Beautiful!!!, Very Handsome!, A huge Thanks to Mr. Marti Guzman for comments and GREAT pictures, Love the one with grass in his mouth!, Also, I thought we would be getting another work-out result today for Nicanor, Umm, Maybe tomorrow....

Such a handsome boy! We all love you Nicanor and wish only the very best for you.

Just gorgeous!!!

Thank you, Marti Guzman !

Nicanor is truly gorgeous.  You can almost see the more placid temperament.  Nicanor seems like a very kind horse, by his look and description.  

Always love the Barbaro comparisons / differences.  Allows us to "know" them more.  

So looking forward to more news and more pictures.  LOVE the Rags' filly photos.  Cannot wait to see young "Marcano", and of course hear more about the serious young colt, Lentenor.  Wonder how HE is progressing in his schooling!!!

Thanks so much for the Nicanor inside photos !

Beautiful photo's! He looks very contented in the first photo, almost sleepy like! Sort of I like I do after a massage! LOL :)

He is one beautiful horse. LVR & Dynaformer know how to throw stunning offspring!

Thank You !

Thanks, Marti, for the "up close and personal" commentary and the great pictures of a very HANDSOME Nicanor!  I just love his tail - looks like he's been to a salon and had it frosted...

He has the grass in his mouth,because it's St Patricks Day.He is a good looking horse.Love you Nicanor!!!

Those pictures of Nicanor are just perfect Mr. Guzman.

...Nicky is just beautiful......wonder when he will workout or run again...

He really has a slight physique, almost like a summer 2 year old.  Matz has been dead honest in his assesment of this colt pegging him as immature mentally and physically.  Has a lot of growing to do.  I would be curious to see if that 97 bsf he tore off last race gets adjusted or not, and also how well the winner does in his next outing.  Nicanor really could turn out once he matures, learns to rate, and puts a couple of races under him.  I don't think I realized how much development he appears to have left.

Amanda, please tell Marti thank you so much for the beautiful imagery of Nicanor and also for the prose on a half hour in the life of Nicanor. I love the photos and it does appear that Nicanor is growing up.

Ragsy, I'm fairly certain Marti Guzman is a female.  Thank you so much for these wonderful pictures.

I read in a  97  bsf incorrectly stated, 93 bsf was given believe Alex Brown made the comment.

Beautiful pictures!  Thank you so much for the update.

He's such a beautiful colt and he sounds like hes just a pleasure to be around. He deserves nothing but the best. A safe & sound carrer with lots of love from his fans. Win or loose, this boy is special

Oh Amanda.  How beautiful.  Such a handsom guy.  I am in love.  WOW he is one beautiful horse.  :)

Ragsy.  

What are you talking about????

What a handsome boy!

Ragsy, I saw the 97 beyer rating for Nicanor, it was on a .PDF file, it rated ALL horses(Nic's first race was in the 40's, I believe), I can't get back in the file I saw it on though. It might have been corrected to a 93, but I read 97, and I & Nicanor are staying with that rating, lol...

Thank you for these beautiful pictures of Nicanor. He has grown to be a gorgeous horse.

Thanks for the photos Marti. You're very lucky to have spent time with and taken these great pics of our beloved Nicanor. He is such a handsome lad. You can just tell by looking at him he is not of the ill tempered varity as some horses are. I especially like the fourth picture down.

He's such a lovely boy!!  All those who are able to spend any time with him are sooo lucky.  There is really a sweetness about him.  The picture on Bloodhorse of Rags to Riches filly is absolutely darling!! Sure makes me miss my days of working with the foals.  This filly looks like quite a handful.

He's so gorgeous. And the pictures just don't do him justice, I've been lucky enough to see him at both his races at Gulfstream and he's just classically handsome. I would have to agree with the statement on his height though, he really didn't look that tall to me. Does any one know what his exact height is? I would guess around 15.2 or 15.3 but I can't be sure. For that matter, does anyone know the exact heights of the rest of the family? I'd always heard that Barbaro was like 16.3 maybe even 17 hands, and I think Lentenor takes more after him, but he's still young.

