Real Grace Honored as Alberta's Horse of the Year bloodhorse.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bloodhorse.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Real Grace digs deep to win the G3 Canadian Derby
The Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (Alberta Division) hosted the 47th Annual Alberta Thoroughbred Awards in a virtual format on May 20th, 2021, led by Horse of the Year Real Grace.
Real Grace, a Mineshaft gelding, won two of nine starts in 2020, highlighted by an 18-1 upset victory in the Grade 3 Canadian Derby at Century Mile. Earlier in the season, he also won the Derby Trial Stakes at Assiniboia Downs.
The gelding started his 2020 campaign at Tampa Bay Downs after selling as a unraced racing-age prospect at the Ocala Breeders Sales Co. Winter Mixed Sale in January. He raced twice in Florida, including a second-place effort in a maiden special weight for owner and trainer Bernell Rhone. He then shipped north to Canterbury Park for another second-place effort, this time with additional owners Shelley Brown, Jean McEwan, and Bette Holtman.
Outstanding Groom Award: Michelle Gibson
Michelle learned everything she could about riding and horse care when she attended riding school in Caledon. She began to work with top circuit show jumpers and was soon travelling throughout the United States to major horse shows. When her son Devin was born in 2001, Michelle wanted to leave travelling behind and she checked in at Woodbine racetrack where she got her first job with Thoroughbreds.
Michelle has worked for Hall of Fame trainer Robert Tiller for almost 10 years and she is the groom of Pink Lloyd, the 2017 Horse of the Year, a six-time Sovereign Award winner. Michelle, who likes to have lots of time to get her horses ready and is at the barn at 3:30 a.m. each morning, believes her strengths as a groom come from her meticulous work habits and ability to multi-task. Humbled by receiving the Sovereign Award, Michelle is grateful that she gets to work at what she loves. “The horses are my therapy, they keep me sound and they keep
Mighty Heart Named Horse of the Year in Canada bloodhorse.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bloodhorse.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.