When I arrived at the Longwood Farm yearling barn that first day of work in mid-September of 1992, the first colt I was introduced to was Say Capp, a nice dark bay, with very little white markings. He only had a little bit of white on two pasterns, if my memory serves me. There was definitely an unmistakable special feeling coming from this colt and I just knew, from the instant I laid my hands on him that he was going to be special, how special he was, would not take me long to figure out.
As I rode him around the barn, that first day, as someone else had already done some of the ground work, so he was able to be ridden, he was so powerful, so effortless in his movement, however he didn't really have much steering, so I knew I'd have to work on that, but he was proving to be a quick learner, even in the first lesson.
I swear he felt a special connection to me, as I did to him, we were bonding from the moment we met and especially after I rode him, he treated me like I was "his" person. What do I mean by this? Well, the very next horse I rode, Say Capp became so jealous of the sight of me riding it, that he began to rear in his stall, causing such a ruccus that I had to dismount the other horse and Say Capp had to be led out of the barn, where he was turned out into a small paddock, where he could not see me riding.
After that, he was unable to remain in the barn when I worked with any other horse, always getting so upset that we were afraid he was going to hurt himself. We eventually moved him to the lower barn, which was across the two driveways and down a small hill, so we didn't have to worry about forgetting he was in the barn, when I worked with another horse.
When I would go to get him from the lower barn and bring him up to the upper yearling barn, he was as a pussy cat, gentle and kind and never acting up, but as soon as he would see the men that I worked with or the other girl, who came to work there later, he would start to prance and put on a show. He'd never get so out of control as to hurt me, but he'd put on an act of "I'm mister big! I'm really tough!" But as soon as we were alone again, he was back to his gentle self.
One cold winter day, he got fairly warm from his workout and I had to take him out of the barn to hot walk him, so that the other girl could get on a horse and ride. I took him down the hill to the other barn and began walking laps. There was a little bit of ice in one area, so I remembered where it was by using my limited vision to judge how the sun was in that area and what part of the barn it was near. He walked calmly around as we did lap after lap, but then one of the men came out to check on us and he suddenly began to prance, his hind feet getting onto the ice and he slightly slipped. The guy immediately yelled for me to put him back in the stall. I told him if he'd just go back in the barn, that Say Capp would be fine, but he didn't believe me. It didn't matter that Say Capp was still warm, he just wanted me to put him up, anyways. So, I did what he asked and took Say Capp to his stall. Once in the stall, with the door closed, Say Capp was quiet and calm and wanted a hug. I just had to laugh, as I told him, "Are you trying to get me in trouble?" I guess for me, he just felt he didn't have to put on a show, but for some reason he absolutely had to put on that show for everyone else.
On another day after I had rode him as we walked back to his barn, I remember him just lazily following beside me and suddenly I had his head gently against me, as he just wanted to be in contact with me, touching me, as we walked. He was so affectionate and loving, like some of my dogs have been, it was not normal to have a young colt acting like this, so gentle and kind, and odder still that he only showed it to one person, me
He was the king of the colt herd and none of the others ever disputed his authority. He was by far the fastest, always winning their races, that they'd put on in the fields. If anyone has heard of and believes in the old horseman's belief of "The Look of Eagles", this horse had it. I did not have to have good eyesight to know that he possessed this, I could feel it coursing through him, it was impressive, amazing, nothing like it, he was just super special. And, yes, I loved this colt with all my heart, he was a dream horse. In fact, I do not believe I ever came off of him, even in his early training, he was going to take care of me, as I took care of him. Horse people dream of these kinds of horses.
Like all the other horses, I did not know anything about his pedigree, when I first met him and started working on the farm, I had to do my own research into their pedigrees and learn by talking to the owner or the two men who had worked on the farm for over 30 years, each, to pick up all the details of the horse families that were there on the farm.
Say Capp was by Oh Say and out of Turn Capp, by Turn to Reason. Turn Capp had an impressive record as a broodmare, she was also a stakes winner herself, but, at the time I was working there, every foal she had produced that had made it to the track had won and she was already the dam of several stakes winners, including the dam of Miss Slewpy, Capp It Off.
As a race horse, I was completely right about my feeling in Say Capp, he did go on to become a multiple stakes winner.
Say Capp made 37 starts, had 9 wins, 9 seconds, and 5 thirds, with earnings of $387,737. He won the Humphrey S. Finney Stakes at Laurel in 1994 and the Jennings Handicap at Pimlico in 1996. He was also stakes placed several times.
After his racing career, I lost track of him, and I have always wondered what ever happened to him. I hope and pray he found a good retirement home and maybe even went on to have another career. I just hope whoever got him or even still has him, if he is still alive, appreciates him and loves him as much as I did all those years ago.
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