February 9 - Monarchos

Hey, did you know that Monarchos is part of a great horse racing trivia questions? Name the stallion that produced two Kentucky Derby winners since 2000. Hint: the other half of the question is Super Saver.

The answer: Maria's Mon . . . who is the source of Monarchs’ gray coat. For my non-horse friends, (yes, I have a few), horses are not born light gray. They can be born in many shades, often much darker, and change to lighter gray and even almost appear white as they get older, as did Monarchos who was a steel gray at the time he won the Kentucky Derby, but as a stallion he was almost snow white.

Monarchos was raced by John and Debbie Oxley. John is quite the horseman in his own right. His father is in the Polo Hall of Fame as is John now. He was born and raised in Oklahoma. This painting was made around 2006 or so and years later when putting together the book, A Brush With Greatness, I went back to Mr. Oxley for a quote about Monarchos for the book. I found his quote to be a personal favorite. He told a story that I have never heard before or since from any other source. He talked about growing up on the farm in Oklahoma and getting together with the family to gather around the radio to listen to the Kentucky Derby. That was when he decided he would have racehorses with the goal of winning the Kentucky Derby.

While it's been almost 20 years since I met John Oxley, I've been familiar with him for closer to 40 years. You see, when I was finishing school in the early 80s at Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton, FL, I would drive by the Royal Palm Polo Club every day to go muck stalls at Horseshoe Acres. I would stop and watch polo from the road and listen to the announcer. It was always "Oxley this" and "Oxley that" . . . he was the star and the owner of Royal Palm Polo. Imagine the feeling 20 years later to get to meet the star polo player about painting his Kentucky Winner.

Monarchos was one of the great long shot winners of the KY Derby, but I liked him in the race, as I always thought the Florida Derby produced a horse with a solid chance against the horses from all the other tracks across the country.

Today, the image that sticks in my mind is the Oxley family gathering around that large piece of furniture, the radio, to listen to the Kentucky Derby some seventy years ago (give or take.)  Oxley this, Oxley that, Oxley wins the Derby.

Informed Decision was probably Monarchos’ best offspring. No doubt her speed and looks came from daddy!

Bonus side note: The jockey is Jorge Chavez. He was at the top of trainers on John Ward's list of go to jockeys and rode many of the Oxley family’s best horses. Jorge is often called by his nickname "ChopChop". It's a reference to his riding. In the stretch, he used a very compact arm motion, instead of it looking like a whip, it was as if he had a hatchet, thus ChopChop. However, Victor Sanchez, the Clerk of Scales at Gulfstream Park, told me that Jorge never liked the nickname. So, I stopped using it until telling this story (sorry Jorge.) Victor also talked about Jorge's feasts. You see, Jorge is much shorter than most jockeys and has more of a stout build. He could eat anything and always make weight. Jorge loved to have all the jockey friends over for his parties and picnics and there would be tons of food. Jorge would eat until he was stuffed, while his buddies trying to make weight the next day would just glare at him! Good times at the Chavez household.