Marti sorry for calling you a Mister, guess, I thought it was Mark......

Greg J and Stardust: I dont know, guess 97 sounds better than 93 score...  but I do believe Alex stated 93 was the correct score. but, if you say 97 thats way to cool .....yes sir, if Nicanor & Greg J are standing on that so will I, it sounds better anyway!!!  

What a beautiful boy he is! I like how he's shaping up, build-wise. He looked so odd when he was younger! Looking more like a proper TB every day.

Thank you for the pictures!

I can't wait to see pictures of the new boy. So anxious!

Happy St. Patrick's day, everyone! (you too Niccy!)

brettzky99, it is interesting that Nicanor looks on the young side, since he is really three years old as of last weekend, not like some of the late born colts pointed to the Derby who are only "officially" three year-olds.  I'm happy Matz is letting the colt take his time.  He might be a world-beater at four for all we know.  

That little Giant's Causeway filly sure does take after her momma.  Rags's foal is adorable.  Those pictures of her bounding around in the paddock made my day.    

Nicanor is truly gorgeous!

Thank you, Marti Guzman!!!!

Nic is sure a handsome boy. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

beatiful horse!

thx for the photos!

OMG!!!! How beautiful is Nicanor? Every time I see him he looks more gorgeous. And what about Baby Rags? Looks exactly like Mommy - I can't believe it. From what I've heard about Rags' temperament, it looks like her baby will not be taking any bull from anybody either - so watch out boys. I pity the fool who challenges this baby when she hits the track. Rags next boyfriend is henrythenavigator. I don't know if my heart will be able to take a Rags/Henry baby - I mean how beautiful will he/she be with parents like that?

Hi all, glad you are enjoying the photos. Wanted to clear a couple things up...

I'm not a "mister", LOL...I know, one of those unisex names and all, but I am decidedly UNmale ;)

I read a post way up there someplace about Nicanor being "slight", and from my perspective, I have to disagree. He's lan ky and still gawky and a bit narrow through the chest (he's a baby still!) but he's not slight.

Anyway, that's it, glad to provide some more casual photos for you all, enjoy!

Greg, I'm with you!  Bloodhorse cover page has video of HRTV assessment of Nicanor.  Impressed with his gallop out ahead of the winner after his race last weekend.  Says he was running like Barbaro in his final furlong.  People are growing more and more impressed with him. Finally!  He's sweet, gentle soul off the track, a competitor on.  He's beautiful in both circumstances.  I love him very much.  But how big IS he??? So much dispute over this one fact.

Yes, Nicanor is a very-very handsome 3 yr old Colt. When I spent 15 minutes in front of Barbaro's stall @ the Training center, the day before the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream in 2006, I knew I was looking at a very special Thoroughbred. He was Surpreme and looked right though me. As Peter told us, he was the greatest horse that he had ever riden & he would win the Kentucky Derby. He, of course, was correct. Every time I look at his 6 Races that he won so easy, i realize that I was lucky enought to see one of the greatest Thoroughbred's of my lifetime.

Thank you Barbaro, for those 15 minutes.

Rest in peace, my liege...rest in peace.

He is just a beautiful horse.  Some horses are slight, some bulky, some tall, some small..doesn't always seem to make a difference.  When they can run, they can run.

Thanks so much for the pictures.

He is beautiful.  

I wish for him a healthy, happy and safe life.

Thank you Marti, the pictures are wonderful.  I think their was a lot of confusion about Nicanor's height but you cleared that up with your description of him. Leggy, huh? Maybe we have a real nice turf candidate in the making? He sure is grand looking! Can't wait until he resumes his workouts and races again. Michael Matz is an astute horseman and has been right all along about Nicanor. He said Nicanor needed time to mature and time has proven Michael right. Awesome man.

Great article on Rags to Riches and her filly, Amanda. What a little Ragdoll!

Thank you bloodhorse for the pictures of Rags to Riches. I've been waiting for a great head shot of this filly and #10 in the series  of 23, is beautiful. I will be ordering it soon, just waiting for pictures of La Ville Rouge and her colt to complete my order.    

he looks good. wish him and his connections the best of luck.

