Mean Mary

Lexington, Kentucky native Alex G. Campbell Jr., who campaigned the likes of GSWs winner Karlovy Vary, Mean Mary and Bye Bye Melvin, died in Delray, Florida, Tuesday. He was 95. In addition to Karlovy Vary, who annexed Keeneland's GI Ashland S. in 2012, Campbell previously campaigned Turk O Witz, winner of the 1995 Santa Maria H. in addition to 1996 Big 'Cap scorer Mr Purple. Also running in his colors, dual graded stakes winner Ultra Brat, and Grade III victor It's Tea Time. A member of The Jockey Club for...

MGSW & MGISP Mean Mary (Scat Daddy--Karlovy Vary, by Dynaformer) has been retired from racing. Mary Venezie, who works for owner/breeder Alex G. Campbell, Jr., made the announcement on Twitter Friday. "With heavy hearts, Team Campbell, Graham Motion and Herringswell Stable have decided to retire our girl, Mean Mary," the tweet stated. "She ran a great race and we had so much fun cheering her on. We are very sad, but we are looking to the future and what is best for her." Earning her black-type badge in the 2020...

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL--For all leading trainer Graham Motion has accomplished in an illustrious career, missing from his resume is a victory in any of Chicago's Grade I events. Alex Campbell, Jr.'s Mean Mary (Scat Daddy) will try to right that wrong as the 9-5 morning-line selection for Saturday's GI Beverly D. S., the first of the afternoon's top-level tests. A treble graded winner in 2020, the homebred was just run down by champion Rushing Fall (More Than Ready) in the GI Diana S. last August and weakened to seventh at...

Alex Campbell's Mean Mary (Scat Daddy), who dominated last year's GII New York S. by a front-running 5 1/4 lengths, faces 10 rivals as she seeks to defend her title in the 1 1/4-mile race at Belmont Park Friday. The 5-year-old mare was beaten just a neck when second to Rushing Fall (More Than Ready) in the GI Diana S. at Saratoga last summer and vied for the lead before tiring to seventh in the Nov. 7 GI Breeders' Cup F/M Turf. She went wire-to-wire to win the GIII Gallorette...

The odds-on selection making her seasonal debut in Saturday's GIII Gallorette S. at Pimlico, Mean Mary (Scat Daddy) gave her owner and breeder Alex Campbell, Jr. and trainer Graham Motion their second victory in four years in the race, adding to the success of homebred Ultra Brat (Uncle Mo) in bog-like conditions in 2018. The clear speed in the scratched-down field of five, Mean Mary did no work whatsoever to lead a couple of strides away from the gates and was put to sleep up front by her regular partner...

Bye Bye Melvin took to the rain-soaked turf well at Saturday Saturday, upsetting the GIII Saranac S. at 19-1. Stalking from a joint second through a glacial opening quarter in :27.17, the bay sat back a bit in third, letting Embolden (The Factor) move up to contest the pace with leader Don Juan Kitten through a half in :51.54. Under a ride approaching the far turn, Bye Bye Melvin was churning up sod as he brushed with his neighbor Bodecream (Bodemeister) at the top of the lane, but found his...

The list of horses that have won the GI Diana S. on multiple occasions reads like a veritable horse racing Hall of Fame: Miss Grillo, Tempted, Shuvee, Glowing Honor and Forever Together have all accomplished the feat. Peter Brant's Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) can ascend to the top of that classy heap as she goes for the three-peat Sunday afternoon at Saratoga, but a fait accompli is most certainly is not. The 2018 champion turf female made best use of her superior turn of foot to easily defeat her stablemate...

Every trainer deals with difficult horses, and sometimes they work out and sometimes they don't. There was a time when Graham Motion didn't know whether Mean Mary (Scat Daddy) would fulfill her potential. Owned and bred by Alex Campbell Jr., she was that tough. "You had to have your best rider on her," Motion said.  "You had to have her on the pony or she'd pull some antics going to the track. Nothing that was unmanageable, but something you always had to be ready for. She was just very tough."...