Solvalla, Bromma; Sweden.
Wednesday 20-08-2014
The mighty Mack Lobell (30yo) returns to Solvalla to meet up with his friend and former driver, John Campbell.
World Champion as a 2yo, Mack won The Hambletonian and pretty much dominated the 3yo scene winning most of the major Stakes races.
On August 21 1987, Mighty Mack became the first horse in history to go under the mythical 1:10, going 1:09.7 in the Review Stakes at Springfield.
In 1988 Mack Lobell won the Elitlopp with John Cambell as his driver.
He repeated in 1990, with driver Thomas Nilsson.
He also won big races in Europe like Hugo Abergs Memorial and GP des Nations and he is an official European Champ.
Mack's last race was the 1990 GP von Bild, Hamburg; Germany. He won that one before going to stud.
He won the Breeders Crown as a 2, 3 and 4yo.
He raced 91 times, won a stunning 71 and was placed 16 times.
Mack was elected Horse of the Year in both 1987 & 1988.
He is still the 4th most winning horse of North America, with earnings over $3.9 million.
As a stud he was not as successful as everybody was hoping for, but especially as a Broodmare-Sire Mack did very well. He leaves us Commander Crowe, Jaded, Malabar Circle As, Orechietti and Sanity.
John Campbell about Mack Lobell in 1994 Hoof Beats:
''He is the best horse I’ve ever driven.
He proved to me that he is the best by acting on the highest level year by year.It was simply exhilarating to drive Mack Lobell. Every time when I was driving this horse I was thinking, „yes, that is something special”. It took some time until Mack had found himself to be a good racehorse. I didn’t drive him in his early 2-year-carrier, but when I took over in summer, I recognized that he got great speed, but he was some kind of unalert.
When I was driving him at Du Quoin in 1986, Mack was leading and simply broke. There was no horse around him, he just forgot that he was racing.Just a short time later he was another horse. It was not reasonable, but it was. We knew how much speed Mack Lobell has, but it’s not clear at all if one horse really reach his top potential. Many horses show a lot of projection, but then they give up.
Mack Lobell trotted a world record at Delaware, then he raced at Lexington in 1:11,8, a world record again for two year olds, then he won the Breeder’s Crown.Mack Lobell was so good as a 3 year old that it’s difficault to pick out some highlights. And that was it what made Mack so great. He won the Hambletonian in a world record time. One week before he won the „Beacon Course” in 1:10,9 and I don’t know how much faster he could have raced if I would ask him. He was just jogging.
At the Hambletonian day he wasn’t sound. The track was hard and his legs suffered him. He was leading the race and when he was tiring his steps, I knew that he had some problems with his legs. He just wasn’t so sound like one week before in the Beacon Course. But in the Hambo he showed character. I was full of admiration. It wasn’t like always, but it wasn’t a mental problem. I told Chuckie Sylvester that the hard track isn’t good for him. We changed the shoes after the first heat.
That is some secret of success of Chuck, he is very flexible.''
In May 2012, i met Mack Lobell, 1 day after his grandson Commander Crowe won the Elitlopp. And it was a huge honor.
Me meeting Mighty Mack is at the very end of this video:
• Hej Boko Stables!
28 окт 2024