Very handsome and yes, he does look like he needs to fill out more. I am guessing he won't be in the Kentucky Derby this year, but a lot has to be said for those that run as a 4 yr old too. He may still be as good as Barbaro but slow developing.

marti guzman, i'm jealous. what an enlightment to see this handsome fellow. can you also take some pictures of lentenor? i could not believe how much he has grown! and, baby rags looks JUST LIKE her mother! i hope that babyrags and babynor become good firends, who knows, maybe one day they will meet on the track!

Question for Marti:

What lens did you use to get the head shots and the full body shots.

Thanks.

Thank you so much for the photos! Nic is so handsome. I'm looking forward to seeing more pics of Lenny too! All of the family takes after their mom so much.. speaking of which... that Rags' filly is just TOO CUTE! Oh my gosh! I hope she's a champion just like her mom, too. =)

Thank you for that update. Nic is just a sweety pie, a very handsome one at that!!!! May God keep you safe in your future races and may Barbaro look down and smile upon you!!!

To answer some questions:

To JAJ regarding my camera lens, I used a Canon 70-300mm for all the shots you see here. I rarely change lenses when photographing horses, though I may have to back up periodically, depending on our respective proximities. I wasn't more than 5 feet from Nicanor for most of these, save for the full body shot, in which I did indeed have to back away to get him all in. ;-)

To Sandieh, if I am ever in the same locale as Lentenor, I will certainly try and provide Amanda some photos to share with you all. I have yet to see him in person, so that photo op will have to wait for another day down the road.

And lastly, to Dona, my interpretation of "leggy" was I meant he's still kind of all legs, appears he has some growing to do. As far as the turf goes, what I personally noticed is he has what I always think of as "frying pan feet", big and wide, which is indicative of a turf pedigree, which Nicanor certainly has on his sire's side.

Whether that means he'll ever race on the surface, I have no idea.

What a handsome boy.  Hope only the best for him.  Thanks so much for the beautiful pictures!!

One last item, in regard to his height.

My own horse is just about right at 16.3, and Nicanor is not that tall.

If you were to pin me down, and this is just a GUESStimate, I'd say Nicanor checks in somewhere around 15.3 to 16 hands.

For those who may be new to judging a horse's physique, a couple famous names to keep in mind as a "ruler" would be Tiznow (17 hands if he's an inch, he's probably over that) and Rock Hard Ten, just insanely tall. Sweet Catomine was also an incredibly tall filly, probably also checking in somewhere near 17 hands.

While you obviously can't line these horses up next to each other to compare concretely, if you can find some photos online of them, and get a little feel for what a SUPER tall horse looks like, it may help.

I also saw Nicanor in person for both his races, and it's deceptive, when you couple him next to a SHORT pony going to the gate, it gives the illusion of more height, with all that leg length of his.

This really probably doesn't help much at all, LOL, but that's my take, for whatever it's worth.

WOW, Nicky is so beautiful. Thank you Marti for the great photos  and Amanda for allowing us to see them. The first photos should be captioned "whaddaya talkin to me ?"

LOL. The last one proves Marti's comments about him being leggy, look how far apart his front feet are as he is grazing,

Great photos of Rag's filly. She looks just like her mom with dad's white front leg. I do love Giants Causeway, every picture ive ever seen of him, he looks spectacular. I was impressed also with the photo of La Traviata's, Mr Greeley foal. Hopefully we will be getting some photos of La Ville Rouge's new colt soon...hint hint.

Nicanor looks like an all-legs foal trying to reach the grass.  (NOT a put down)  Interesting the description of "lanky" as I always thought photos made him look more filled out.  But photos can do that sometimes.

Anyone remember how to try and predict height?  With a foal, I think you measure from the elbow to fetlock, double it, and you are supposed to get the mature height.  If Nicanor is all legs now, he'll put on more depth through his upper body, not more leg length.

It's more than OK if he has big feet, as long as they are not also the flat "pancake" feet many thoroughbreds are known for.  Dinky feet mean problems so this is very good as long as they are not flat with the heels on the ground.

