March 2 - Unique Bella

It was 2015 and I was painting at the Keeneland yearling sale and this group of three men approached. They talked about the painting I was working on, racing, and who the horses are that I paint. I told them that probably 95% of the horses I paint are Grade 1 winners. One of the guys quickly jumped in and told me that they had a Grade 1 winner. I asked who it was, and I didn't know the name. You have to understand, if a horse is a Grade 1 winner and I haven't heard of them, you might be trying to sneak chickens past a fox. "Nope, I'm sorry, never heard of her." I asked them to repeat the name, they were Latin and maybe I wasn't hearing the name right. "Nope, I just don't know her." So, I asked what races she had won, maybe I'd be able to figure it out. That's when the leader of the group, who I learned was named Carlos, told me that she hadn’t raced yet!

"Wait, you said she was a Grade 1 winner!" (Carlos is Carlos Heller of Don Alberto Farm - based out of Chile they now own the old Vinery Farm and have added the old Hill n Dale Farm.)

Carlos told me this filly would be a grade one winner as soon as she starts racing. Now, I'm all about confidence, you know like David versus Goliath. That kid with the sling had confidence, but what made these guys so "confident" that this yearling at their farm was "going" to be a Grade 1 winner. They didn't have an answer, but they remained unrelenting. SHE WILL BE A GRADE 1 WINNER! Now, I know the numbers, the percentages, &/or the likelihood of any horse becoming a G1 winner. I'm sure I smiled and told them to find me when she does it. One thing is sure, the horse racing business is filled with dreamers, believers, and confident owners. I went back to painting and pretty much forgot about this horse whose named I finally put to memory. The filly in their barn was named Unique Bella and let's just say, when she hit her stride, she was as good on the track as any horse in the Western Hemisphere. So, here she is - the horse that was "guaranteed" to be a Grade 1 winner before a saddle was ever put on her back.