Bodemeister and Sir Barton has something in common
With every passing day, the belief of witnessing a Triple Crown grows stronger as the Grade 1, $2 million Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs is just 2 weeks away, and the field that will make the gate on 5 May, 2012, is considered to be the deepest field
after a very long time, with all the protagonists and antagonists keeping themselves fit for the Run for the Roses.
The likes of Hansen, Union Rags, I’ll Have Another and many more have an equal opportunity of winning the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby, but one horse, who has caught the eye of many ever since he started racing is the Bob Baffert trained,
winner of the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park by a massive margin of nine and a half lengths is, Bodemeister.
The Triple Crown nominee will threaten many, and when there is light shed on the Zayat Stables owned 3-year-old colt’s past, it becomes more apparent that the colt is destined to achieve greatness.
The son of Empire Maker, out of Untouched Talent by Storm Cat, the Virginia bred Bodemeister was foaled and raised at Audley Farm near Berryville, Va
A massive nursery, which spreads to 2,500 acres, is also the home of the first Triple Crown winner back in 1919, Sir Barton.
The legendary horse once stood at the same stud where Bodemeister was foaled, and a statue of Sir Barton reminds everyone that he was there after his undying glory that set the tone for a magnificent horse racing event even after a century.
“We have huge pastures, wonderful water, and great grass here; it’s a wonderful place to raise a horse,” said Audley’s horse manager, Jamie McDiarmid. “We have so much space that people call us the Claiborne Farm of Virginia. Bodemeister was out in probably
a 120-acre pasture with five or six other colts when he was a yearling.”
It is said that the nursery’s previous owners and residents included members of George Washington’s family, but now it is owned by the family of the late German breeder Hubertus Liebrecht , who bought the farm back in 1978.
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