Interesting that maybe he won't be as big as his brothers (verdict will be out on that for a while) but appears to be taking after the Dynaformer side of his pedigree, by maturing slowly.  OK with me, because the precocious, often unsound Mr. Prospector side through La Ville Rouge is an aspect of the pedigree I don't like.  I also think I read that the Jackson's were breeding to Dynaformer to get bigger bone and that's good as long as they get a balanced horse with it.

Nicanor has a sweet face and seems very agreeable, but remember that as he matures, more of those stallion hormones will kick in and then you'll see the true temperment, although he's off to a good start in that department.

Thanks for the pictures Ms. Guzman.  I'd still like to see a trio of conformation shots comparing Barbaro, Nicanor, and Lentenor.  Oh well, probably never get that!  

Marti,

He certainly appears to be slight, especially relative to his bloodstock and siblings.  In fact you took an awesome photo of Nicanor and Custom for Carlos down the stretch @ GP, which clearly illustrates how much muscle he was giving up.  The pic is posted on the blog for Nicanor's second race.  I know the horses are built differently but Nicanor has a ways to go.

Thank you for the recent photos of dashing Nicanor!! He is beautiful and seems more shy and timid than his brother, Barbaro, who was a total HAM!!! Thank you to the Jacksons for letting the FOB's love their special horses!! Can't wait to see pics of the newest brother!!

All the Best,

Joan/VA

Thanks for the new pictures, Mr. Guzmann. Nicanor is just breath- taking. He is growing into those big feet of his nicely.

No wonder the Jacksons keep breeding La Ville Rouge back to Dynaformer. They have stunning offspring.

Reply to brettzky99 :

You and I may just have different definitions of the term "slight" when it comes to a TB racehorse.

To me that means a light horse, not carrying much weight, almost "too" lean.

Nicanor does not fit those descriptions, IMHO.

In regard to previous photos, it's especially hard to tell what a horse truly looks like when he's caught in mid-stride down the stretch in a still photo.

All I can tell you, is having been right up next to him, the last thought I could have possibly had of him was, "He's slight in build".

He just isn't. Growing youngster? Absolutely, but they are two different things :)

But, there are always a LOT of opinions around here, on just about everything, LOL, so I am not arguing the point with you, merely suggesting that some photos might be deceptive, and trying my best to give the in-person impression of him.

Joan,

Nicanor isn't shy or timid, in my short experience with him. He's more of a "can't be bothered" type, LOL, or at least was that day.

But he was agreeable and interested when I approached him, and came forward to let me pet him.

He really just wanted to graze, was uninterested in much of anything going on around him. At least when I was there. But it's impossible to know a horse's whole personality in a half hour, and he may behave differently in different sitatuations.

I can only comment on my own experience with him.

I think of "slight" in horses as lighter boned, light looking and probably not a very heavy horse, looking thin and maybe frail  because they don't pack a lot of muscle or bone. Nothing to do with how tall they are.  

However, if you look back at some past champions like Citation and Count Fleet, they might look "light" in comparison to today's TB, most of whom look more like Quarter Horses than TB's.  

He looks so beautiful! I didn't think he was really tall, but I can in some of his previous pictures why people would think that. When are we going to get pictures of that new baby? I'm dieing to see him!

Ragsy and Greg.......

I still have no idea what you guys are talking about LOL!

Hi Nicanor.  You adorable thing you.  My O My some horses have it and some horses don't.  You have it all!  The best of everything and you are just adorable.  Whatever you do on the track is fine with me.  Win, lose or just simply quit racing.  I love you just as much.  :)

He is so beautiful. He reminds me of our horse with the grass in his mouth--always a bite "for the road"! lol

Great pictures! Also, appreciate the update on Nicanor. Thanks for keeping us informed! We look forward to reading this blog and viewing and sharing the terrific pictures with other members of the family. Keep up the good work! Thanks!

Nicanor does have BIG feet

Thank you Marti for the pics and your postings.  I enjoy learning more about Nicanor.

