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Icabad Crane

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PHOTO CREDIT: Jim McCue/MJC

Icabad Crane continues the tradition of a Maryland winner heading to the Preakness Stakes. His victory in Pimlico’s Federico Tesio Stakes made him a prominent prospect for the 133rd Preakness Stakes but it appeared at first that he would show up in the Barbaro Stakes on the Preakness undercard.     However, as time went on, the horse was moved ahead to the Preakness list by trainer H. Graham Motion, who is based at Fair Hill, Md. Icabad Crane will be ridden by his regular jockey, Jeremy Rose, who guided Afleet Alex to Preakness and Belmont Stakes victories in 2005.

TRAINER - H. Graham Motion is originally from Cambridge, England and now is a resident of Fair Hill, Md. Breeders’ Cup victories: Turf – Better Talk Now (2004).     Motion was bred for the racetrack. His father, now a semi-retired bloodstock agent, was internationally recognized as the representative of Tattersalls, the British sales company, and his mother, Jo, rode as an amateur jockey in England and worked as an assistant trainer in both England and the United States. She now operates a successful tack shop in Middleburg, Va.     Motion got his start working for Jonathan Sheppard from 1985 to 1990, particularly with three-time Eclipse Award-winning jumper Flatterer, briefly for Jonathan Pease in France and Bernie Bond after his return to the United States in 1991. He took over Bond’s stable on Bond’s retirement. He considers Sheppard and Bond the biggest influences on his career.     The trainer met his wife, Anita, while he was working for Pease and she was working for trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre.     Motion saddled his first winner, Bounding Daisy, at Laurel Park in 1993, and posted his 1,000th career win at the same track on Nov. 16, 2006. He scored his first stakes victory in 1993 with Gala Spinaway, who gave the trainer his first graded-stakes win later that year. His first Grade I victory came with Film Maker in the 2003 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland, and scored his biggest career victory when Better Talk Now won the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Turf.     Better Talk Now, whom Motion calls “the horse of a lifetime,” finished seventh while trying to defend his title in 2005 and came back to finish second in 2006 and fourth in 2007. His other major runner, Film Maker, was second in the 2006 Filly & Mare Turf, and was second in 2004 and third in 2005, both times behind the legendary Ouija Board.     Among his other 2007 stakes winners: Jade’s Revenge, Bridge Game and Rebellion, who won the 2008 Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland.     Adriano, who won the Lane’s End Stakes at Turfway Park, finished 19th of 20 in the Kentucky Derby as Motion saddled his second Kentucky Derby. Chilito finished 11th in 1998. Icabad Crane will be Motion’s third Preakness Stakes starter. Bay Eagle was eighth in 2001 and Equality finished 13th in 2002.

JOCKEY - Jeremy Rose was born on April 1, 1979 in State College, Pa. and now resides in Center Hall, Pa. He had a brilliant 2005, finishing third in the Kentucky Derby aboard Afleet Alex and then took that colt to the winner’s circle in the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. His Preakness Stakes victory came after a breathtaking near-disaster at the head of the Pimlico stretch when Afleet Alex clipped heels with a swerving Scrappy T and nearly went down, only to recover and run off to a scintillating victory.     He won the Eclipse Award as North America’s top apprentice rider of 2001, when he topped the category by wins, 312, and purse earnings, $6,659,411. He was a wrestler in high school who showed horses during his teen-age years. He made his first visit to a racetrack in 1999 and won his first race on Sept. 23, 2000 aboard Daly’s Princess at Delaware Park. He was leading rider at Delaware park in 2001, and was second in 2002.     Rose rides primarily at Mid-Atlantic tracks, primarily Delaware and Maryland. He won Laurel Park winter meeting riding title in 2002 and scored back-to-back victories in the Maryland Million Classic with Sumerset in 2001 and Docent in 2002. His purse earnings for 2007: $9,147,449, placing him in the nation’s top 20 at No. 19; posted 288 wins on the year.

OWNER - Earle I. Mack lives in Palm Beach, Fla. His family includes his wife, Carol, and children Andrew and Beatrice.     Mack was educated at Drexel University and Fordham Law School. He is senior partner and chief financial officer of the Mack Company, a commercial real estate development and managing firm based in Rochelle Park, N.J.     He served as ambassador to Finland in 2004-05 and has served on the boards of a number of civic and cultural organizations, including a stint as chairman of the New York State Council of the Arts. In addition, he served on the boards of the New York City Ballet and the Dance Theater of Harlem.     He bought his first horse, Secret Star, for $2,500 in 1963. He has experienced racing success in the United States, Canada and Europe, owning four international champions. Three of Mack’s horses were Sovereign Award winners in Canada: Peteski, Horse of the Year in 1993; Bruce’s Mill, top 3-year-old male in 1994, and Cryptocloser, best 3-year-old male in 1997.     Electrocutionist was named Italy’s Horse of the Year in 2004. In addition, the horse won the Juddmonte International at York in England and the Gran Premio de Milano in 2005. Also, Mack owned graded turf stakes winner Mr. Light, who set a world record for a mile on the turf in 1:31.41.     Another major star for Mack was November Snow, who won the Alabama and Test stakes at Saratoga in 1992. Among the owner’s other stakes winners are Hydrogen, Currency Arbitrage, Savedbythelight, Screenland and Excellent Tipper.

BREEDER - Gallagher’s Stud in Ghent, N.Y., is owned by Marlene Brody.     Adorahy, the dam of Icabad Crane, is the farm’s major broodmare, from a family that is sprinkled with stakes winners. Adorahy, by Rahy, is out of the Grade III-winning Riverman mare Adorable Micol, and is a half-sister to Grade III winner Ad Cat and stakes winner Adorydar.     Another half-sibling, Adoryphar, is the granddam of multiple stakes winner.