The recent success of A Mo Reay is a prime example of the taxing yet hilarious business of breeding racehorses, an activity that is full of both the highest and the lowest of the lows. When my 4-year-old daughter Uncle Mo launched his fierce protest down the center of Santa Anita . Parktrack March 11 to the collar Happy dream When she finished in Beholder Mile (G1), she became the first 1st grade winner to be raised by Gayle Benson and her late husband Tom at Benson Farm.
Officially listed as bred by Kentucky’s T&G Farm, A Mo Reay was raised on a 1,000-acre property just outside of Paris, Ky., which the Bensons purchased in 2016. The pair are famous. in the sports world as owners of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, intrigued by the idea of buying a horse ranch when their runners Apricot Shrimp And Tom is ready lined up at the starting gate of the Kentucky Derby (G1) that year.
Up to that point, the Bensons had enjoyed resounding success as an owner, campaigning a number of horses with trainers Tom Amoss, Dallas Stewart and Al Stall. Prominent among them is the student who won 1st grade Tom’s d’Etat and millionaires lone sailor . The latter and Mo Tom are both standing at stud in Louisiana, where Benson Ranch supports them with several mares each year. The Kentucky ranch is now home to about 12 mares owned by Gayle Benson as well as about two dozen others owned by private clients.
The couple’s return to racing adventure began in 2014. Tom Benson was captivated by the rich story of california chrome . Benson’s fascination with Horse of the Year Twice eventually led to the purchase of the Nile Pioneer’s mare Margaret Reay.
On the advice of ranch manager and longtime equestrian David Shone, the Bensons signed a contract to buy Margaret Reay for $180,000 at the Keeneland January Sale in 2018.
“We loved that she was on Pioneerof the Nile and had her own bet graded. She was actually second to Lady Eli when she was 2 years old,” Shone said. “She wasn’t too big. She was in California Chrome’s pony at the time. I think physically it was a stallion that really suited her because it was a massive stallion.
“It’s a nice bonus for us that we’re going to have California Chrome children because Mr. Benson is a huge fan of the whole California Chrome story. He likes the idea that people can crossbreed. a horse so cheap that it is possible to go on and achieve a lot.”
Margaret Reay adopted a chubby California Chrome kitten, which later sold for $50,000 at Keeneland in September 2019, before the Bensons bred her with Uncle Mo.
“Uncle Mo really suits her physically. He’s got such a great size and range and he’s always conveyed that,” says Shone. “Mr. Benson also had a lot of luck with Uncle Mo before with Mo Tom, so he really liked the stallion and that’s why we chose Uncle Mo. He’s one of the stallions in stock. head – he’s got 2-year-old ponies, grass runners, trail runners, sprinters and vintage horses, he’s just a great gentleman and We got lucky with him.”
Tom Benson will never see young A Mo Reay as he passed away in March 2018 at the age of 90. The chubby man — born in a “simple dark bay, not so big and not as small as (Margaret Reay) ),” recalls Shone—will eventually show the same aura of desire she did years later on the track.
“She really wasn’t anything special until we started getting ready to sell her,” Shone said. “When we started working out, she started to stand out. She was a great athlete. She walked really well and exercised really well. She really blossomed. And we did. The more work she does, the better she does. And when it comes to sales, she blooms at the right time for us.”
A Mo Reay lit up the sale round at Keeneland’s September 2020 Sale amid the darkness of the Covid-19 pandemic, lowering the $400,000 hammer to Spendthrift and Myracehorse ranch.
“We liked her very much as an aspirant but $400,000 is also a lot of money for her. We’re happy with the price,” Shone said. “We usually breed for sale and want to offer things on sale. If they offer more than what we appreciate, we’ll sell them, but we don’t mind keeping them and racing with them if we can. They bring nothing.” We want them.”
While A Mo Reay soon showed promise at the age of 2, finishing in third place until 2021, the chubby 2-year-old champion Echo Zulu in the Frizette Stakes (G1) was in just his second start. , she began to have trouble finding her form again. when he was only 3 years old. During that unpleasant year, Benson Ranch also suffered its own pain when Margaret Reay’s gunman The little girl, born in the early spring of that year, was abandoned due to a tragic accident in the grasslands.
The horse’s bad luck extended into 2023, when she Quality Sugar The baby was born almost blind. She was plagued by worsening cataracts after just a few weeks of life, and when the farm’s optometrist predicted she would soon go completely blind, the tough decision was made. is to remove her.
“Everything that happened yesterday (with A Mo Reay) was great but it also put things into a different perspective,” Shone said. “It’s a tough game. Breeding is hard too. But we’re delighted to have bred a 1st place winner and we’re delighted to have this mare. Margaret Reay is still a winner. a pony. And we’ll keep trying with her and it’ll work again. She’s tough, like A Mo Reay.”
Margaret Reay is scheduled to visit her 3 year old Eclipse award winner in 2022 epicenter this breeding season, but Shone believes that future mating with Uncle Mo will not be out of the question after A Mo Reay’s successful streak.
At the conclusion of her frustrating second-year campaign, A Mo Reay was selected for $400,000 as a racing prospect at the Keeneland November Sale, where she would be sent to a training camp. new member, Brad Cox, and race under the silks of Hunter Valley Ranch. The change of scenery has breathed new life into the dirty life, and she went on to land two straight stakes wins before taking the top tier win in the Beholder Mile on Sunday.
“We’re so excited for A Mo Reay and the people who have her now,” Shone said. “We know the people of Hunter Valley very well. They are good people and good horse reviewers too so I was very pleased when they bought her last November. They were very good at picking out the horses. horses race well and improve them.We are really happy for them.
“It’s exciting to have a chubby girl we bred to do what she’s done. We’re so proud of her. It’s also great proof for the people we’re working with. They’re all doing great work. We’re raising horses for sale, but we’re also raising racehorses.”