I was on the ol band wagon, beating the drum for a Nicanor workout, that is until I heard Larry Jones talking about just galloping his horse to keep him fresh and fit and would not give him a workout until just before his next race. Okay, okay, Mr Matz I get it. It's not necessary to have an official workout until you're ready to enter Nicanor in his next race. Depends on the horse, depends on the trainer, etc. That video on HRTV was an eye opener for me, not just because they spoke so highly of Nicanor but it finally sunk in what I knew all along, I just didn't put it all together for Nicanor. Of course I knew all that but I wasn't thinking rationally because it was Nicanor. I would get caught up in the "when is he going to work out", "is something wrong", "what is Michael Matz hiding", you know how it is when you love somebody or something, You're not rational!. You worry, you fret and you're impatient. Well, I'm working on my short comings and patiently waiting for Nicanor's next outing.  Honest.

Now, wasn't it the 30th of last April when Nicanor left for Fair Hill? Where's Lentenor? When is he going to ...uh, never mind. I need more work on those short comings.

All in due time, Dona. All in due time.

 GOD BLESS NICANOR AND HIS FAMILY

 NOW AND ALWAYS!

I don't know about any of you, but I like to see Nicanor have official workouts simply to see how he is doing. An official workout is something tangible. An unofficial workout may suffice for the team, but then I for one do not have that glimpse behind the scenes that an official workout brings. I to shall wait patiently, but with a heavy for the official workout just prior to Nicanor's next week. Oh woe, woe, woe is me.

With a heavy heart.

First, Again Great Pictures of Nicanor, Second, Sorry Marti for calling you MR.. Third, Amanda Great Pictures of Freisan Fire & Rachel Alexandra(She was looking right at you) on Adam's Turf("The Giant's Fall"), and Lastly, STARDUST, Myself and Ragsy were talking about Nicanor's Beyer Speed Rating in his last race, He was given a "97" at first but I believe it was corrected to a 93(A Good Number for his Second/First Race!). The Beyer Speed rating: It basically gives a numerical representation of how fast a horse ran taking into account the factors such as competition, track bias, and the actual time of the horse. This simple number gives us a basis to judge the horses competetive ability. The speed of a horse can alter the race on how fast it takes the lead or when it decides to turn it on the stretch. The speed rating was created by Andrew Beyer and made horse racing a little more easier for your average handicapper. The purpose of a speed rating is to take the different tracks and conditions creating a common number using a complex computer generated number that gives us a representation of how fast a horse is. The numbers are generally between 50 and 100, with 100 being an extremely high (fast) figure. Speed ratings allow us to analyze a horse's particular performance in a race simply and easily, without having to worry about which size track the time was run at, or what the condition of the track was during the race, or in some cases even the distance of the race itself.

  Stardust, There is ALOT more to it, and other speed figures out there, but this should give you a basic idea of the concept...I hope that helps ????

He is a very handsome horse with still a lot of growing up yet....wait until he matures some more, he just might be a top race horse....we will have to wait and see. I am looking forward to seeing him back at Fairhill this spring!! Stay safe Nicanor....

Kathy

You have a real problem. I,m sure Matz isn,t going to work his horses to suit you.

Settle down Soto, I was only musing. I realize how things are. You apparently take things way too seriously. You ever heard of something called drama. Your remark was uncalled for.

How does that song go, What the world needs now is love, sweet love? I don't thing so! What the world needs now is humor! Relax, time out! We may all love this family of horses and their connections but We're not loonies! We know Nicanor and his brothers are not going to win every race but why should anyone care if we hope so? We like to dream cause we love them. So what? Some fans are new to the racing world and some are old timers, er I mean experienced, so this is not lala land. However, if it was, so what? We all have a chance to watch and learn while a young racer comes to terms with his world and all that it entails.  How great is that? We're really very fortunate to be a part of all of this. n'est-ce pas?

Amanda,

If you are in contact with LVR's connections and the farm, please thank them for all of us for their generosity in letting us be apart of this family.

Having a broodmare on a big Thoroughbred breeding farm, I KNOW how overworked everyone at Mill Ridge is right now.

