August’s Monday-Wednesday-Saturday posting schedule has once again left me with a bonus post. Over the past week, I have been wracking what little of my brain work hasn’t completely decimated to figure out a topic, but kept coming up empty. So I decided to leave it to fate.
I pulled up my the spreadsheet of my collection, made a quick pivot table to get a unique list of model ID numbers, dumped them all into Random.org’s list randomizer, and hit the Randomize button, vowing to write about whatever model came up first.
Number one on the list was the Stablemates-scale release of Triple Crown Winner Justify, and he was quickly followed by Cigar in the third place spot, so today I’ll be showing models from my collection that were based on real-life race horses that I’ve met. One horse will be noticeably absent from today’s post - American Pharoah. I’m saving him for my Sentimental Journey series because he’s about as special as it gets, and his post will probably end up at 2000 words all by itself (with lots of associated photo spam).
I pulled up my the spreadsheet of my collection, made a quick pivot table to get a unique list of model ID numbers, dumped them all into Random.org’s list randomizer, and hit the Randomize button, vowing to write about whatever model came up first.
Number one on the list was the Stablemates-scale release of Triple Crown Winner Justify, and he was quickly followed by Cigar in the third place spot, so today I’ll be showing models from my collection that were based on real-life race horses that I’ve met. One horse will be noticeably absent from today’s post - American Pharoah. I’m saving him for my Sentimental Journey series because he’s about as special as it gets, and his post will probably end up at 2000 words all by itself (with lots of associated photo spam).
Since the #9302 Justify (a regular run from 2018-2020) was first up in the list, I’ll start with him and work backwards in order of When the Real Horse Did Awesome Things.
I was born in 1979, so Justify is only the second Triple Crown winner in my lifetime. I didn’t feel connected to his win like I did with Pharoah, but I suppose that’s normal. The first one typically means the most.
I ordered this Justify Stablemate from Breyer in December 2018 as part of the Collector Club Appreciation sale.
I was born in 1979, so Justify is only the second Triple Crown winner in my lifetime. I didn’t feel connected to his win like I did with Pharoah, but I suppose that’s normal. The first one typically means the most.
I ordered this Justify Stablemate from Breyer in December 2018 as part of the Collector Club Appreciation sale.
In July 2019, I found myself wandering through the BreyerFest store, saw a whole stack of #9300 Justify (also a regular run from 2018-2020) and figured, what the hell. I spent some time hand-picking this one for his shininess (some are more semigloss than others) and the darkness of his color compared to others.
After a near-miss in 2023 when Coolmore decided to send him to Australia and put him in quarantine mere days before our farm tour, I finally got to see Justify in 2025. He was large (seriously, 16.3 hands, he’s huge) and very, very grumpy. Pharoah will stand there all day, cool as a cucumber, and pose for photo after photo, but Justify? If GTFO were a horse, it would be him.
#1792 California Chrome was a regular run from 2018-2019. I have a purchase date in my spreadsheet of 3/3/2018, but I have no idea where I got him. I can’t find a PayPal transaction, Breyer order confirmation email, Messenger chat, Facebook post, receipt - nothing. Did I maybe go to Shady Acres or Kraynaks or SW Randall that day? Who knows.
The real California Chrome won the first two legs of the Triple Crown in 2014, but like many of his predecessors, couldn’t get it done in the Belmont. I got to meet him on a tour of Taylor Made farm in 2019 during the week of BreyerFest. He was well-known for being a ham in front of the cameras and definitely didn’t hold anything back during our tour. What an absolute goof. He did stop making faces for a minute toward the end of our time with him so I was able to get one nice photo. I’m glad we saw him when we did - just a few months after our visit, they decided to send him to stand stud in Japan, and he’s still there today.
#711282 Silver Charm was one of the four Single-Day Stablemates from BreyerFest 2018, Off to the Races. I don’t usually buy the Single-Day Stablemates, but there was no way I was passing up on that year’s set, with a Man O’ War, a Shiny Bay Thing, a Shiny Blue Thing, and Silver Charm, who is second only to Pharoah in living racehorses who have particular sentimental value to me - as you'll no doubt understand from the upcoming photo spam.
