JC / Railbird

Ashado

Before the Hall of Fame

I remember Ashado mostly for her fourth-place finish, a dead heat with Island Sand, in the 2005 Personal Ensign at Saratoga. I met trainer Larry Jones that weekend, when he hired me to walk his filly. It was the first time I’d handled a $1 million earner, and Island Sand was ill-tempered and nippy. Her groom lifted his shirt to show me the enormous bruise she’d left biting his belly. Jones told an off-color joke at a barn BBQ the night before, and was kind enough to drive me into town on a Sunday so that I could escape the backstretch for an hour and read the New York Times. He paid me $30 cash to cool her out after the race. We had to go to the test barn, where Todd Pletcher stood, unmoving, watching Ashado circle the shedrow from behind his sunglasses, and Island Sand pulled me around so hard my arm ached.

Congratulations to Ashado’s connections on her induction into the Racing Hall of Fame today, and to all of this year’s honorees.

Posted in Racing on August 8, 2014 / Tagged Ashado, Hall of Famers, Hotwalking, Island Sand, Larry Jones, Saratoga, Todd Pletcher