I think that most foals are born in March.  Mares almost always foal  in the middle of the night.  That means that the staff have to be up for the foaling and for the hours after foaling.  It is an EXHAUSTING time for the farm staff.

Isn't it exciting to be following the progress of a racehorse in training?  Now you all know how I and other owners feel waiting for that little snippet of good news--and sometimes not so good news--from our trainers!

Nicanor is not yet "late" for a work after his race.  It wouldn't be unheard of for him to go two weeks before a work with nothing at all being wrong.

Nicanor might have had a hard race--after all, his Beyer was something like a 93 which is pretty darn good.

When trainers' say, "let's see how he came out of the race (work)" before they make any plans, they are not just looking for injuries, but also for how the horse handled it in other physical and mental ways.  If a horse had a hard race, they will often go off their feed and drop weight.  They need to be built back up before they can race again or breeze.  There are a lot of reasons besides injuries on why a horse won't be back on the work tab soon after a race.

Phrases like "dove into his feed tub" mean the race/breeze didn't take a lot out of him.

Hope that helps.

Soto.. I agree with Kathy.  She did not post anything out of line.  

MartiGuzman......

These pictures are beautiful and you are one lucky person to have the honers of getting this close to this horse.  Most people can only dream of getting that close to these beautiful horses (particuarly Nicanor) :).  I love your pictures.  Keep them coming. :)

JAJ,  

    Your comments are always very informative and usefull from an owner's perspective, I just wanted to thank you!, I have had Horses growing up and have followed them my whole life and I have learned more then I thought I needed to learn from all different perspective's on this blog and other Bloodhorse article's, So to you, Thanks Again...

Greg J.

You are more than welcome.  I love this sport and want it to continue.  I love my horses, too.

I hope I have supplied you with some information so that when the uninformed go off on a rant about how cruel horse racing is, you can answer them with knowledge about what really goes on in the backstretch and on the breeding farms.

There is too much misinformation out there.

Thank you for the photos of Nicanor and notes on his physical differences to his older brother.  Will love photos of the new brother when Mill Ridge gets a break in their work load.

I'd bet the new baby looks a lot like Barbaro and a lot like Lentenor, as a result.  We all know he will be absolutely adorable and probably have very long legs as well!  His personality is what I'll be looking for.  Nicanor seemed to be a  quiet foal, while Lentenor was exuberant. Seeing Babynor and then waiting for Nic's next race, and then Lentenor's arrival at FHTC -- all wonderful things ahead this spring!

Thanks for the pictures of Nicanor. He is just beautiful. .

Have they named the baby yet?

Oh, and Rag's little girl is absolutley adorable. .

Best wishes to Nicanor and Lentanor in whatever way they fit and exceed the best in 'horsedom'...any pictures of the 2009 LVR/Dynaformer colt?

does anybody have any information about his other brother Lentenor i would be very interested to see how that horse is doing i didnt get the privlege to bet on nicanor his last time out he looks ok i notices he about came back and one won the maiden special weight i was just wondered how many special weight races he i sgoing to be in because at some point somebody is going to have to put him in a position to win a big race to do much to define his career. i was origonally thinking the florida derby but i can see not that is not where they are going i would like to know if he is actually running the preakness or the belmont but i dont see much there either unless he can handel the distance of church hill wich they it looks like they do think he can right now because somebody said 7 furlongs is the right disatnce for him but i would think your kind of stuck i actually think that he can handel a longer distance but it is kinda hard to tell right now dont get me rong i will always love nicanor and barbaros family but i question where they are going with this horse, i think that if he hadnt lost the first race he was in we would all be talking about the kentucky derby and the triple crown i think there is very narrow margin of error in horse race now a days if the horse isnt perfect a lot of peoples thoughts are who cares by the way i have seen a lot of horses who are potential for the derby have the same record that he has right now and the have been beet before but i know the derby is based on points how many races you win how many races you get 2nd and how many races you finsh in a month and i think that is where it all went wrong and i think if the put him in the florida derby this weekend which i dont think they are and he won depending on the point he could still be there but that is a long shot and i realize that i think that maybe they should point nicanor at something like the breader's cup  thanks for the pictures  

Has Matz said if he'll be sending Nicanor to Keeneland?  That's my track and I'd LOVE to see him in person!

