Ray Francis has dreamed for decades of holding the best young horse at Devon, and on June 2 in the Dixon Oval in Devon, Pa., that dream came true.

Spanish Spear may have been listed under the ownership of Kenny Wheeler's Cismont Manor Farm, the perennial powerhouse in the breeding divisions at Devon, but it was Francis who bred and raised the flashy chestnut yearling. And it was Francis with the reins in his hand when the judges--Leo Conroy and Brian Lenehan--declared Spanish Spear the top pick.