Heard today that Sea Hero died in Turkey today :(. He was the oldest living KY Winner at 29)
Nice to know he lived so long
He must have been well cared for.
I remember his Derby. Isn’t he the one with the little old lady owner (Mrs. Phipps) and the trainer who gave her a great big victory kiss? 29 is a great long life and it sounds like he was very well cared for. RIP.
I think the horse you are thinking of (little old lady and trainer’s kiss) was Unbridled.
You were right. I thought the horse’s name was something nautical. Went back and looked. Thanks for correcting my trip down memory lane.
Sea Hero was Paul Mellon’s first and only Kentucky Derby winner, wasn’t he? IMO, Mellon’s operation was one of the greatest TB breeding farms ever. But it did seem to have its greatest successes over the pond.
There were some photos floating around on Blood Horse 2 or 3 years ago when one of their journalists took a tour of the farm he lived at in Turkey. He was very well cared for as are the rest of the stallions at the farm. And the farm is in beautiful countryside. It is great to see stallions and horses so well received in a country we often wouldn’t think would. Sea Hero was pensioned for the last few years so he got to live out his days enjoying retirement there. I believe the grooms thought very highly of him.
That was Unbridled, owner was Mrs. Frances Genter, trainer was Carl Nafzger.