remembered him as a nice stakes-winning hard knocker--ran mainly in the mid-west, but in NY, my home turf ,as well... Eugene Klein owned, D. Wayne trained as said ...

He traces in direct tail female to Sceptre, and his paternal grandsire is the beautiful half to Ruffian, Icecapade ..

For an old fart, he is in very good shape, and apparently is a personable and kind gentleman ...

Another one-eyed horse would be Tuerta---one-eye in Spanish---dam of Swale---she was born that way ...

----------------------------------------------Peace and love'
Prudery

[FGFan]

Originally Posted by Theatrical

Thanks for posting this, sunday. A member of this forum is responsible for posting "bail" on Clever Allemont to get the ball rolling. He's a blessed horse and may be at Old Friends as I write this.

Blessed by you, Theatrical, and Prudery by intervening in this old horses life. That was a very nice thing you both did, wonderful ending in a really sad and tragic story.