Registered Name: Possession
Born in Kentucky on March 17, 2001
Sired by Belong To Me Out of Tomisue's Delight by A.P. Indy
POSSESSION was born on St. Patrick's Day 2001 at the iconic Lane's End Farm, a breeding Empire on 3,300 acres in the heart of Central Kentucky. She hails from one of the greatest thoroughbred lines in the world. When she arrived at Unbridled on December 29, 2019, her coat was dull and dirty with her ribs protruding around a belly bloated with parasites. Her hooves and teeth had been long neglected and her weary bones held no more hope.
“When she pressed her head into my chest, her desire for a place to call home was palpable, and I wished with all of my heart that I could vanquish her suffering with that one embrace,” said Susan Kayne, the Founder and President of Unbridled. “As she sighed, and stayed within my arms, I wondered what memories her mind must hold.” ~Susan Kayne
She is the firstborn of the millionaire stakes winner Tomisue's Delight, a daughter of the legendary A.P. Indy out of the multiple Grade 1 winning mare Prospectors Delite. Tomisue won seven races which included Grade I wins in the 1997 Ruffian Handicap at Belmont Park and the 1998 Personal Ensign Handicap at Saratoga. She is a full sibling to the Champion and Horse of the Year Mineshaft, who stands at stud at Lane’s End Farm.
In her youth, Possession played beside her mother and other famed mares amid the pristine pastures of Lane's End. Stephen Hilbert, the named breeder of Possession, purchased Tomisue’s Delight as a yearling in 1995 from the Lane’s End consignment at the Keeneland July Select Sale for $575,000. Hilbert in turn sold Possession as a yearling in 2002 through the Lane’s End consignment at Keeneland in July. She was purchased for $2,000,000 by John Ferguson Bloodstock as agent for Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai.
On the racetrack, Possession trained in California with Eoin Harty. She placed first and second in her only two starts as a two-year-old at Santa Anita Park. In both races she was guided across the finish line by the inimitable Julie Krone donning the globetrotting maroon and white silks of Sheik Mohammed’s Darley Stable.
As a broodmare, Possession produced seven foals for Darley from 2006 until 2012. In 2011, Possession was flown to Great Britain to be mated with the European Champion Two-year-old Shamardal. On Leap Day in 2012, she delivered a stunning brown colt on the soil of her breed’s founding some two centuries earlier.
Possession became pregnant again for Darley in 2013, but she couldn’t not hold on to her eighth consecutive pregnancy and aborted her foal. In 2014, she gave birth to a colt by Street Cry for Darley, and later in that same year while pregnant to Discreet Cat she was sold for $27,000 through the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
Possession’s last known foal is Aaaandee whom she carried in utero through Keeneland in 2014. Aaaandee was foaled and raced in New York by Sunrise Stables LLC & Golden Goose Enterprises. His last start was on November 27, 2019 at Finger Lakes Racetrack.
Possession did all that had been asked of her. When she was culled by her last owner and slated for shipment to the Unadilla Auction, Unbridled purchased her freedom and safeguarded her future for $200.
With several months of nutrition, dental and hoofcare, deworming, and much love, Posey has rallied with abundant health. Her only ailment is declining vision which had begun prior to her arrival at Unbridled. Her gentle nature and beautiful blonde draw visitors to her stall and make her a favorite among students in our literacy program Read To The Rescues.
In Sanctuary, she is the very best friend of Pleasant Pastures who serves as her guide horse and protector. Their herd includes Elle Tempo and Indy’s Lucky Prize. The foursome are stabled together, and move in unison across the meadow taking shelter in their affection for each other.