Ted Wells trained Savannah Jr. Unlike many trainers with a serious consistent runner, Ted did not enter him in multiple races and burn him out. His life record was 14 races of which he won $280,992.
Savannah Jr was foaled in 1962. He was bred by J. R. Cates in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Savannah Jr was by the Thoroughbred stallion Everett Jr. and out of Savannah Gray, by Question Mark. As a two-year-old, Savannah Jr won the Oklahoma Futurity, Sunland Park Fall Futurity and All American Futurity. He was named the AQHA Racing Champion Two-Year-Old Colt. He earned the Three-Year-Old title after a victory in the 1966 Ruidoso Championship Stakes.
Race horses are for gamblers. First gamble is if they are really fast. The great runners attract attention and everyone wants a piece of the action. Second is the genetics of breeding. The great stallions retire from racing and market as stud service. Promoting a stallion for abundant service fees was my part of the business with correct photography.
Ted Wells and Savannah Jr stayed together. Ted had a horse facility at Cresson, Texas. Ted called and said Savannah Jr was very hard to photograph--when could I come to Cresson and work with him? The photos he needed to promote stud service were difficult to capture, and he was right.
When I drove to Cresson it was hot and Texas-dry. I was used to the Colorado weather and Texas felt like a blow-furnace. Ted was not a showman. He trained horses to run, not stand still. Savannah jumped, kicked, danced and probably never noticed I was there. Although he was striking with his bold dapple gun-metal blue gray color, he was a moving target. If and when he struck a post one shot had to be a quick one. He never stayed in one place very long. In the laborious session we eventually got front, rear, side and head shots. He made every part of the job hard. This side view was used as a cover for the Quarter Racing Record.
Savannah was 16 hands tall. He had unusually long cannon bones. His top line was not typical. He was slender like his strong Thoroughbred ancestry. He sired 430 AQHA registered foals who successfully raced earning $358,308. In the seventies that was big money.
From Savannah Jr, I drove north to Quanah, Texas to Walter Merrick's horse facility where he had a number of stallions needing photos.
Author: Darol Dickinson
