Big Fame (Mr. Big) topped 280 entries to be named the Thoroughbred Makeover Champion, sponsored by Churchill Downs, at the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America Saturday at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Big Fame's route to the title and a $10,000 check took her through the discipline of Eventing, in which the daughter of Mr. Big out of the Western Fame mare Adopted Fame finished fourth in preliminary competition. She also participated in the Show Jumper discipline, finishing second in preliminary rounds and landing second in the finale as well.
“She has got such a great brain, very athletic, willing, and smart,” trainer Angela Carmitchel said of the 5-year-old bay mare. “She's got the work ethic of a Thoroughbred.”
Big Fame, who won two of 13 races and earned $29,070 during her racing career, is still owned by one of her breeders, Dr. Dorothee Kieckhefer.
“From the very beginning, I thought she would just make a wonderful jumper or eventing horse,” Kieckhefer, who was on hand at the Kentucky Horse Park to watch her homebred perform during preliminary rounds, told the Retired Racehorse Project Wednesday. “She just has the presence for the ring, and I think she has a lot of fun. All of the trainers that had her said that she has a wonderful work ethic, but she never really raced in the top levels–she's much better served in this area.”
Discipline champions from the Makeover Challenge are:
Eventing: Big Fame, trained by Angela Carmitchel
Show Jumper: Comin' Back, trained by Madison Barnett
Show Hunter: He Did It, trained by Anissa Butler
Field Hunter: In The Air, trained by Caitlin Brooks
Dressage: Flight To Paradise, trained by Kelly Ransom
Polo: Baytown Ringer, trained by Meghan Shader
Freestyle: Pretty In Prado, trained by Monique Cameron-Hamby
Barrel Racing: Not Phar Now, trained by Jessica Frederick
Competitive Trail: Eagle Feather, trained by Colton Thacker
Ranch Work: Brooklyns Finest, trained by Raechel Ramsey
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