[Rupert Pupkin]

Malibu Moon actually had two fractured sesamoids when he was 6 months old. They didn't think he would ever make it to the races. The vet told them he needed 8 months of stall rest. After the 8 months were up, he looked like a dwarf compared to the other yearlings. The other yearlings had been running around for 8 months and he had been stuck in a stall. He was tiny. They had practically no hope for him. They thought he was probably just going to be a pony.

Even if they were going to make a pony out of him, he still needed to be broken. After they broke him and he trained a little bit, he grew a lot and he started to look pretty good. His ankles still did not look perfect but they looked much better.

Hughes ended up sending him to Mel Stute because he thought most other trainers would srew around with the horse forever and he'd never make it to the races. He figured that Mel would just go on with the horse and he would either make it or he wouldn't. He ended up running 2nd in his debut. I believe it was in May of his 2 year old year. He came back a few weeks later and won but he fractured his knee in the race and that was the end of his racing career.

Hughes wanted to make him a sire but he didn't know where to send the horse. Ron Ellis was actually the one who suggested they go to Maryland. The rest is history. By the way, Ellis received a lifetime breeding to Malibu Moon for setting the whole thing up in Maryland. That lifetime breeding didn't look all that lucrative at the time but it sure turned out to be.

Wayne Hughes paid a fortune for Malibu Moon's broodmare. She was a grade I winner. He paid around $1.5 million or $2 million. Then he bred her to AP Indy. He was all excited about the baby (Malibu Moon) and he breaks both sesamoids. It's a crazy story. It shows you all the ups and downs in racing. Who would have though that the baby with the broken sesamoids would end up being one of the best sires in the country.