It must have been a pleasant
surprise to see a charming chestnut colt with unusual white markings – a wide
blaze, two high front stockings, two low hind socks, and a diamond on the left
hind leg – be born to Little Betty Blue on that spring day in North Carolina.
All but one of her previous colts had been the same gray color as her, but this
colt had been born a chestnut. He was her second foal sired by Chelsey Cat, a
grandson of the great sire Storm Cat, and though he would not go on to
accomplish much of anything on the racetrack, he would go on to play a huge
role in my life.
The breeder of the colt – who
was later gelded – was Nancy Shuford, the same woman who would breed the graded
stakes-winning Dancinginherdreams. Chelsey Cat was one of her breeding
stallions at her Rock House Farm, located in Hickory, North Carolina. The dark
bay/brown son of the legendary Storm Cat was out of the Affirmed mare Chelsey
Dancer, who was also the dam of the grade one-winning Chelsey Flower. Chelsey
Cat was never raced and went on to become both a racing and hunter/jumper
stallion.
In 2004, Little Betty Blue – a
daughter of the multiple grade one-winning sire Lost Code and the half-sister
to the stakes-winning and multiple graded stakes-placed horses Banbury Fair and
Man It’s Cold – was bred to Chelsey Cat. By the time she visited Chelsey Cat
that year, she had already produced eight foals – one of which was sired by the
same son of Storm Cat.
On April 23, 2005, the handsome
chestnut was born in North Carolina. Due to his unique white markings that
appeared as if white paint had been splattered on him, the young Thoroughbred was
registered under the name “Wet Paint.”
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Wet Paint (Dexter)
Photo: Terri Cage |
Wet Paint made his first start
in August of 2007 as a two-year-old, finishing last in a maiden special weight
at Philadelphia Park. Following a third-place finish, Wet Paint broke his
maiden at Penn National, leading from start to finish to take a
five-and-one-half-furlong maiden special weight by 2 ½ lengths.
The strangely-marked
Thoroughbred would not win for another nine months and when he did, he had
dropped to the $4,000 claiming level. He continued racing in the northeastern
part of the United States until the penultimate race of his career, which came
in January of 2009 at Delta Downs. He finished a respectable third, but next
out, he was eased in the homestretch.
Wet Paint found himself with an
outrider at Fair Grounds Racecourse in New Orleans, Louisiana. He performed his
job of patrolling the track and catching loose horses, but the outrider left
for Florida and left Wet Paint behind, claiming the chestnut gelding to be
uncontrollable.
Fortunately, trainers Dallas
and Donna Keen were stabled at the Fair Grounds at the time. Not only does the
husband and wife team train a string of racehorses, but they run a non-profit
organization located in Burleson, Texas called Remember Me Rescue that
specializes in the rescuing or retrieving, retraining, and rehoming of
ex-racehorses or horses that had been trained to race. Wet Paint was put under
their care and once he arrived, the Keens realized the “uncontrollable” gelding
needed his teeth floated.
Once the sharp points of his
teeth had been filed down, it was discovered that Wet Paint wasn’t
uncontrollable at all. Rather, he was very willing and a quick learner. Wet
Paint was then placed in Remember Me’s adoption program.
Shortly thereafter, the
grandson of Storm Cat arrived at the Texas rescue. Fate intervened and my
mother and I went to the farm for one of our many visits. Though there were
several horses on the farm that interested me, it was Wet Paint that caught my
attention and drew me in.
Days later, my very first
off-the-track-Thoroughbred was in my barn. I’d named the chestnut Thoroughbred
Dexter and immediately fell in love with him. I have been able to call him mine
for exactly fourteen months now.
Dexter and I have had many ups
and downs between his kindness and sometimes obstinacy, but fortunately, the "downs" are usually replaced by "ups." He may be
a descendant of the most prolific female family, a grandson of Storm Cat, a
gorgeous horse with names such as Secretariat and Affirmed in his pedigree, and
a Thoroughbred that had his picture taken in the winner’s circle, but he’s so
much more than that. It’s awe-inspiring to have a horse with such a heritage,
but most of all, Dexter has been a horse to love.
Today I celebrate the birth of
my beloved puppy-dog of a horse who will follow me without a halter, whinny and
jog up to the fence to great me, and nuzzle at me with affability. Today I
celebrate the birth of horse that may not have made much of a name for himself
on the track, but has left me with joy. Today I celebrate the birth of Dexter,
one of the kindest horses I have ever known.
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Dexter loves to follow me like a puppy!
Photo: Terri Cage |
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