February 9 - Roses In May   

Bred by Margaux Farm and raced by Ken & Sarah Ramsey.

He is a stunning "near black" colt that when he racing days concluded, he found his way to stud in Japan at Big Red Farm.

About the same time the Ramseys were racing Roses In May, they were also racing the dynamic turf horse Kitten's Joy. It's reasonable to think the Japanese had their pick of the two stallion prospects and since turf racing is the mainstay for horse racing in Japan, Kitten's Joy might have made more Horse Sense. In retrospect, Kitten's Joy went on to be one of the best sires of his generation . . . it makes you wonder what the Japanese liked about Roses In May? I'm just guessing, but I think it was the same thing as War Emblem, Shanghai Bobby (and a couple more will come to mind probably before I end this story). They are all "near black" with a white blaze. HINT: Who is the greatest stallion in the history of Japan? ANSWER: Sunday Silence. It seems if a stallion is black with a white blaze he will end up in Japan. (just one artist's observation)

The painting of Roses In May has an interesting history that I had not had happen before. Before the painting was finished, it had three different owners while it was still on the easel.

Ken Ramsey and I had conversations about painting him, then Danzel Clarke-Brendemuhle commissioned the painting because she had pinhooked hooked **is this correct** him as a yearling. As I was finishing the painting, I asked Danzel if I could share the photo of the painting with Shigeyuki Okada, the owner of Big Red Farm. We became friends in Kentucky after he saw my painting of Ghostzapper at Adena Springs. Mr. Okada was about 6'3" and very distinguished. His English was limited (however, far superior to my Japanese.) As he described the painting of Ghostzapper, he searched for a word to describe the clouds in the painting. "Magnificent" . . . I love painting clouds and at that moment Mr. Okada was my hero!

When I emailed the photo of this painting of Roses In May, I told the family that the painting was sold, that it was a commission for Danzel. They replied the next day asking if they could buy the painting and would be willing to bring Danzel to their farm for a visit. That was the deal. The Okada family had the painting shipped to Japan and Danzel received print number 1 of the painting. (The Okada’s Big Red Farm later bought Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another and Mr. Okada was very specific that he wanted clouds like the one in Ghostzapper in the conformation painting of I'll Have Another.)

So, the horse that looked like Sunday Silence, Roses In May, actually looked just like his sire Devil His Due. When getting a quote from Ken Ramsey for my book, A Brush With Greatness, Ken retold the story of the time at the clocker's stand at Gulfstream when Roses In May was working, Allen "The Chief" Jerkins asked Roses In May's trainer Dale Romans who that horse was. Dale told him and The Chief replied, "He's by Devil His Due and looks just like him." Jerkins had trained Devil His Due and for you pedigree geeks - Sunday Silence was by Halo and Devil His Due was a grandson of Halo. So, yes,  Roses In May comes by his stunning "near black" looks honestly.

This has always been one of my favorite paintings and it might be the reason for my infatuation with painting black (or really, really dark) horses.

I thought it was maybe just my appreciation of the athlete losing the battle to my 24/7 artist's eye. But I found I wasn't alone in that assessment when we were getting quotes for my book A Brush With Greatness. The owner, Ken Ramsey, actually remembered someone else's comment about Roses In May. Ken recalled how trainer Dale Romans was watching Roses In May work, when Allen Jerkens (The Chief) asked Dale about that black horse and mentioned how good looking he was. The Chief asked if he was by Devil His Due - which Dale confirmed. Then, Allen Jerkens replied that Roses In May looked just like his daddy. And he should know having trained Devil His Due.

Hold that thought -

So, about the time Roses In May was coming off the track, Ken Ramsey had another star colt in his stable named Kitten's Joy. As I've been told the Japanese were interested in both of his colts, but they really went after Roses In May . . . You see, arguably the greatest stallion in the history of racing in Japan is Sunday Silence. He was a black stallion with a blaze that trickled down his face. His blaze was so famous in Japan that they had hats, signs, clothing without any names, just that blaze - - - and everybody knew it was Sunday Silence. Sunday Silence was a son of Halo.

The resemblance of Roses In May to Sunday Silence is more genetic than coincidence, as Roses In May is a son of Devil's Bag who is also by Halo. Roses In May went to Japan to try and follow in those family footsteps, while Kitten's Joy stayed in Kentucky to become one of the top sires in the States as he's had turf winners around the world now.

The painting of Roses In May is at Okada Shigeyuki's Big Red Farm. I've painted Roses In May twice and in both cases where the painting was expected to go and where the painting ended up are long stories - - and you know I'm not one to shy away from a long story; but this one is even longer than usual. So, let's just focus on this winner of the Dubai World Cup ridden by Johnny Velazquez. Again, tried by Dale Romans for Ken and Sarah Ramsey.