2003 Breeders' Cup Classic Winner
April 2 - Pleasantly Perfect
This was a wonderful racehorse. When speaking with the Ford family about painting the star of the Diamond A Racing stable, we were talking about which race we would paint. He won the Breeders' Cup Classic, which to many is the crown jewel of racing in North American for older horses but he also won the Dubai World Cup. As you can tell from the painting, they chose to go with the Dubai World Cup as a subject. The decision was a sentimental one because they flew their entire family to Dubai, and they watched the race together. It's not just a painting about a horse race, but it's a painting about a family reunion.
Pleasantly Perfect was a late blooming bay who saved his best running for the biggest stages, including a victory in the world's richest race. He was foaled in 1998, a son of 1981 Kentucky Derby winner Pleasant Colony out of the mare Regal State. He raced for Diamond A Racing Corporation and was trained by Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, the patient horseman who knew exactly when to push a horse forward. Pleasantly Perfect did not even start his career until age three, but once he hit his stride he became one of the very best around.
The signature day of his career came in 2003 at Santa Anita Park, where he stunned the racing world with a victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic. With Alex Solis in the saddle, he ran down the favored Medaglia d'Oro in deep stretch and crossed the wire as a champion. That same afternoon, his stablemate Action This Day also won, helping Richard Mandella make history with four Breeders' Cup wins on a single card. Pleasantly Perfect had finally announced himself to the racing public.
He topped that performance the following spring with a trip halfway around the world. In March 2004 he traveled to the Middle East and captured the Dubai World Cup, which was at the time the richest horse race on the planet. The win brought his career earnings past $7.7 million and made him a true international star. He kept on running well that summer and added another big win in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar before being retired to stud.
Pleasantly Perfect stood at Stonewall Farm and later in Argentina, where he sired a number of stakes winners. His own career stood as proof that horses can take time to mature and that the right trainer can bring out greatness when others might have given up. Richard Mandella got every ounce of class out of his bay runner, and Pleasantly Perfect rewarded him with two of the most memorable wins of the early 2000s.
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