"It is no easy task to take a horse who raced, let alone a horse who raced at that level and success who was highly competitive and turn him into a horse that can watch other horses fly past him at mock speed without wanting to run after them!"
"I sent Markdale, a stakes place Thoroughbred in our barn, to Claire Hunter after his racing career was cut short from a minor injury. Our hopes were for him to become our lead Pony horse. As the Pony performs a daily task of taking all of our young up and comers out to the track, they have to be very close to perfect in the skills they acquire. Markdale we felt had the temperament, but we wouldn't know for sure if he would work until we sent him for training. It was important that whomever put the work into him be sensitive to what he would be doing and very precise in their training. When the Pony is on the track every day with expensive yearlings, he is depended upon heavily, and there is no room for error.
Claire did a fantastic job with him. He was at Braecrest only 5 weeks and he came back ready to work. There is a lot I could say but I have attached pictures which I think speak for themselves. The race shot is Markdale (big white face) in the Queenston Stake, he finished 2nd. The other picture is Markdale sleeping waiting for the next set of babies to go out in Florida just weeks ago. It is no easy task to take a horse who raced, let alone a horse who raced at that level and success who was highly competitive, and turn him into a horse that can watch other horses fly past him at mock speed without wanting to run after them!"
"Thank you Claire, for all of your hard work with Markdale"
Eric Coatrieux
Private Trainer for Chiefswood Stables
