A king in the sport of kings . . .
June 8th, 2010 Comments Off
There has been a lot of talk about great sportsmen who have brought their champions back for a second season when the breeding shed was the obvious next stop on the road to fame and fortune for the thoroughbred star. One name that is rarely thrown around with all the headlines is George Strawbridge who races under Augustin Stables. Two years ago his filly Forever Together won an Eclipse Award and to many’s surprise she was back at the track the following year. Augustin won another Eclipse Award the following year, this time it was another gray filly, Informed Decision who earned the trophy. Turn the calendar page and both Eclipse Award winners are still racing. What many may have missed over the Belmont Stakes weekend was Augustin’s Stables’ Dynaformer filly named Rainbow View who raced in a stakes race at Woodbine. It was her first loss in North America, but she’s here after being a champion in Europe last year – Three champion fillies and all of them are still racing and taking on all challengers – have they done as well as they did in the Eclipse Award winning years? Candidly, no – but there are no excuses, just more races as the silent sportsman just keeps sending his stars back out to do what they know how to do, like to, and in most cases do very, very well – They race!
I’ve been watching Augustin Stables’ runners a little closer than usual lately, since being asked to paint another champion for them. Lucarno, a Dynaformer, son who won the St. Legers at Doncaster in the UK. Mr. Strawbridge loves racing, but always seems to find a way to make sure that it’s about the horse and not the hype. So, the next time you think about Kings in the sport of Kings, think of the man that returned THREE champions back to the track and even brought one over from Europe; all for the good of the sport and the enjoyment of the fans . . . where’s the media when a story like this needs to be told? I hope the Eclipse Award voters can conjur up a few votes for Mr. Strawbridge as the Owner of the Year.
