by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — Although he may not be as stout as his colleagues, Wishing Stone’s demeanor more than compensates for his lack of stature.

“His overall attitude was phenomenal for a small horse,” recalled Dewayne Minor, the colt’s conditioner. “I bought him as a yearling at the Kentucky sale because of his attitude, his good conformation and his breeding. He’s a brother to Make It Happen (3,1:54.4s–$947,829).

“When I went to pick him up at Brittany Farm, I forgot how small he was,” the 53-year-old continued. “When I saw him again, I said to myself, ‘Wow, he is a small horse,’ but I was talking to a guy there and he said, ‘He runs the paddock. Do you see any scratches on him? He’s the boss.’”

The Kentucky-bred son of Conway Hall-Meadowbranch Magic, who is owned by Cowboyland Aalborg of Highland Park, Michigan, captured an $84,600 division of the Bluegrass Series and a $71,200 International Stallion Stake split, finished second in the $106,000 American-National and fourth in the $600,000 Breeders Crown final at age two. In his second season of racing, Wishing Stone has finished second in a $53,575 John F. Simpson Memorial division and fifth in a $130,000 Stanley Dancer Memorial division. The colt has earned $228,185 throughout his career, with more than $206,000 accumulated in his first year of racing, from 13 total race miles.

The colt, who will leave from the eight hole in the third elimination (sixth race) Saturday evening and will be in rein to John Campbell, has yet to win a race this year, but has been knocking upon the door and Minor is confident he can go with the top competitors in his class.

“Temple Of Doom has been racing pretty decent in his last few starts and he went in like 1:53 or so, but I think we are ready to go with him,” he said. “He beat most of these colts last year and I think this is a pretty wide open race right now. I know we haven’t seen his (Wishing Stone’s) best performance.”

Nigel Soult photo

Wishing Stone has banked $228,185 in his career.

Minor admits Wishing Stone likes his way all the time, but the colt’s raw ability, versatility and his willingness to please are what makes him a talented racehorse.

“He’s a pretty spirited colt and reminds me of a Thoroughbred,” he explained. “We train at Walmac International and he likes to train on the sand track there. When he heads out of the barn he goes straight for it, but the good thing about this colt and even John Campbell has said it, is he is willing to listen.

“He’s pretty easy to train and all I need to do is keep him happy,” Minor continued. “He’s the kind that will race well on any kind of track and he’s an easy gaited colt. Most of his 2-year-old year I trained him down barefoot, which I normally do with all my colts, because it lets me know how to shoe them. You can tell a lot about the ability of a horse if they can do it naturally.”

Even though he is hampered by the outside post, Minor, who had a career year as a trainer in 2009 with nearly $400,000 in purse money won from 102 starts, is still confident Wishing Stone will perform admirably.

“He does have that eight hole, but he can leave or come from behind so it doesn’t really concern me,” he said. “They are calling for a hot day and that’s going to have an effect on everyone. The main thing is to keep him hydrated and get him through the race. He did beat most of these horses (including pre-race favorite Holiday Road in the Bluegrass Series) last year.”

After competing in the Hambletonian, Wishing Stone’s connections have a strong campaign planned for him.

“He has the Colonial (Trot) after this race and then we will head down to Lexington for the Bluegrass and Futurity,” Minor said. “He has plenty of other stakes left for him and the main thing is to see how he comes out of each race and to keep him healthy.”