Today, January 1, is the official birthday for all thoroughbred race horses, regardless of when their actual birthdays are. So if Barbaro, who was born April 29, was alive, today he would officially turn five. His two brothers, Nicanor and the as yet unnamed colt, are two and one respectively.
Nicanor is currently in training in Ocala, Florida with Jill and John Stephens, at their training center. They are the trainers who "broke" Barbaro--that is, they are the ones who first put a saddle and then a rider on his back. The typical pattern is that when a colt is about a year and a half old, they move to a training center where they "learn" how to be a race horse.
Nicanor has been with the Stephens since the late Fall. Reports are that he is learning the ropes nicely and appears to be as large as his brother was. It is still too early to know if he will be as successful on the track. At this stage, everyone is still learning.
One interesting technique that Jill Stephens uses is "line driving" the horses. She hitches up a type of rope harness to the horses in training and walks behind them for miles across open fields, getting them used to having their mouths pulled. The exercise looks a lot like the Amish farmers walking behind their horses as they plow the fields. The results are horses with soft and responsive mouths that hopefully eliminate the need for jockeys to go to their whips. Barbaro, Jill reports, had such a "soft" mouth.
Nicanor is two today and one step closer to making his debut on the track probably in the Fall. The legacy continues.....
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