More than two years ago, we bought into a horse named Disdainful, an Irish bred who had won his first start in the UK. He ran twice more for us, never finishing off the board. We lost Disdainful in January of 2023 to peritonitis. It was a devastating blow, since "Dane" was looking to be the best horse we'd ever partnered on to that date. But there are two horses who will always remind me of our imported son of Kessaar (Kodiak).
One of those horses was General Jim, a Grade 2 winning son of Into Mischief. Disdainful ran against him in his first race ever in the US at Keeneland, separating himself from the pack and running a game 2nd to General Jim's win. (We would later own our own graded stakes winning son of Into Mischief, named Lane Way.)
Ironically, General Jim came back the following spring (2023) to win the G2 Pat Day Mile on Kentucky Derby day. I burst into tears upon seeing his victory, with such a heavy heart for what might have been. Ironically, the horse that would succeed him in winning the Pat Day Mile this year was none other than our Seize The Grey, a horse who fulfilled all the dreams we'd once had for our "Dane."
The whole situation with Seize The Grey (who would have been the first also eligible at the time the Derby closed, but would not have made it into the race, so was entered into the G2 Pat Day Mile instead by his genius trainer, "The Coach") happened so quickly it didn't really sink in that he was General Jim's successor until after he'd won.
But going back to the Fall of 2022, after Dane's place at Keeneland against General Jim, trainer Graham Motion knew he had a horse, and "Dane" was immediately sent to Del Mar to compete against the extremely talented Speed Boat Beach in the Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille stakes. Sadly, Dane colicked prior to entries being taken, and was sent to the vet hospital for follow up care as the colic worsened. Though he was given the absolutely best veterinarian care, he continued to decline until his death in early January 2023.
I don't know if he could have won that race against Speed Boat Beach, but I would have loved to see him get that opportunity. Speed Boat Beach went on to win the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes and was recently named the Florida Horse of the Year.
Considering everything that has unfolded in the last year for us, especially with Seize The Grey, I don't cry when I hear the names General Jim or Speed Boat Beach anymore. I smile wistfully. I do believe everything happens for a reason. The Lord taketh away, but he also giveth back, often more abundantly. Though I wish "Dane" could have had his chance at a bright future, I believe that it wasn't meant to be and I'll never know the reason why. Sometimes we aren't meant to.
Rest in Peace Always, our beautiful "Dane."
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| Disdainful(IRE) aka "Dane" Kessaar(IRE) x Shallow Lake by Bernardini |
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