Up to the Mark shines for breeder Ramspring Farm

Watch Up to the Mark shines for breeder Ramspring Farm - thoroughbreddailynews on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00It's been a year to remember for Ramspring Farm as they've watched Up to the Mark, a

00:06colt bred by their farm, develop into one of the top turf horses in the country.

00:11Clay Patrick's parents founded Ramspring Farm in 1976, and here he tells us more about

00:17the family operation.

00:20My mother, she could look at horses all day and she went to Keeneland, we all went one

00:24day and we were looking for one more mare for the year to purchase and we all got tired

00:29except for her and she found Belle and she really, really liked her so she stayed and

00:34she picked her up, she bought her.

00:37She was in foal to not this time at the time and then we brought her back to not this time

00:41and the resulting foal was Up to the Mark.

00:44What I remember about him as a foal is he was very handsome, very good looking young

00:49foal from the day he was born until he went to the sales ring.

00:53It's been a whirlwind with the way he has taken to the turf and turned it on.

00:59Probably my most favorite was the Derby day when he ran in the Turf Classic and proved

01:06that he could run in that level company.

01:08The Manhattan it was just a repeat, we weren't sure if he could get the distance in that

01:13race so he had to prove himself again and he did so.

01:17When he turned for home it was just a thrill, the hair stood up on the back of my neck and

01:22got goosebumps and just seeing the horse that you nurtured and took care of from conception

01:27to the day he was a mature athlete ready to run was something.

01:31Take it over, it is Up to the Mark who has a lead and is drawing away here in the stretch.

01:37Up to the Mark was up to the challenge today.

01:41He dominates the field in the Resorts World Casino.

01:45Yeah, Bell's finale is the dam and since this colt, Up to the Mark, she's had, would have

01:52been a two year old, unfortunately died from colic complications as a foal and since then

02:00we have a yearling by McKenzie and a foal by Maxfield and we're really excited about

02:06both of them.

02:08McKenzie is a big strong, he's got a lot of his sire in him, he's a big strong colt and

02:14he's got a very powerful motor on him, he looks like he's going to be a runner himself

02:20and the Maxfield is just a stoic individual who's very patient and got a good head on

02:27his shoulders and looks great, he looks like an a-physical to me now.

02:33My parents bought the farm in 1976 and it's about 225 acres.

02:38We have at any one time probably 20 to 25 mares on the farm.

02:43I think it's just something that they always wanted to do, they had it in their mind that

02:47they wanted to and then once they took the plunge and got into the breeding aspect of

02:52it, it was in their blood.

02:54My father passed away in August of last year, my mother, she's always taken care of most

03:01of the aspects of the farm and she's continuing to do so.

03:04She just loves horses, period, I mean I can only say it that way, that she loves every

03:09aspect of the horse.

03:11Up to the Mark, I would say he's definitely the best that we've had here, just the same

03:15thrill that we've all had, the hair-raising experience of seeing him turning for home

03:20and giving that final kick, it's something to behold.