Bishops Choice Horse Pedigree

State Bred: PA
Winnings: 15 Starts: 4 - 1 - 3, $116,830

Won Tropical Park Derby -G3, 3rd Blue Grass S. -G1, Fount of Youth S. -G3, City of Miami H.

Top Runners include Erin's Dunloe $125,467 Won Forget Me Not H., 2nd Florida Oaks S., My Charmer H.,etc., Garretslilnora $99,217, Crimson Knight $58,387, Amen Ben $49,274,etc.I wanted to note the recent passing of BISHOPS CHOICE, who died on June 21, 2002. A girl who has read some of the senior horse stories wrote me a few months back to tell me of her own older stallion. I'll include some of her e-mail posts in here, to help to give a feel for what kind of horse BISHOPS CHOICE was. I'd hate to have his passing go by without a "real" note. Bishops Choice won the 1979 Tropical Park Derby, and finished third to Spectacular Bid in the Fountain of Youth and Bluegrass Stakes. He sold for $300,000 back then, and went to stud. He was a shy breeder, however, and would only pasture-breed.... Eventually, his owner gave BISHOPS CHOICE to Tonia Marynell to take care of. As she related, "He is the sweetest stallion and the best gentleman. He stays in the pasture with my mares and is just gorgeous. His coat just glistens and he has the most refined head. He is a grandson of Round Table and Nearctic. He is a son of King's Bishop... "His relationship with people and the mares is so unique, if every stallion were like him there would be no geldings." Her more recent note related the story of his passing: "My dear Bishop passed away on the morning of June 21. " Bishop had been a bit under the weather, and a dentist came to take a look. He noticed that, many years ago, Bishop had lost all the teeth on one side of his mouth--perhaps from a mare (which would explain the shy breeding).... Tonia devised a way for him to eat more comfortably, and tended to him morning and night, pulling up a chair and keeping him company as he ate. The morning of June 21, Bishop did not come to feed at 6 a.m. as he usually did. When she went to him, he was standing in distress, swollen on one side as if he'd been kicked. His head was down and his breathing was heavy. She doesn't know if someone else kicked him, or if perhaps he colicked and somehow got himself. As the mares loved him so much, them kicking him wasn't likely. As Tonia continued, "I tried to lead him towards where I could put him in a stall and call the vet. He could only make it halfway. He could go no more and began rubbing his head all over me, loving on me as if to say, 'Thank you for taking care of me during my last days.' "I told him I'd be right back as I wanted to go get some hot water and towels to help the swelling... As I walked away he collapsed. I ran back, and held him in my arms and he passed away very quickly. "I hope and pray all my mares are in foal to him, and will possess that wonderful personality and disposition he had." A follow-up e-mail came, which included: "He had a daughter that is the spitting image of him, and a son competing in the Georgia Games this past weekend... I understand his offspring are sought after as dressage and hunter jumpers, and he passed on that beautiful disposition to his babies. He is also still the leading sire of race winners in Georgia. His former own was Mr. Don Allmond of Grovetown, Georgia, and he loved Bishop very much." I wish I'd gotten the chance to meet him. ~ from the reader form at ThoroughbredChampions.com

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