Up & Comers: Marty's World by Marion Altieri
June 11 , 2007
Looking at the pedigree for Marty's World, a beautiful Bay filly, I notice some interesting things: Worldwide, her sire, is an Irish fellow. And we know about the spectacular Irish horses.
Her dam, Silent Doc, is the Alpha Mare of her herd. This, I figure, is a Good Sign for Marty's World, Doc's three-year-old filly in training with trainer, Clifford Dodson of Athens, Texas.
The pedigree is a nice thing to see, but I'm more interested in what you don't see on paper or computer screen: what really goes into "making" a racehorse.
Our Up & Comers corner is spanning the globe: tonight, we're in a hot, East Texas city called Palestine. And tonight, we're going to talk about what goes into "making" a racehorse.
The key ingredient is Love.
Oh, I don't want to hear it. Fuss and feathers. Pedigree this, wealthy folks that. Yes, there are some horses who are destined for the Triple Crown races, and the Breeders' Cup Championships. Whether it's their breeding, training—any number of factors—they're there.
And Marty's World is in Palestine, Texas.
She was planned, planted and joyously anticipated by Mildred (Marty) and Ken Brown, two wonderful people who love horses, period. They're not rich, they're not famous, they're not especially good party animals. Their picture will never be in the New York Times, unless a tornado moves through Palestine. (And we pray to God it doesn't!).
No, what we have here, folks, is real, living, breathing, horsepeople who just plain love horses.
Marty's World wasn't the coming-together of two royal families: good, solid families, yes. But the Browns don't have half-a-mil to buy a Storm Cat swimmer. They took all their knowledge of breeding—and it's extensive—and put their mare, Silent Doc, in the care of the best stallion they could hire. The result is a gorgeous, sleek, absolutely beautiful filly named Marty's World.
Don't take my word for it—look at her photos! Notice that all four hooves are darned far off the ground—she sails over that rich, Texas soil like a hovercraft, skimming the top of ocean waves. She's beautiful, and her beauty is from the inside-out.
I know Mildred. I don't know Ken, yet. But I know that when Mildred talks about her horses—all of them—the warmth in her heart comes shining through in her voice. Marty's World is her girl, her lovely three-year-old filly. I already love Marty's World, and wish I could meet her soon.
I surely wish I could be there for her big debut: I want to stand in the winner's circle with her, Mildred and Ken. And I want to shake the hands of people who are actually in this Sport because they love the horses, themselves—and who recognize that, regardless of what goes into making a Thoroughbred—the most important ingredient, the one that even the wealthiest of owners cannot buy if they don't already have it—is Love.
Put Marty's World into your Virtual Stable, and join me in watching her career grow. I love saying, "I knew she could do it…" Go, Marty's World, Go!!!!
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