Local horse Tencendur headed for Kentucky Derby - Albany Times Union
The people who raised the racehorse Tencendur admit they never saw this coming. At Birsh Family Farm in Galway, where Tencendur was born about 35 miles northwest of Albany, the college students who work there called him "Mama's Boy. Tencendur punched his ticket with a second-place finish in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 4. With a single victory in five career starts, Tencendur figures to be one of the longest shots on the board in the 141st Run for the Roses. In the past 40 years, two horses with only a maiden victory to their credit have won the Derby: 8-1 Alysheba in 1987 and 50-1 Giacomo in 2005. However, that's nothing compared to the odds Tencendur overcame just to get to the starting gate. Tencendur was among an estimated crop of 23,500 registered foals in North America in 2012, according to the Jockey Club. He was delivered by the broodmare Still Secret on the 100-acre former dairy farm that owner Philip Birsh bought and renovated in 2006. Birsh Family Farm manager Mike Tobin , 56, handled the delivery and raised the colt with help from Foti and... Between his yearling and 2-year-old year, he just blossomed. Tobin remembers how poorly Tencendur handled being separated from Still Secret when the time came to get him off. Source: www.timesunion.com
