Picture Perfect Then And Now: Jabberwocky And Electric Blue

Original article written by Jack Meyer posted 9 years 1 week ago

More times than I’d like to mention I catch myself thinking about horses that beat the odds, ones that began slow then blossomed into a monster later in there career. When I look at these types of horses it makes me feel good because many of my youngins are considered underdogs facing the almighty barns of the Nalbone’s and Ferguson’s of the SIM. So when I see one that defied the odds stacked against them, it always puts a smile on my face.


I remember coming in to the SIM at the tail end of a horse named Jabberwocky’s career. He was well on his way to 11 straight wins, the good thing I can say about not being here for his masterful run in its entirety is that I did get to see his big win in the Year 35 Steward’s Cup Turf. I remember the call very well, he was a favorite of many in chat that night, but he was a favorite of mine because he was doing it for the underdogs, those who fight and fight for that one special horse, he was running with all their hopes and dreams that night at Arcadia Park.


I wanted to revisit Jabberwocky and his owner Nick Gilmore to talk about the old boy, now 10 years old, and catch up on a shining star in the making named Electric Blue. I was able to get Nick to give me a little time in her busy schedule to catch up on things and to get to know her since I’m still pretty new to the SIM.

I asked Nick to tell me a little about herself, I wanted to know what got her interested in horses and eventually in the SIM, “I worked on the racetrack from 1970-1995. A couple deaths in my family forced me to give up my gypsy ways and settle down in Toronto, Ontario. Presently I am a jeweler working for a company that specializes in restringing pearls and all types of beads. After almost 20 years, I still miss direct interaction with horses. The work I can live without, but the ponies themselves still have my heart. In 2008, my best friend turned me on to the SIM. He knew I was missing the action and he’d checked out a few games and decided this was the one to hook me up with.”

From one pony lover to another, I can totally understand her need to be doing something that involves horses, fake or not, these suckers find a place in your heart.

Aside from the Jabberwocky and Electric Blue, I realized I didn’t know enough about Nick’s barn and felt I needed to get to know the other diamonds in the rough she had the pleasure of owning.

“I was still a newbie checking out the Alexandra Jaysman page when I came across a little turf sprinter. He hadn’t been given much of a shot being run 2 times, once at 7/8ths and once at a mile, so I was pretty sure I could win a couple races with him…hahaha; Fishing the Keys went on to win a whole pack of races for me, the Steward’s Cup Turf Sprint included. I did purchase a couple of nice Steward breds, including Son Of Light. I got him for the bargain price of $152k and he went on to earn just a touch over $1.5 million. Australian was a $250k purchase and earned a touch under $1 million. More recently, I shocked the SIM community (and myself) when I won the brilliantly bred filly Saphira from a Steward’s auction. I’d long since given up on the bidding, as that was all my budget could handle. The last bid I had seen on her was in the neighborhood of $8 million. I was amazed when my money disappeared and a new horse showed up in my barn. Her last win put her earnings over her purchase price, so it’s all gravy from here.”

Oh SIM gods, do throw me a Saphira or Son Of Light, I promise to feed my horsies all the carrots and mints they want…PLEASE!!

Then the topic of Jabberwocky came up. As I said, I didn’t get to see the majority of his career, of course I could go back and watch all his races, but to me that just isn’t the same as actually being there for those big wins. I knew I heard he galloped less than Wow when he began his career, but I wanted to hear it all, I wanted to get to actually know the old boy, so Nick let me experience the big guy in detail:

“Laughterintherain earned $4.25 million running on dirt and turf. Of her 9 foals, 7 of them were 6 figure earners. Humorous Lady was one of them and early in her career she had been purchased for $3.75 million. I bought Humorous Lady for $18k…I was happy. Then I tried finding her a good match and the best I could find was a flat B hypo to a classy old stallion Confirm Thy Crown. Fingers crossed, Jabberwocky went to the track for his first gallop.
2012-01-22 Trainer: 'Jabberwocky' galloped around the track as if he had wings! A very fluid and easy gallop, he caught the eye of all the other trainers!”

She went on to say, “Ok, hopefully he’ll win a couple of races, after all I didn’t have much money invested. At 2 he broke his maiden and at 3 he was a MGSW, so he wasn’t a slouch. At about the same time, Emily came to Canada and I had the extreme pleasure of a SIM dinner with her in attendance. (Not to be missed if any of you ever get the chance!) She raved about my "monster." At entry time, I had a chance to gallop the big horse, and yes, he was still a wings, lol. I wondered about Em’s sanity, but I shuttled him off to Asia to give him a chance to put a few races together. That would be the beginning of an 11 race win streak! He blessed me with my second Steward’s Cup win and for a while it felt like he was invincible! It wasn’t until his 5 year old season that his gallop was upgraded to very special. At 6 he ran 2nd to the Tammy Fox bred Nipote di Atlante in the Arc d’Triomphe and I felt he had done enough. The hardest part was that decision to retire him.”