I was a senior in high school when I watched Silver Charm’s Triple Crown campaign with my bestie, Paula. I’ve always had a thing for gray Thoroughbreds and Silver Charm was a lovely steel color at the time, so of course I was rooting for him. We were so hopeful through the entire Belmont, but Touch Gold got him at the end by less than a length. Interestingly, both horses were retired to Old Friends and shared adjacent paddocks for 10 years til Touch Gold passed in 2025. It’s fun to think of what they might have thought about each other or said to each other during that time.
I’ve been blessed to see Silver Charm at Old Friends a whole bunch of times - first in 2016, then again in 2021, 2024, 2025, and this year. Though I love seeing horses, I don’t often choose to get close to them. Silver Charm was special enough for an exception, and I fed him carrot shavings in 2021. (Note: If Pharoah is ever retired somewhere that allows petting, they will have to pry me off him with a crowbar.)
Silver Charm is 32 now and spends the hottest part of the summer days inside the barn at Old Friends. The tour typically includes a stop inside to visit him, but they had a farrier on site the day we were there and they didn’t want to spook the horse the farrier was working on, so we only got to peek in at him through the door. At each visit since 2024, I’ve wondered if that would be the last time I see him, given his age. I especially hope that’s not the case this year and that he’s still with us when visiting time comes around again in 2027.
I’ve been blessed to see Silver Charm at Old Friends a whole bunch of times - first in 2016, then again in 2021, 2024, 2025, and this year. Though I love seeing horses, I don’t often choose to get close to them. Silver Charm was special enough for an exception, and I fed him carrot shavings in 2021. (Note: If Pharoah is ever retired somewhere that allows petting, they will have to pry me off him with a crowbar.)
Silver Charm is 32 now and spends the hottest part of the summer days inside the barn at Old Friends. The tour typically includes a stop inside to visit him, but they had a farrier on site the day we were there and they didn’t want to spook the horse the farrier was working on, so we only got to peek in at him through the door. At each visit since 2024, I’ve wondered if that would be the last time I see him, given his age. I especially hope that’s not the case this year and that he’s still with us when visiting time comes around again in 2027.
#476 Cigar, a regular run from 1998-2005, is from my childhood collection. Like many of my oldest models, I’m not sure where or when I got him, but I’m certain it was early in the run. I was obsessed with horses and horse racing during my teens and Cigar was the stuff of legends. I wouldn't have waited long to get a model of him. He didn’t race at two, did okay at three, and then late in his four year-old season, he took off and never looked back. From October 1994 through his retirement in October 1996, he finished in the money in every single one of his 21 races, including 17 wins (16 of them in a row).
During my first BreyerFest in 2010, I was thrilled to learn that Cigar was a resident of the Hall of Champions at Kentucky Horse Park. The first time I saw him, the person working up there opened up his stall door and fed him peppermints so we could get good pictures of him. I caught the tongue blep picture totally by accident, which has cued a lifetime of me trying to capture as many tongue bleps from famous racehorses as I can. I faithfully visited Cigar every year until he passed in late 2014, and I've stopped by his grave near the Hall of Champions to pay my respects every year since. What an amazing horse.
POST UPDATE:
Not fifteen minutes after I posted this, I realized I forgot someone!
#1848 Tiz the Law was a regular run from 2021-2023. He's one of those "Heather B won him from something or other and gave him to me and refused to let me pay for him" models. I acquired him in January 2022. He has outstanding shading (as you can see from the photo!) but has a couple goobers that have kept him out of the show ring. After seeing this photo, I might actually give him a try at my next show.
The real Tiz the Law won the 2020 Belmont Stakes. Not surprising - his grandsire, Tapit, has been the sire or grandsire of 6 Belmont winners since 2014:
- Sire - Tonalist (2014), Creator (2016), Tapwrit (2017), Essential Quality (2021)
- Grandsire - Tiz the Law (2020), Arcangelo (2023)