Great photos.  Thanks for sharing.

Thank you so much-He's a sweet horse. If I were the Jacksons, I wouldn't race him. They have Lentenor and the new colt. I would hate for something to happen to him too!!

Hey Dona!  Ragdoll?  What a great name for Rags' new foal!  Or a name with that in it. And I agree with the rest of you.  If she takes after her Momma she'll be a handfull.

Marti thanks for the beautiful pictures of Nicanor.  It's so great to be able to watch him grow and mature through your eyes.

what a gorgeous boy!

These photographs are fantastic. But, I was just surfing the web and found this painting on Nicanor and the dog he was named after. stores.prime-equine.com/Categories.bok**NEW+RELEASE**+NICANOR

Is there any word on when Nicanor will be racing next?  I'm looking forward to seeing him run again with the same jockey as last time on him.  

Dear Jacksons and Mr. Matz, Nic is LOVELY, BUT WILL NEVER COMPARE TO BARBARO. I LOVED BARBARO. I'm still reading everything I can get my hands on about beautiful "B" as I referred to him. PLEASE, PLEASE, DON'T MAKE NIC RACE ANYMORE! Mr. Matz I saw you when you came to Georgia in 1996. You are awesome and such a GREAT Jumper trainer. Can't Nic and the new baby be trained for some other discipline?  GOOD LUCK. A Huge TB Lover> OC

Hi Mat H,

A maiden special weight is restricted to horses who have never won a race.  He will probably stay in MSW races until he breaks (wins) his maiden, in other words wins his first race.

Nicanor has a lot to learn about racing and he needs to be developed.  It would be a mistake to put him up against horses he can't compete with.

The odds are that he will never win a really big race--very few horses ever do.  He can still be a very good racehorse and never win a stakes race.  Let him excel against the class of horse he belongs with.  Maybe he will be a famous racehorse in his own right, but he still needs to be developed to get there.

Ondrea Culp, asking that Nicanor not be raced is just silly.  His sole reason for being is to race.  There appears to be no reason for the horse to be retired.

Further to what JAJ was saying. The Jacksons raise racehorses, and do a very good job of raising good ones. They are sporting people who like watching their horses compete at a high level. To ask them not to run the horse negates the whole purpose of breeding them, end of story.

Our Nicky is so photogenic just like his brothers.  Thank you so much for the beautiful pictures.

O.K.  Might as well just accept that he is going to be a racehorse, whether or not we want him to.    Some of us will always worry about him and his younger brothers.  Mrs. J said Grief is the price we pay for loving them, so is Worry.  Need to go find some of those beads!

Marigold,

Believe me, every owner and trainer worries about their horses.  Racing and race training are not without risks.

Wow--what wonderful photos, thanks so much for sharing them with us. Wishing only the best for Nicanor, and will continue to follow his progress.  Thanks!!

Been following Barbaro & family for quite awhile...enjoy the blog...could someone please tell me where I can have a "look-see" at Ice Road's pedigree...I always like to see what the "down side" holds...the mare & her "family" count, you know.......Thanx

The pictures are beautiful.I wish Michael Matz and Nicky the best.Jockey Jose Lezcano certainly fits him very well.Lezcano has great soft hands and never abuses his horses.I hope he continues to ride him.

Thanks for the great pics!!

JAJ & Wanda, I look to your name for correct info of racing as you are owners.  I'm on a small racing facility board & own pasture ornaments(ha ha).  Some I know about racing but your insight as racing owners is what I look for.  Thanks for being willing to give the info!

Yes - the flooding is as bad as TV shows.  ND Horse Park & NDSU have opened barns to take in flood refugees.

Such a beautiful horse. It's almost like seeing Barbaro again.

Hope this is the right Ice Road:

www.pedigreequery.com/ice+road

Caveat- Pedigreequery is sometimes not accurate.  Mostly, but sometimes...

HorseFirst:

Thanx bunches....yes, this sounds like the right one...grey/roan, D/B 2006...that would put him just right...interesting downside......