Rich Strike may have shocked the sports world with his stunning 80-1 upset in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) at Churchill Downs, but for Mayberry Farm, the winner of the Run for the Roses is just the latest star in a long line of grade 1 winners to have received their early lessons at the family-run training operation near Ocala.
April Mayberry, a fourth-generation horsewoman, operates Mayberry Farm along with her mother, Jeanne, and sister, Summer. April and Summer's late father, Brian, who passed away in 1998 at the age of 60 following a battle with cancer, was a leading trainer in Southern California in the late 1980s and 90s. Although he never started a horse in the Kentucky Derby, Brian won the Kentucky Oaks (G1) in 1984 with Sardula for his primary owners Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Moss.
The family's success in Kentucky doesn't end there. Brian's grandfather and April and Summer's great-grandfather, John Mayberry, won the Kentucky Derby as a trainer in 1903 with Judge Himes.
It's clear that expert horsemanship runs in the family. April and Summer have inherited an instinctual understanding of the equine athletes they prepare. Mayberry Farm breaks and trains 100 horses every breaking season, putting the young equines through their paces and teaching them how to become racehorses.
Rich Strike's gutsy triumph in the Kentucky Derby provided Mayberry Farm with its first-ever Kentucky Derby winner. Watching from home in Florida, April won't soon forget the thrill of Rich Strike rallying down the inner rail in deep stretch. Evidently, April's neighbors won't either.
"I had friends and my mother over," April shared. "I'll tell you what, at the eighth pole, I am happy the police didn't show up at my house because I am sure my neighbors thought someone was getting killed. The dogs ran for cover. Everyone in the house was screaming. It was one of the most exciting things ever. It was like, 'Oh my God, I can't believe it.'"
While Rich Strike may not have been a standout student when he began his initial training lessons, April believed that the colt just needed time to mature before discovering his best stride. Unquestionably, Rich Strike raised his game for trainer Eric Reed and found his top form when it mattered most.
"He was always a nice horse to be around," remembered Mayberry. "He was still quite the teenager by the time he left us. There was a lot more focusing he needed to do. A lot of times with colts it's just time. That's something as a trainer, you can't make them do (focus). He was broke, and did everything he was supposed to do, but there wasn't a lot of concentration going on yet. I was never worried it wouldn't come. I knew it would eventually.
"He was just like a teenage boy for lack of a better phrase," Mayberry added. "He was always full of himself; he wanted to play. He was a happy horse, but he didn't have a lot of concentration. For the most part, he was just happy to train, happy to go out in his paddock, just a cool horse to be around."
What impressed April the most about Rich Strike's Kentucky Derby performance was the composure that the son of Keen Ice demonstrated on racing's biggest day. Even though Rich Strike lacked the credentials of many of the horses he faced in the Derby, he stealthily ran down Epicenter and Zandon with an explosive stretch run and vanquished the leading 3-year-olds in the world despite having just a single win to his credit. The lone victory was achieved in a $30,000 maiden claiming event at Churchill Downs, a race he won by 17 1/4 lengths Sept. 17 as a juvenile. He was claimed away that afternoon from owner/breeder Calumet Farm and trainer Joe Sharp.
"The thing that really came through in the Derby if you take the talent away from it was the confidence," she said. "The confidence that the horse had and the confidence the rider (Sonny Leon) had. The horse can't read the tote board. Horses don't know what their pedigree is, they don't know who their mother is. That horse ran with such confidence. I wish all my horses had that kind of confidence. He ran like he was a 3-2 shot and the rider rode him like he was 3-2. I think not having the pressure of being 3-2 was great for them because they could do no wrong."
Rich Strike's exercise rider during his days at Mayberry Farm was Eddie Herrera-Ordonez, who generated some memorable Derby lore of his own. In addition to being the first rider to get on Rich Strike's back, Ordonez also broke, trained, and pinhooked White Abarrio, another Kentucky Derby participant.
Acquired by Ordonez for $7,500 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales 2020 Winter Mixed Sale, White Abarrio sold to Carlos Perez for $40,000 the following year under the Nice and Easy Thoroughbreds banner at the OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. The son of Race Day captured the Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa (G1) and the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park before finishing 16th in the Kentucky Derby.
"Eddie actually went to the Derby to watch White Abarrio, and it's interesting that Rich Strike won," Mayberry said. "I don't know what the odds of that happening would be, but I find it amazing."
April credits Mayberry Farm's success to the experience that the family received working on the racetrack prior to opening the gates to their farm.
"Most people go from the farm to the racetrack," Mayberry said. "We did it the opposite way, which I think is a big advantage for us. Being at the track for so long, I remember when I would get the 2-year-olds in, and the things that would maybe bug me a bit about how they were broke, the things they were afraid of, we've been able to take all of that and tweak it a little bit. That allows us to prepare horses how I would want to receive them if I was still at the racetrack. That's what we try to do with every horse. It's interesting to have come full circle."
The Mayberry family is synonymous with success, having prepared some of the industry's top performers in recent years. Among the horses that have benefited from early education at Mayberry Farm are the likes of grade 1 winners Zenyatta, Flightline , Accelerate, Texas Red , and Exaggerator, just to name a handful.
Reflecting on the journey and the high-level success achieved by the farm, Mayberry said, "To be involved from birth and to see the horses we've had our hands on over the years is just amazing. I didn't come into this industry in my 20s thinking I want to be a horse trainer. For most trainers, that's the way you do it. I don't know if I can articulate how special it is for us. It's unbelievable. It really is."
For April, who worked for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert at Churchill Downs before joining her family at Mayberry Farm, Rich Strike's win reminded her of those days in Louisville working alongside Silver Charm, winner of the 1997 Kentucky Derby, and Real Quiet, who won the 1998 Kentucky Derby.
"When I used to work for Baffert in my early days in Kentucky, I was there with Silver Charm and Real Quiet when they won the Derby," Mayberry said. "There is nothing in the world like the Derby. Unless you are in it, there aren't words to describe it.
"Watching on TV brought back memories of what it's like to be there," she added. "And that made it all the more exciting and special for me. To know what everyone there was thinking and feeling made it even more special. There is nothing in the world like it."
While Rich Strike's dramatic victory on a national stage helped Mayberry Farm achieve a milestone that every operation in the Thoroughbred business strives for, Mayberry was still unable to locate the exact words to describe the experience a few days after the historical win.
"It's hard to put into words," Mayberry said. "This business can have the highest highs and the lowest lows. There's nothing else like it. (This win shows) anyone can do it, and it is possible for anyone to play on that stage, which is what makes it such a great game. It's such a feel-good deal, and we're so happy for the owner (Richard Dawson's RED TR-Racing) and trainer, and everyone involved. I know how they feel. It's amazing. I don't know if there are words to describe it."
