PENPOINTS
by Kevin Grace
Little Current's passing was like losing a best friend
For some people man's best friend is a dog, but for me it was a horse. This 
horse wasn't just any old horse-the horse was Little Current. I had the good 
fortune to know Little Current on a personal level. I was his publicist for the 
past six years.

Many people remember Little Current as the 1974 Preakness and Belmont Stakes 
winner and champion 3-year-old colt. He won each of those races by seven lengths 
after trailing most of the way. His Preakness victory was the third fastest of 
all time - equaling Nashua's. In the Belmont, he ran the last half- mile and 
quarter-mile faster than Secretariat did the previous year! 

Appearing as he did in the shadow of the legendary Secretariat, some of Little 
Current's accomplishments were overshadowed and some of them forgotten.

When I got the call on the morning of January 20, 2003, telling me that Little 
Current was put down the day before due to colic, I was caught off guard. It was 
one of the worst days of my life, and believe me I've had plenty of them. You 
see I was supposed to visit him eight days later!

I first met Little Current in the spring of 1997. There were to be many more 
visits. I traveled to Monroe, Wash., located 45 minutes northeast of Seattle. 
The town is nestled in the scenic Cascade Mountains. The green pastures and 
rolling hills look like the photographs of Ireland that you see in a travel 
brochure. The environment was very serene - fitting for a retired champion.

When I first met him, the only thing that I knew about L. C. was that he won the 
Preakness one year after Secretariat. His owners Mark and Ann Hansen, a husband 
and wife who are both veterinarians, told me that L. C. also won the Belmont. 
What I didn't know until much later-when I saw a video of both races-was the way 
he won. That made me a fan for life. My admiration grew still more when I found 
out about the injustice he faced in the Kentucky Derby.

Upon first meeting Little Current, I noticed that he was a good-looking chestnut 
horse who still had muscular legs and chest and a long flowing mane. He enjoyed 
the bag of peppermints and carrots that I brought along. He was personable and 
charismatic.

I returned to Baltimore determined to know more about this horse and his 
accomplishments on and off the track. I discovered that he was named after a 
town on Manitoulin Island in Ontario where John Galbreath, who bred and owned 
Little Current under the banner of his famed Darby Dan Farm, had a summer 
retreat. The town is currently raising funds for a statue of the horse to be 
unveiled early this summer.

Probably the most shocking revelation was the three extenuating factors that 
prevented him from becoming a Triple Crown hero. The 100th running of the 
Kentucky Derby, in 1974, had the biggest field ever-23 horses. Most people will 
agree that the Derby is not the best of the Triple Crown races but sometimes, 
especially then, it was a cavalry charge. Then there was the fact that his 
trainer, Lou Rondinello, was in the hospital with kidney stones. There were no 
cell phones then to communicate last minute instructions. The last contributing 
factor was a change in jockey. Little Current's regular rider Angel Cordero 
agreed to ride the eventual Derby winner, Cannonade. Bobby Ussery, who had 
ridden Darby Dan's Proud Clarion to a Derby victory in 1967, took the mount on 
Little Current-whom he had not previously ridden.

Stuck behind a wall of horses for most of the Derby, and at one call even last, 
Little Current rallied down the stretch, passing 16 rivals and getting fifth 
place - six and a half lengths behind the winner. The following year there was a 
rule named after him.

The so-called Little Current rule limits the Derby field to 20 horses.

I dedicated the past several years to informing anyone who would listen about 
the injustice done to Little Current.
Some people remembered him racing as if it were yesterday, and some were amazed 
at how old he was. Little Current's pedigree is phenomenal. His sire was the 
legendary *Sea-Bird, a horse of the year in England and France. *Sea-Bird won 
the Epsom Derby and the Prix de 1'Arc de Triomphe in 1965. He lost only one race 
in his career.

Little Current has passed his genes on through 533 foals in 21 crops. Out of 
that group 435 were starters and 327 became winners. His progeny earnings are 
$15, 342, 815. He sired 35 stakes winners. Some of his notable offspring are 
1994 Ecuadorian champion sprinter and handicap horse Chupon; 1983 Flamingo-Gl 
and Hutcheson Stakes-G3 winner Current Hope; 1979 Hollywood Oaks-Gl winner Prize 
Spot; and the 22-time stakes winner Curribot.

Little Current also turned out to be a strong broodmare sire.

Numerous owners of Little Current's offspring have contacted me over the past 
several years while researching their horses' pedigrees; some of them were 
stunned to find out about L. C. 's accomplishments. All of the folks I spoke 
with sounded like proud parents when telling me about their horses. Our 
conversations helped to explain some of their horses' behavior-like their sire, 
many of L. C. 's offspring wanted to be the center of attention, and craved 
peppermints.

When you think about how long ago 1974 really was, you can't help but respect 
Little Current's longevity and durability. Richard Nixon resigned due to the 
Watergate scandal that year... 19-year-old Patricia Hearst was kidnapped by the 
Symbionese Liberation Army... Henry Aaron hit his 715th home run to break Babe 
Ruth's home run record... and Muhammad Ali regained his heavyweight crown versus 
George Foreman in the famous "Rumble in the Jungle" match.

All of these events are memorable and seem frozen in time, but they happened 29 
years ago. Scientists have a desire to clone humans; I have a desire for a 
scientist to clone Little Current. The racing world would have this equine 
treasure to admire for another 32 years!

On Derby week I'll say a final good-bye to L. C. I'm planning a ceremony for the 
dedication of his headstone and statue at his grave at Buck Pond Farm in 
Versailles, Ky. For more information on this great champion I encourage you to 
view the web-site I have dedicated to him: www. littiecurrent. net.

That same week, the Racing Hall of Fame will announce this year's inductees. 
Hopefully, with luck and a 
lot of prayers, the Hall of Fame will finally give Little Current the respect he 
deserves.  

MID-ATLANTIC THOROUGHBRED APRIL 2003