Sometimes Father’s Day is tough

This weekend, I had some extra time off after three weeks of crisscrossing America as I attended two college graduations, one high school and one grade school. The states involved were California, Colorado and Iowa.

After this past week’s article, I am so glad that I am alive and healthy enough to attend these events. I have a lot more to go with 10 grandkids, but I will do my best.

I grew up with ponies and horses, showing some and racing a couple. Perhaps because of that I have enjoyed watching a few races of these beautiful animals. I have attended one Kentucky Derby and several horse races in the Chicago area over time.

Perhaps for that interest, I watched this year’s Kentucky Derby and the magnificent finish of Sovereignty over the favored Journalism. Perhaps with that last name, I should have pulled for the latter, but I was fascinated with Sovereignty.

Then I read that this Kentucky Derby winner would not run in the Preakness, the second race in the famed Triple Crown. But then I read Sovereignty would run in the Belmont Stakes, the final race of the three. I decided to watch.

As you may know, there are several earlier races before the big one. As I waited, I watched a short program about William Mott, the trainer of Sovereignty. By the time I finished watching there were tears in my eyes. I knew I had to pull for this horse.

The presentation was about Bill Mott and his son, Riley, who works with his dad. The first thing I learned was that Bill Mott became the youngest race horse trainer to be voted into the Hall of Fame for trainers ever. It seems that along with his training life, he had championed a young man several years ago who had contracted an awful disease called Wolf-Hirschhorn.

The young man’s name was Cody Dorman and upon that young boy’s passing, Mott had a horse named after him. That horse, now known as Cody’s Wish with Mott as its trainer, won a Churchill Downs race and the Breeder’s Cup Dirt Mile award in 2023. With this bit of history, the rest came out.

Margo Mott, Riley’s daughter, and granddaughter of Bill, was diagnosed with a tumor in her brain the size of a baseball last year. Margo was only 2 years old. Surgery followed immediately. But the family was told that there was little hope for her survival.

Journalism had won the Preakness, so both horses would compete for a two-thirds Triple Crown. I called my special friend and told her she had to watch and pull for Sovereignty even though Journalism was slightly favored. I didn’t tell her why at the time.

We both watched this incredible race as Sovereignty trailed until the final turn and put on a finish to behold, beating out second-place finisher Journalism. I cheered by myself as the final furlough took place, and I stayed tuned to see the trainer and his son as victors. The joy was there but muffled. It seems that Margo had died on Thursday, two days before the race. Talk about mixed feelings for the Mott family.

As I thought about how this successful father and son had to make their appearances on TV cameras with the recent loss, I’m sure it helped that their horse did win this fabled event.

My sadness was lifted as I thought about my road trip and flying the miles to see my grandchildren succeed in their early lives. I am so glad I made the effort. I just hope I can see many more of them achieve their goals. Losing a child or grandchild must be so devastating. It did bring back a story that I have shared with a few clients who had lost a child or grandchild. It goes like this.

A man goes to the mountain and asks the wise guru “Wise man, what is the secret of happiness?”

The guru takes a moment and then replies, “Grandfather die, father die, son die.”

The man immediately responds, “That’s it?”

To which the guru replies, “You would like some other order?”

We can only hope for that order as we proceed through life. Even the best happiness can be overrun with such tragedy.

May we all enjoy the day tomorrow and hold our offspring and think good thoughts of our fathers and grandfathers.