2003 American Horse of the Year
May 17 - Mineshaft
Mineshaft has a noble pedigree sired by AP Indy, the best son (at stud) of Seattle Slew and out of a Mr. Prospector daughter.
Bred by the Farish family and raced by their Lane's End Farm along with partners Temple Webber and James Elkins.
Mr. Farish was the ambassador to England which might explain why this Kentucky bred started his racing career in England on the turf, before returning to the states and going on to be voted the Horse of the Year in 2003 after banking over $2 million in earnings.
I have never painted for the Farish family or Lane's End but as we put together the book, A Brush With Greatness, I had painted all the Horses of the Year from 2000 through 2015 with the exception of Mineshaft, so, I painted him and he is part of my personal collection.
Mineshaft was a brilliant champion older horse who became the 2003 Horse of the Year. He was foaled in 1999 and trained by Neil Howard for breeders and owners William S. Farish and James Elkins of Lane's End Farm. His sire was the legendary A.P. Indy, the 1992 Horse of the Year, and his dam was Prospectors Delite, a Grade 1 winning daughter of the great Mr. Prospector. He carried as much pedigree as any horse of his era, with Mr. Prospector, Secretariat, and Buckpasser all close in his family.
Mineshaft started his racing career in England as a three year old in 2002. He showed flashes of talent on the grass but never quite found his best stride. Neil Howard brought him back to America for his four year old year in 2003 and switched him to the dirt, and the change worked like magic. Mineshaft turned into one of the very best older horses in the country.
His 2003 campaign was a tour de force. He won the Pimlico Special at Pimlico, the Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park, the Woodward Stakes at Belmont, and the Jockey Club Gold Cup, beating top older horses in race after race. The wins came on the front end, in the middle, and from off the pace, showing a versatility few horses of his time could match. He was set to run in the 2003 Breeders Cup Classic at Santa Anita, but a foot injury forced him into early retirement just before the race. Even with that miss, voters easily named him the 2003 Horse of the Year and Eclipse Award Champion Older Male.
Mineshaft retired with 10 wins from 18 starts and earnings of over 2.2 million dollars. He went to stud at Lane's End Farm in Kentucky and became a top sire of major runners. His best son was Effinex, who finished second in the 2015 Breeders Cup Classic behind American Pharoah and won the 2015 Clark Handicap. He also sired Discreetly Mine, It's Tricky, and other graded stakes winners. Mineshaft is remembered as a horse whose late blooming brilliance made for a championship season as memorable as any in modern racing.
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