Even though I raised Egyptian Arabians in another state,
I could literally cry for joy to see Secretariat run. Most beautiful thing I ever saw, and in the Belmont he was still picking up speed at the finish line. Nobody ever found out completely how fast he could run when he wanted to.
Except I had a fine little mare one inch over pony size, and she could've run even Secretariat into the ground at anything over 2 miles. One time only I got to feel her absolute top speed was when a crop duster pilot friend of mine agreed to fly low overhead so she'd have something to chase that she couldn't catch. She screamed in rage when he pulled away; she'd already dropped before then and I mistakenly thought she'd reached her limit. But when that happened she dropped a little more and really took off. Never been on a faster horse, and I've done my share. Reason I know she could've taken Secretariat at 2+ miles is because I once let her run pretty much full out for 3 miles before it seemed necessary to make her slow down.
But then Sunshine was not an Americanized faux-Arabian at all. I don't like the big Russian or Polish lines. To be authentic and capable of anything useful except (ugh!) halter class, they need an unbroken bloodline straight back to the desert.
Tell your Mom I said hello.
