Image Caption: From left to right: Anisette, Prince Abama, Savel, Beach Hero, Cali Bay
By Jay Privman
Call them the Magnificent Seven.
Seven former racehorses, all recently retired from racing and in the process of moving on to their second careers via grants from CARMA, will represent Sandia Creek’s Pony Club this October 7-10 at the Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover in Lexington, Ky.
Sandia Creek, located in Fallbrook, Calif., has been a long-time partner with CARMA, taking numerous racehorses and helping them move on to worthwhile second acts. Pony Club, once exclusively for young riders but now open to all ages, has been aligned with Sandia Creek for years.
This year, all of that came together in bunches. Kiersti Wylie, whose family operates Sandia Creek, earlier this year picked out seven horses for seven of her Pony Club riders – whose ages range from 13 to 38 – seeking optimal matches.
“CARMA let me look at all of them,” Wylie said. “I was trying to pick which ones would work with specific riders, and, fortunately, all the riders fell in love with their horses.”
The seven are:
– Anisette, a 5-year-old mare who won three times in 10 starts while racing primarily in Northern California.
– Beach Hero, a 4-year-old gelding who raced once, in the summer of 2025 at Del Mar, before being retired.
– Cali Bay, an Irish-bred 8-year-old gelding who won five times in 17 starts, the final 16 of those starts coming on the Southern California circuit.
– Classical Cat, a 6-year-old who won three times in five starts, including the 2022 Eddie Logan Stakes at Santa Anita.
– Prince Abama, the most-accomplished runner of the seven, who won more than $500,000 by capturing four of 14 starts, including the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup at Del Mar and Grade 3 San Marcos at Santa Anita, after being imported from Ireland.
– Sasafran, a 4-year-old filly who was winless in seven starts in Southern California and who last raced in February.
– and, finally, Savel, who was winless in three starts on the Southern California circuit.
Beach Hero, Cali Bay, Classical Cat, and Prince Abama all were owned by Michael House and trained by Phil D’Amato.
Wylie got all of them in March and April. She said that for the first six weeks or so, they were hand-walked, then they were “re-started,” as she put it, walking and trotting before taking trail rides together.
“Their brains are so quiet. They’ve been so good. They’re just lovely, lovely, lovely horses,” Wylie said. “They’re as solid as could be.”
The Thoroughbred Makeover highlights horses who were recently retired from the track. Wylie said that the seven will compete in either freestyle, competitive trail, or dressage.
“All of them eventually will go on to be hunter-jumpers,” she said. “Thoroughbred Makeover is a first stepping stone. It’s a nice milestone.”
The Pony Club that operates out of Sandia Creek has riders as young as 6, and as old as 74, the latter first learning to ride just two years ago, proving that there are second acts for the humans involved in this process, as well as the horses.
Wylie finds the Thoroughbred to be incredibly versatile and eager to learn new disciplines.
“They’re good, solid, all-around horses who can do anything,” she said.
You might even call them magnificent.