January 23 - Bluegrass Cat

Bluegrass Cat, a son of Storm Cat, was raced by WinStar. He had a great two-year-old campaign in 2005 and set himself up as one of the early favorites for the Kentucky Derby, but his three-year campaign hit a bump in the road as he started running second in several prep races. By the time the KY Derby rolled around Bluegrass Cat was sent off at about 20-1. He put in a game effort to run second in the 2006 Derby to the high-flying effort of Barbaro. Bluegrass Cat would get redemption picking up his Grade 1 victory in the Haskell at Monmouth later that year. The Haskell is the race portrayed in the painting, but the source photo comes from a race at Tampa Downs when my brother, Brian, and I made the trip across the state just to see Bluegrass Cat. The source photo is one of Brian's. Artistic license was stretched to take the best source to recreate & relive that highlight reel moment.

On a side note: Brian, my techie brother, also created a silhouette of Bluegrass Cat that we have used a few places, including on the window of the gallery we closed a couple years ago in downtown Georgetown. The space was later rented by the Bank of England. They wasted no time peeling my name off the window, but to this day, the silhouette of Bluegrass Cat greets you as you pass by the Bank of England on Main Street!!! Now, you know who that horse is when you see it.