Profile: I’ll Have Another
By Kerry Thomas, with Pete Denk / Published 04.29.2012 @ 9:15 pm
I’ll Have Another (Eclipse Sportswire)
The first thing I see in I’ll Have Another’s emotional conformation is that the Derby distance is not going to be a problem. He’s very in control. He’s not a horse that wastes any emotional energy. Psychologically, this horse was born to run a classic distance.
Other horses respond to his presence, and he makes no physical effort to invoke their reactions. That means he is a very powerful horse.
His emotional conformation supersedes physical stimulus. He translates information from the environment to his body without showing any outward reactions. This horse doesn’t panic. He’s very sound mentally.
I have a lot of respect for Creative Cause, and what stands out to me is that I’ll Have Another made the Santa Anita Derby look easy. Emotionally, I think he and Creative Cause exchanged blows equally. Creative Cause took over his space and affected him at the top of the stretch, but I’ll Have Another kicked back in and they were battling it out at the wire. It wasn’t a clear-cut win on either side on herd dynamic.
Creative Cause may have been a tick above him in this race, but this was a lesson for I’ll Have Another. He did not back down. He came back for more. I’m impressed. His tenacity is subtle, because he does it with presence. I look for big things from this horse, and I would not overlook him in the Derby.
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More: Analysis, Contender Profiles, I'll Have Another
I’m loving I’ll Have Another! (Geez, I’m starting to “love” too many horses in this race – a classic problem for me in the big races). A bit worried to hear about back therapy or something he had after last race, but I’ve liked this horse for a while and it will be tough not to take him in some form or another on derby day.
It’s quite a buffet this year, isn’t it?
Was the horse I’ll have another born in Ontario Canada?
Well…….I think we can chalk up another successful assessment to the Thomas Herding Technique.
Impressive analysis of the eventual KY Derby winner. Keep up the good work.
THANK YOU for the great coverage! I read with great interest the comments by Kerry Thomas early in the week. This helped me tune into I’LL HAVE ANOTHER. Unbelievable insight! The book was ordered on Wednesday, can’t wait to receive. Will digest in full before hitting Blatimore in two weeks. I’m not proud, I owe much of the credit for hitting the Derby today to you folks. Thanks again. Jay
For years, I have been interested in how herd dynamics impact races horses. Specifically, I would wonder if a young race horse became intimidated by a dominant stable pony leading them to the post or does an extremely dominant young horse try to intimidate the pony that leads them to the post? Is a more submissive horse affected in the starting gate by more dominant horses surrounding him? How do these factors affect the horse’s performance? Then I READ your pre-Derby analysis!!!!!! The insight!!! Being at Churchill Downs for Derby training allowed me to think about your comments as I observed certain horses. I have ordered your book. THANK YOU for giving us a different way to view the thoroughbred race horse.
I wanted to take a moment to thank a great many people who posted here and also for the emails, messages and of course to my wonderful THT Team who help provide me with great race footage. I also wish to thank KY Confidential for providing a platform for many of us. I am about to leave for Amman Jordan where I will be doing some wonderful pilot programs in Emotional Wellness via horses and children stemming from my work in Emotional Conformation Profiling and Behavioral Genetic Research in Breeding programs, I’m also quite honored to be profiling the Royal Stables and many other farms and such in the region. This year too, we’ve just moved our first foundation mare to a developing location in Nicholasville Kentucky which may, as we work on the details, prove to be a base of operations for our programs to both assist the mental & physical fitness of our own horses we will continue to bring in as well as offer to our clients a location to ship to where we can fully profile and develop a Patterns-Of-Motion exercise “Playbook” in an effort to elevate the bottom level of the horse that then too, naturally, the top level is elevated. Mentally preparing a horse that may handle five forms of chaotic stimuli in a herd in motion or for us… a “race” to manage efficiently say, 12, is a vital cornerstone and one of our goals. But too, we cannot make the horse what they are not; my job as I see it is to profile the horse and try to ID “who” they are, those varied ingredients and layers that make up the individual within the group. Understanding natural patterns of behavior as they translate to patterns of motion open the way for new innovation to create environments of growth. In essence, allowing the best chance to be “the best who” that they can be. The patterns of motion and comfort zones do not change, what changes is the environment in which they’re sought and the stimulus around them and thus, based upon associated triggers and layers of “experience”; it is the individual way each specific horse is likely to react to situational changes based upon “who” they, that is the key to mentally preparing an athlete. The mental capacity of the equine controls the physical output of the athlete. Bottom line, how well is the mind going to manage the body; an airplane is just an airplane until you have a pilot who can get the most out of it. All my work is always in evolution, I’m mush less an expert than I am a student eager to learn, and be better, more visionary tomorrow than I am today. When I’m asked if someone can bring a horse into my program, I say not really, but I will be happy to develop a program, around your horse. Thank you, I will be on the move a lot this month, but if you wish to see about our equine programs or see about having me come and speak, or host a book signing I would be honored. Thank you again for your time, the journey continues, much, much more to learn as we’ve only slightly opened the window into the invisible.
Thomas on Horses
Kerry Thomas is a groundbreaking researcher of behavioral genetics in horses. He created emotional conformation profiling, which measure’s the mental and emotional capacities of the equine. Horse owners around the world use him to profile and unlock the minds of their horses both in training and pre-purchase evaluations. Thomas’ work in the field of equine behavioral genetics has pioneering applications in all the sport horse industries, including Thoroughbred racing and breeding. 
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