The Remarkable Journey of The Player

Every stallion has a story, but few own a tale as compelling as The Player 's.

Since his days growing up on the Bradley family's Indian Ridge Farm near Frankfort, Ky., the charismatic chestnut colt has been beloved for his sharp mind and quirky, oddly laid-back disposition. As a racehorse, he propelled himself to elite company, winning multiple graded stakes and was seemingly on-track to grab the more elusive title of grade 1 winner. 

Then the fairytale disintegrated, shattered along with both sesamoids in The Player's right front leg as he rolled through the final turn of last spring's New Orleans Handicap (G2). Jockey Calvin Borel pulled the nearly 17-hand horse up quickly, jumped off, and held his leg. Not only had The Player's racing career vanished, but cradled in Borel's hand was an injury so severe that The Player's chances of surviving were slim to none.

Trainer William "Buff" Bradley, who co-bred The Player with his late father, Fred, and longtime partner Carl Hurst and raced the horse in partnership with Hurst, still finds it difficult to talk about the events of March 24 last year, the day of the New Orleans Handicap.

"I've known him all his life and have been with him since day one," Bradley said. "I have a 100 stories to tell about him. I have more pictures on my phone of him than I do of my kids, and they know that and laugh about it."

Named The Player because of playful behavior as a foal, the young colt grabbed attention early by regularly sitting out in the pasture on his hocks like a dog. 

"He is one of most intelligent horses I have ever been around. He would sit in the field and do a 360, all the way around, just looking at things," Bradley said. The Player's quirks at first were more concerning than amusing. Convinced the colt had a neurological problem, the Bradleys sent him twice to their vet at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, Dr. Bob Hunt, to be evaluated.

"Finally, Dr. Hunt called me and said: 'Buff, stop sending him over here. He's fine. He's just that way.'"

While on the farm, The Player picked up the nickname "Angus." He had gone to the clinic for a couple of days because he'd gotten sick, and when Dr. Nathan Slovis called Bradley to come take him home, the veterinarian told him: "This colt's a rock star. He's fine, so come get him."

The rock star moniker stuck with Bradley's ex-wife, who at the time was naming the foals after rock bands. The Player got his nickname from Angus Young, co-founder of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC.

Laid Back, But Still a Fighter

Once in training, The Player only got quirkier.

He would lie down for hours in his stall, often sticking his head out underneath the stall gate so he could monitor the shedrow activity while napping. The colt also would eat hay lying down, barely picking his head up out of the straw. He continued, too, his habit of contemplating the world around him sitting upright.

The Player's unusually laid-back attitude at the barn never dulled his competitive spirit on the track, however. The son of Street Hero broke his maiden in his third start by 5 1/2 lengths, going a mile in 1:34.97. The Player grabbed the lead after the opening four furlongs and then "repelled bids, drew off," according to chart notes. By his fifth start, he was graded-placed following a second by three-quarters of a length to eventual grade 1 winner Cupid  in the Indiana Derby (G2). 

At 4, The Player kept improving and finished in the money in four of six starts, which included a three-length victory over Neolithic  and McCraken  in the Hagyard Fayette Stakes (G2) at Keeneland. His Fayette performance earned him a career high 114 Equibase Speed Figure. In his next start, The Player tried grade 1 company for the first time in the Clark Handicap presented by Norton Healthcare, where he finished in mid-pack.

The Player developed quite a social media following in 2017, when Bradley set up a Facebook page for him. The page now features over 130 photos, more than 20 videos, and more than 5,000 people following Angus' adventures.

The fan base was primed and ready for 2018, and The Player did not disappoint. He followed a fourth-place finish in a listed stakes at Fair Grounds Race Track & Slots with a 4 1/4-length gate-to-wire romp in the Mineshaft Handicap (G3). This performance made him the 4-5 favorite when the gates sprung for the New Orleans Handicap.

Tragedy Strikes

"I knew as soon as Calvin pulled him up it was serious. Calvin knew, too," Bradley remembered of Borel throwing on the brakes at the top of the Fair Grounds stretch. "I have to give a lot of credit to Calvin for knowing the horse. He said he was traveling beautifully and then he felt something was wrong, so he pulled him up quickly."

Bradley's voice cracked, and for a minute he couldn't talk. Though it's been 10 months, he still cannot avoid reliving the heartsickness and sharp emotional pain from that day. 

