Still Hot Stuff
If a horse ever looked the part of champion, it was the gorgeous Mr. Hot Stuff. Unfortunately, looks and ability weren’t coupled in the full brother to Colonel John, who never won more than his maiden in 18 chances on the racetrack. He’s doing better in his second career as a steeplechaser, reports Joe Clancy:
Much like his flat career, Mr. Hot Stuff started slowly … but got it together for back-to-back wins in May and June. Then he missed 2012 with a tendon injury and returned in 2013, as a 7-year-old, to win the $75,000 Marcellus Frost Stakes for novices at Nashville last month.
He starts on Saturday in the David L. Ferguson Memorial Hurdle Stakes, four years after he finished eighth in the 2009 Belmont Stakes.
Susan Salk has another story of an OTTB who’s learned to love the jumps: “Once he started to know his job, he started to think he was Superman.”
6/9/13 Update: Mr. Hot Stuff finished fourth in the Ferguson (PDF).
