Last month, Bagel Man was one of three Standardbreds in the Maritimes that received a lot of industry press, and now he is getting some love in the local media, as well.
The Truro Daily News has run an article on the now-15-year-old son of Im The Chairpan who has been retired to the Beaver Brook, Nova Scotia farm of horse lover Shelley Whidden.
“I love happy endings, and it’s rewarding to give a retirement home to a horse who raced all these years,” Whidden has told Lynn Curwin of the Truro Daily News.
Shelley Whidden, pictured with Bagel Man (Image courtesy Lynn Curwin)
Bagel Man, a gelded bay that made 410 pari-mutuel starts during his career, retired with 67 wins, 57 second-place finishes, 48 thirds and over $378,000 in purse earnings. He took his career mark of 1:51.2 at age six while racing over the one-mile course at the now-defunct Balmoral Park in Illinois.
Whidden has said that she is enjoying watching Bagel Man take to his new surroundings, which include another Standardbred, Mattie, and a Quarter Horse, Reggie.
“He looks at everything with huge eyes because so much of it is new to him,” Whidden said. “He’s just fascinated with things, including the pheasant who often comes around. As soon as his stall door opens he’s gone to run around. He loves being outside.”
Bagel Man and his connections being honoured during a retirement ceremony at Truro Raceway in December of 2017 (Image courtesy Kyle Burton)
(With files from the Truro Daily News)