Dr. Bradford Bentz, with Equine Medicine and Surgery, met Bradley and Hurst at the barn, took radiographs, and delivered the bad news. Both sesamoid bones at the back of The Player's right front fetlock were fractured and his whole suspensory apparatus was a mess. Bentz told the owners the horse was a good candidate to be euthanized.

"You can try to save him, but don't get your hopes up. Don't think good things are just going to happen," Bentz told Bradley and Hurst.

"The one question Carl and I had for him was: 'Can it be done?'" Bradley asked about repairing the joint. "He said: 'Yes.'"

Bentz then phoned Dr. Charles McCauley, clinical assistant professor of surgery at Louisiana State University's School of Veterinary Medicine, who was watching one of his children play baseball when he got the call. Bradley knew McCauley because he had come out to Fair Grounds the previous month to do a dynamic scope on one of the trainer's other horses, and Bradley was impressed with his knowledge and skill.

McCauley incidentally values these after-hours calls.

"It means people trust you," he would say later. McCauley reviewed the radiographs of The Player's fetlock on his mobile phone and called Bradley.

"Buff, I haven't done a lot of these, but we can do it. It is going to depend on the horse whether he makes it," Bradley remembers McCauley telling him, followed by the same laundry list of potential complications Bentz had laid out earlier, which included injury to another limb during recovery, laminitis, re-injury, and complications from infection. 

"We told Dr. McCauley to do what he had to do. Then Carl and I went into the room with Dr. Bentz and cried, and we talked through the pros and cons and everything about how we were going to go about it," Bradley said. 

With his leg secured by a Kimsey splint, The Player was shipped that evening to LSU with the plan in place to do surgery the following Monday. McCauley told the owners he needed a day to pull together the staff required for a long operation.

"From my perspective, it isn't so much that the surgery itself is incredibly complicated or that there can be problems with the actual repair, it is the aftercare that is important," McCauley said. "Horses that go through this don't get euthanized because the repair fails; it is because they founder in the opposite leg. That is always the vision you have with horses in these situations."

McCauley added that he doesn't see many of these severe breakdown injuries because most of the time the victims are euthanized at the racetrack.

"They rarely get to us," he said. 

Having fractured both sesamoids was bad enough, but The Player's case was more complicated because he had also severely damaged both his superficial and deep digital flexor tendons, according to McCauley. Basically, no part of the suspensory apparatus holding together the fetlock joint functioned.

"We had to completely depend on the plate to maintain the stability of the fetlock joint. That contributed to several other complicating factors as well," said McCauley.

The Long Road to Recovery

When the surgery was done, a locking metal plate and 16 screws held his fetlock together. Now the waiting game began, and the road to recovery would not be smooth—as expected.

The Player remained at the LSU hospital for 178 days. During that time McCauley and his staff dealt with persistent lameness caused by a combination of the severely damaged soft tissue in the horse's leg and some instability that developed with the repair. 

McCauley said some of the screws came loose and backed out, and infection developed around one screw that had to be replaced. Minor surgery was done to replace broken screws and tighten others. 

"Even though these complications extended his hospitalization, we were able to get them all resolved," McCauley said. 

The Player never developed laminitis in the opposite leg, which is what ultimately led to the demise of Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Barbaro. The Player's quirky laid-back personality and penchant for taking long leisurely naps—for hours at a time—most certainly saved his life.

"His attitude, his disposition, and his behavior were major factors in his recovery. Had he not done what he had done, his chances of failing would have increased," McCauley said. "I mean, he would lay down for hours every day. He would stretch out and lie comfortably in the stall. He took care of himself when he got up and down. This was very unusual. He would lay down for probably eight to 10 hours a day, if not more. Most horses don't lie down for an hour let alone eight to 10. It is a big deal." 

While at LSU, The Player had to get the hoof on his damaged leg shod. The farrier did all his work as the horse lay in his stall without any tranquilizer required, only someone sitting next to him rubbing his head.

After about 150 days at LSU, radiographs showed the bones in The Player's fetlock had fused. The hospital staff began taking him out into a paddock to be hand-walked and to allow him to graze. Eventually, portable panels were set up in a paddock to create a restricted space for him to walk around unassisted.

"We started in a confined area about stall size, and then after a week we doubled that, and then after a week or so we doubled that," McCauley recalled. "He would go out supervised, graze for awhile, and then lie down and sun himself. He did a remarkable job taking care of himself throughout the entire process."

