Little Mike

I met “Little Mike” over carrots a couple weeks ago. And something about this particular horse made my ears perk. He ambled over to the fence-line as soon as he caught sight or smell of our tour group and nibbled carrots out of my hand like they were the best carrots he ever had. Unlike some horses that are a bit bitey, or at least standoffish when not being given treats, Little Mike let me pet his neck, scratch his nose and rub his long face. He exuded a big lap dog vibe. I have touched a number of horses in the past, but this one touched me. So much so, I decided to do a little research on Little Mike and see what may make him special.

Luckily the thoroughbred horse industry keeps almost as detailed records of each racehorse the same way Google and Facebook keep data on people. Almost everything is tracked. You can find genetics going back generations, workout schedules, where they live, transaction prices, injuries, and offspring. The data available for thoroughbreds is voluminous.

“Little Mike” got off to an inauspicious start. Although a thorough Thoroughbred, his bloodlines didn’t have a large legacy of winning. Little Mike’s owner got his mom “Hay Jude” from a friend for free after she retired from racing. She had had 30 lifetime starts and lifetime earnings of $113K, ….nothing to write home about. At the end of her race career she bounced around $5,000 claiming races before she embraced motherhood.

Little Mike’s father was the unraced son of 1990 Kentucky Derby winner “Unbridled”. Un-raced sons of famous fathers don’t always live up to expectations, so the stud fee was next to nothing. So little was was paid to bring Little Mike into the world, a questionable used car would have cost more.

Little Mike showed enough early promise for racing that the owner invested the time, effort, and money to see if Little Mike could be a contender at the track. Little Mike did disappoint. He went 0 for 4 in his first races. These races, the equivalent of horseracing training wheels, were short sprint races, 5 furlongs, a little over half a mile on dirt. He lost them all, only notching a runner up place once, against a weak field.

But someone saw something in Little Mike. They moved his next race from the regular dirt track to the turf and stretched his distance to longer races, over a mile. Little Mike responded and began to find his groove and Little Mike’s groove was winning races. Little Mike liked turf races, big races, big money. Little Mike won 12 of his next 17 starts and pocketed a cool $2.5 million in winning purses in 2012. Little Mike was dominant on turf.

While there’s much to be learned from the tale of Little Mike, a couple main things that jumped out at me. Little Mike didn’t find success in his first endeavors, but someone put in the time and effort to realize his potential. I find I need to be more like both the horse and the trainer. Work hard at what you’re doing, but realize that when your not winning, you may just need to adjust your work to what works for you. Help others find their groove.

Find your ground, find your distance, & enjoy every carrot.