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Al Stall Jr - the trainer of Blame and a trainer to follow this fall

These days, Al Stall Jr.’s barn is awash with the sweet smell of success. Blame it onBlame. If you want to get literal about it, the scent is coming from the bale-sized haysteamer by the office, where the warm mist creeping out the sides of the box …

These days, Al Stall Jr.’s barn is awash with the sweet smell of success. Blame it on Blame. If you want to get literal about it, the scent is coming from the bale-sized hay steamer by the office, where the warm mist creeping out the sides of the box indicates that it’s removing dust and allergens from the hay that is specifically fed to Grade 1 winner Blame. But you wouldn’t be wrong to look down this shedrow accentuated by the bright, historic colors of Claiborne Farm, broken by the occasional head poking over the webbing, and think there’s something more magical in the air than the effects of a hay steamer at work.

By Frances J Karon

First Published (19 October 2010 - Issue Number: 18)

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Carl Nafzger - an old-school trainer with traditional values

AMONG these close friends, the mood is light, easy. There’s a lot of teasing, but there’s also a solid groundwork of mutual respect and admiration that enables them to thrive in the climate they’ve created. And Nafzger is more relaxed than ever thes…

By Frances J Karon

First Published (14 April 2010 - Issue Number: 16)

Carl and Wanda Nafzger stand trackside with Ian Wilkes, monitoring the horses training under the white saddlecloths with a red border. That some of these are marked with a plain “N” and others a “W” comprised of two boomerangs is irrelevant. It may be four years since Australian Wilkes officially took over as trainer for the bulk of Nafzger’s stable, but little has changed around their barn, where Wilkes has, for a while, been the more hands-on of the two.

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