Kentucky Derby Catch-Up: Well-Traveled Gray Magician Took His Next Step At Thoroughbred Makeover
By: Joe Nevills Paulick Report
Gray Magician had already traversed more miles than most when he walked into the starting gate for the 2019 Kentucky Derby, having traveled to the other side of the world to qualify for the race with a runner-up effort in the Group 2 UAE Derby. As we’d later learn, that was just the beginning of his journey.
When the Graydar gelding left the racetrack following his final start in the summer of 2024, the then-8-year-old had competed in 48 races at 15 different tracks across 10 different states and two countries. He was claimed six times, and he was ridden by 20 different jockeys.
In the end, Gray Magician ended up back where he started.
Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which co-campaigned Gray Magician during his Kentucky Derby start, claimed the horse for $12,500 at Mountaineer, bringing his on-track career to an end and putting him on a new trajectory toward the 2025 Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover.
Sixteen months after his final start, Gray Magician stepped into a ring at the Kentucky Horse Park to compete in two divisions of the Makeover – Show Hunter and Show Jumper – under rider and trainer Lindsay Gilbert.
The Makeover was a graduation of sorts into Gray Magician’s second career, and a tip of the cap to his first. Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners still owns the now-10-year-old gelding through its Blue Moon Eclipse Aftercare, the syndicate’s 501(c)3 program to address the aftercare needs of its current and former runners.
Gray Magician entered the Eclipse fold after his debut start, when the partnership joined owner/trainer Hector Palma following a Del Mar maiden special weight where he overcame trouble to finish third. Gary Barber and Wachtel Stable bought out Palma’s share following his second start and campaigned him together during the horse’s time in the brightest spotlight.
After shipping from Southern California to Laurel Park to finish second in the Miracle Wood Stakes, Gray Magician punched his ticket to the Kentucky Derby with a runner-up effort in the UAE Derby. Off in the Kentucky Derby at odds of 33-1 under jockey Drayden Van Dyke, Gray Magician never got closer than 13th place after the first point of call, and he tired over a sloppy track to finish last of 19.
He found his footing again in flyover country during the second half of his sophomore campaign, running second in the G3 Indiana Derby in his comeback start, then returning to Kentucky to win the Ellis Park Derby, followed by a narrow runner-up effort in the G3 Smarty Jones Stakes at Parx Racing and an allowance optional claiming win at Keeneland.
Unfortunately, Gray Magician’s form dropped off significantly after the Keeneland win, and it didn’t return during his 4-year-old campaign, after spending much of it on the sidelines. He was entered for a $40,000 claiming tag in his 5-year-old debut at Santa Anita Park, and he was picked up by trainer Ryan Hanson.
Then, the tumble down the class ladder began. Three starts later, he was claimed again for $16,000, then he was picked up for $12,500 after another four starts, and he was snapped up for $8,000 after that. There were no wins during that span of time, only a pair of second-place efforts.
All of those transactions took place on the Southern California circuit, but he was moved to the Arizona circuit for the second half of 2022, where he was claimed once again, this time for $10,000. This kicked off the longest period of stability for Gray Magician since his heyday, now running for owner Kirk Sutherland.
Gray Magician went back and forth between the Southwest and Canterbury Park over the next two years, winning a handful of races where he was entered for the tag and not taken. He even tested stakes competition one last time in 2023, when he finished fifth in the Phoenix Gold Cup Stakes at Turf Paradise.
The horse was sent to Mountaineer in West Virginia in the spring of his 8-year-old season, where he got off the mark showing little in an allowance race. He was entered for a $12,500 tag in his next start at the track, and after finishing second by a neck, he was claimed by Melinda Sanders on behalf of the Eclipse partnership. The horse retired with seven wins in 48 starts for earnings of $960,497.
“I saw that he was running a Mountaineer and I thought it was the perfect chance to claim him back, and so we did,” said Kelsey Hughes, vice president of partner relations for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. “We didn’t know what to do at first with him, but we thought that this would be a great opportunity to do the Makeover.”
Gray Magician was first sent to New Vocations at Mereworth Farm in Lexington, Ky., to adjust to life after the races and give everyone involved an opportunity to figure out how to best serve the horse in his next career. Gilbert, who operates Transitions Sport Horses in Georgetown, Ky., and specializes in off-track Thoroughbreds, said New Vocations executive director Anna Ford reached out to her to ask if she had a horse pointing toward the Makeover, with the former Derby starter in mind.
“I already had one at that point, but I thought his story was really cool,” Gilbert said. “I admired the fact that Eclipse was willing to sponsor his journey, so I agreed to take him on.”
There were three horses in the 2025 Makeover who raced in the Kentucky Derby during their on-track careers (the others were Brooklyn Strong and Dynamic One from the 2021 renewal), but it’s still a rare thing to get on the back of a horse who competed in front of a global audience. Considering how many Derby starters end up in stallion programs and are never ridden again once they’re unsaddled at the track for the last time, that percentage gets even smaller.
Even so, Gilbert said Gray Magician’s resume wasn’t an intimidating factor for her. What did give her pause was his potential, and her ability to ride up to it.
“He obviously is such an athlete, so there’s a lot of pressure that I’ve put on myself,” she said. “I don’t really feel like anybody else has put pressure on me, but I’ve put it on myself to make sure I showcase him in the best light.
“The really cool thing is you can absolutely tell the difference between a war horse that’s run in the Derby and my other horse, who is a 4-year-old that raced twice,” she continued. “This guy, he just has a work ethic and an athleticism that’s second to none, and I feel really honored to be a part of his journey.”
The Makeover has become an annual target for Gilbert, meaning her eye for which events will best match her horses has been honed from experience. Once she got to know Gray Magician in the saddle, she pointed him toward the Show Hunter and Show Jumper divisions.
In Show Hunter competitions, horses are judged on the horse’s quality of movement and performances over fences and under saddle. Horses compete in two rounds over jumps, in which they’re graded on pace, style, manners, and the horsemanship of the rider. Then, the horses go through a flat round, where they’re ridden at a walk, trot, and canter and judged at relaxation, rhythm, style of movement, and manners.
The Show Jumper class is similar, in that there are flat and jumping elements to be scored, but the judging criteria differs and one of the rounds introduces a time element.
“So he’s a really nice mover and has a really quiet, rhythmic canter, which I thought would make him a really good fit for the hunters,” Gilbert said. “He is also super scopey and he loves to jump.”
“He is just a class horse,” she continued. “Nothing bothers him. That’s the best thing about a war horse. He’s been there, done that. I mean, he raced in Dubai. He’s probably got more stamps on his passport than I do. He’s just a laid back, chill dude, and he’s really fun to work with.”
The pair performed admirably at the Makeover, finishing 18th of 45 in the Show Jumper division, and 19th of 45 among the Show Hunters. Neither effort ranked Gray Magician high enough to make the finals in either event, but Gilbert was happy with the efforts, all the same.
“He just doesn’t care about anything,” she said after jumping off Gray Magician following a round. “You tell him what to do, and he’s like, ‘Okay, I’ll try,’ and if I mess up, he still jumps.”
Gray Magician still resides on Gilbert’s farm in Georgetown, as they prepare for the 2026 show season, still flying the banner for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and their aftercare program.
“To have one of our horses that we race that we’ve gone to Dubai with, we’ve gone to the Derby, we’ve gone to Ellis Park Derby, it’s really rewarding to showcase that a horse has so much of a life after the racetrack,” Hughes said.