All American in March, 2020, taken while ill. Photo courtesy of Bernie Gaff, Jr.
All American in May, 2020, taken after he recovered. Photo courtesy of Bernie Gaff, Jr.
Hagan Saddlebreds | Louisville, KY
All American was bred by Shanamphilankilou Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is out of Hawaiian Stroke and by the impressive Muscle Massive, who has earned over $1.2 million in his racing career and was the winner of the 2010 Hambletonian.
We had the opportunity to speak with Bernie Gaff, Jr. (“Bernie”), a former owner of All American, who gave us a bit of history about him. All American overcame 2 bouts of catastrophic illness in 2020 only to bounce back to racing. He had double pneumonia and was hospitalized for 13 days. When he was released, he was turned out for 30 days to recuperate but then contracted a virus which also nearly took his life. During these illnesses, he lost over 200 pounds.
Bernie said, “We had him ready to race at The Meadows and he got sick. He just wasn’t himself. We didn’t know if he would make it.” All American’s veterinarian at the time, Dr. Brown, said, “I haven’t seen a horse that sick in years.” But great care helped him bounce back and race again.
Roy Barnhart, a former trainer of All American said, “It was a lot of stress, a lot of work and sleepless nights. It was horrible. He would eat very little. I bought different types of feed that I thought he would eat. But one day, I walked into the barn and he had his head stuck out of his stall and ever since then he’s been full tilt.”
Bernie describes All American as, “A horse with a lot of character, a showboat. He loves attention, has his own mind and loves to pass other horses. He also loves chocolate glazed donuts and will tear the barn up if he doesn’t get one every morning.”