He was quite a “Wings” I’d have to say, the days of a flat “B” hypo throwing a Jabberwocky are likely long gone, but it sure seemed nice to have that sort of a random slide setting up Nick’s barn for the future.

Next topic on my list was her 2 year old colt Electric Blue. His 97 Speed Figure in his debut was amazing. I just know what I see on paper, and on paper this guy looks second to none, I wanted to get the scoop from Nick to see what she thinks about her shining star in the making. “Blue is 5 clicks way from the incomparable Solstice and all mares in between are 6 figure earners. I bred and campaigned both his dam and granddam. It’s an absolute favorite family of mine. As a yearling, he galloped wow and works were solid. Like everyone else in the SIM, I’ve had disappointing wows, so I said a little prayer and put him in the entries. Yes, he is THE ONE I’ve been waiting for and here’s hoping he’s legitimate!”

“Blue”, as Nick calls him seems to have all the ingredients, and is surely carrying the hopes and dreams of our Nick Gilmore with him every time he prances onto the track.

I wanted to compare the two, I needed to know if there were any similarities between them and all I could use was what I saw on paper. I had the best way possible right in front of me to give me the scoop on the comparison, and here is what she told me, “The two couldn’t be more different. Jabbers was the ultimate product of an awesome slide and a decent, but questionable pedigree (dirt and all weather on the dam’s side). Wings until he turned 5, he was still a Graded stakes winner at 3.

"Blue has yet to prove his worth, but his gallop did rise from wow as a yearling, to special week 9 as a 2 year old. His pedigree is solid and if he holds his shine on the track, I think he’ll be the better stallion. Jabbers was from a line of AW and dirt on the dam’s side, so he was a product of an awesome slide, Blue was bred to be great, so I see very little to compare."

I keep hearing this “Ferguson” character when I chat about horses that owners seem to match up against to prove their horses’ worth, it happened again here. I asked Nick about the other runners in her barn, 2YO’s in particular; I wanted to know what we should be on the lookout for, “Robespierre, a dirt sprinter, a very special gallop and a half-brother to Laura Ferguson’s Lightning…need I say more? Polaris, a turf sprinter whose gallop slipped from special down to wow. He’s finding his way and won his first stake in his last start. Fantasia, another turf router who is out of the amazing mare Hanaan. She’s produced 4 foals, 3 specials and 1 wow. Her pedigree goes back to Change the Stars and Fantasia broke her maiden with an 82 speed figure.”

As I always seem to wonder in articles like these, I wanted to know about Nick’s yearlings, I asked her to share any hidden gems that might be stored away for next year who could burn up the oval. “On the whole, I have a pretty quiet crop of yearlings. I’ve had no standouts, so far. My lone special in the group is a half-sister to Electric Blue and she’s not giving up her second piece of equipment, so she hasn’t worked yet.” Nothing yet she says, but we know how the SIM is, something special can fall right square in a vacant stall in your barn very quickly.

I wanted to finish up our little chat by asking Nick what her goals in the SIM are going forward. I know everyone who attempts the game wants the Derby Trophy, what else is there in the SIM that catches Nick’s eye. “Since starting the SIM, I’ve had my own Derby dreams. So far, it’s not in the cards. I’ve had dirt router blue hen mares who produced nothing, wow gallopers who ended up in Alaska and it’s not the first time I’ve sold/gped all my dirt routers to start over…but I have not given up that dream. Hopefully, I have a couple of fillies that will change that for me. With a bit of luck, maybe Blue can give me my other dream and down the line he’ll win me the Arc d’Triomphe. Partially in thanks to Jabberwocky, I can afford to breed to whomever I like. And other than the big ticket Steward breds, I can afford to buy if I see something I like. I’m constantly working to keep my numbers down and the chasers will be on the chopping block next. Other than that, my SIM life is good!” The SIM can make or break our little hearts, such a cruel SIM god to give us a Blue Hen mare only to see her throw horses that only know how to run backwards…cruel SIM…so cruel!

There is a reason this game is as addicting as it is, there is a reason we spend hours upon hours sifting through AJ’s barn, or franticly searching the Stud Book for the match made in heaven for our little ladies. I believe the reason is exactly what Nick had happen to her, she pinned her hopes on a little mare that cost 18K, and a sire that hypo’d the dreaded “B” comment, it wasn’t supposed to be but it just did, it made magic on that one fateful day and the rest is SIM history. Nick is no different than the rest of us, she tested what she knew out and got that one lucky coin that flipped her way, it got her going and she has run with it ever since…..That’s the SIM for you…Thanks Em!

Jack Meyer

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