The Player was cleared to leave LSU in September and returned to Indian Ridge Farm Sept. 21 walking comfortably with only a slight head bob, caused by his much straighter right fetlock. When asked if he has taken a deep breath now that The Player has recovered, McCauley paused to answer.

"I don't know that I've taken that deep breath yet," he said. "I got to see him over the weekend of Breeders' Cup, and he walked remarkably well. He has a slight limp, but that is mechanical and not because of pain. That is when I started to feel more comfortable."

Bradley also acknowledged that diligent care will be ongoing.

"There will always be care in how he is shod, and we'll continue to closely monitor any changes," he said.

McCauley did feel good enough about The Player's recovery to clear him to start breeding mares in February. Now The Player faces a whole new challenge—one almost as great as the one he just conquered. 

To The Stud Barn

Buff Bradley said it has been 40 years since he last tried making a stallion, and even back then, it was a low-key affair he did with his father. They bred only their own mares and raced the progeny.

Because of The Player's special place in Bradley's heart, his obvious resiliency, his intelligence, and because he's a product of generations of the Indian Ridge breeding program, Bradley said the horse has earned a shot as a stallion.

"I've heard from some who've asked why we're putting another stallion out there. They think there are too many stallions now, and I'm guilty of saying that, too," Bradley said. "Most of what comes through my stable needs to be a gelding because they are not bred to win grade 1 races, even though we've had them do it. We are going to try it with Angus for a few years and see if it works. We believe in him because we've raced the whole family."

The Bradleys got involved in The Player's family through his great-granddam Regal Export, a winning daughter of Regal Classic, who was initially raced by Sam-Son Farm before Fred Bradley, Carl Hurst, and Dr. O.M. Patrick acquired the filly privately in 1994.

Regal Export produced 12 foals, of whom 11 started and nine became winners. Her stakes winner Town Queen and stakes-placed winners King of Speed and Chief Export were all bred and initially trained by Buff Bradley. Her progeny have won 73 races and earned nearly $1.6 million.

Town Queen joined the Bradley broodmare band and has produced 12 foals to date, which include 10 starters and nine winners. Her best offspring are listed stakes winners Queen's Award and Divine Queen. Town Queen's progeny have won 46 races and collectively earned nearly $990,000.

The Player is out of Hour Queen, the first foal from Town Queen. A winning daughter of Gilded Time, Hour Queen has already produced three winners from five starters.

"The family is strong," Bradley said. "Town Queen was the first stakes horse that Carl and my father and I bred. We've raced everything out of Regal Export and Town Queen, and they all throw racehorses, productive racehorses."

The produce record of The Player's first three dams certainly support Bradley's claim. Together the three mares have produced 72% winners and 14% black-type winners from foals. Their runners' earnings average is $120,647.

"Really, I want to give him every shot to be what I believe he can be," Bradley said of The Player's prospects as a stallion.

The Player has settled in well at the McLean family's Crestwood Farm stallion barn off Spurr Road near Lexington, where he'll start his stud career at $2,500. He playfully nips at his handler as he walks easily and poses with confidence.

Bradley and the McLeans got to know one another well over the past few years because Bradley is a regular supporter of the farm's fourth-crop sire Get Stormy . Bradley has had good success breeding to the son of Stormy Atlantic , getting black-type full siblings Storm the Hill, a multiple grade 3 winner, and Dragon Drew.

"Carl and I felt Crestwood was a good fit because they are pulling in a lot of breeders that are racing," Bradley said of the decision to have the McLeans stand The Player.

In The Player, the McLeans see the raw ability they have seen for generations regularly shape and refine successful racehorses.

"The horse has a lot of ability, and his family has been so good to Buff," said Marc McLean, farm manager for Crestwood. "That really speaks to us because we've made our bones in this business trying to make horses."

McLean knows well the hurdles all new stallion prospects face, but—like Bradley—he believes The Player has genuine potential.

"When you look at his record, he was getting better when he got hurt," McLean said. "We feel if a horse shows class, is a nice-looking horse, and has name recognition, he's got a chance. Some people don't care about the name recognition but we do, because it means more eyes are on him.

"He's not a big, heavy warhorse type. He's streamlined and a very commercial-looking horse," McLean continued. "What a story that would be if he went on and made it."