Post by Zala on May 8, 2018 6:46:24 GMT -3
The day started out pretty ordinary, the grooms were busy at work around the stable, I had just arrived in the stable yard after having breakfast and reading through emails and such. I made my way to the Show Horse Office and was rustling through some paperwork when one of the senior stable hand JT ran in, short of breath and clearly excited beyond belief. I kinda gave him a weird look as I wasn't sure what to expect. He explained how he had been in town the other day and got to talking to a local racing trainer. He said the guy was hauling horses to a nearby farm that had a half-mile track installed a few years ago to work his horses. The trainer stated he was thinking of retiring from the business after some bad luck in recent years and the need to spend time with close family members before he couldn't spend time with them because of his older age. JT had found out the guy had a few horses for sale and was willing to sell them cheap to help him pay off a few debts and to get him back home to his home state of New York. JT and the other stable hands and I had tossed the idea around of getting back into racing and more seriously into promoting the Thoroughbred breed again after selling off a large amount of our horses to a friend who had needed more horses of the Thoroughbred type for a program she was becoming increasingly interested in.
JT finally got to the point where he had just talked to the trainer about half an hour ago, and the guy would be arriving around noon to speak with us. Now, I have been a major racing fan for as long as I can remember, but not knowing much about the trainer or what level his clients horses were kinda gave me the willies. I don't like to be misinformed and then end up on the wrong end of the barrel so to speak when it comes to a situation of this sort! So I told JT we would meet with the trainer and see what he had to say and ask him a bunch of questions to see what information we could gather. JT touched the brim of his cowboy hat and was off and running to finish his chores before the trainer arrived. I just shook my head and laughed, JT was always getting into crazy situations like this, but maybe, just this once, it wasn't too bad of an idea. I had been nosing through my older Blood-Horse magazines with interest. I just wasn't sure what kinds of horses were available, what stallions were up for stud, or anything like that. I felt like I was in the dark because I had fallen so behind in following racing in the past few years, it was a weird feeling, but I was very tempted to step back into the spotlight and give it a try once more!!!
At around noon a battered old pickup truck wandered up the driveway and into the stable yard. I watched from the Office window as JT rushed out to meet the guy. I groaned and got up, figuring I might as well make an appearance even though I was very skeptical about what to think or how to act around the guy. So I chose to play it cool and hear him out, after all, what did I have to lose?? I walked out of the barn and into the stable yard to greet the man, he looked and seemed very gentleman like. His name was James Milton, he had been a trainer, a part time exercise rider and jockey for a short time until he got tired of the trainers he kept riding horses for. He decided he wanted to be the trainer, and he treated his horses and his jockeys and clients with care and consideration. He never bossed them around, or treated them badly, and he got results! His horses were winning, he kept a great client list and continued to get the best horses he had ever gotten until he got greedy one day with so much fame and fortune, and it all fell out from under him like so much sand. He became very disappointed in himself and started drinking and gambling until he was nearly broke. But an old friend of his got him onto the right track, and he started training winners again, but it just wasn't the same anymore. He decided it was time to throw in his chips and retire on a high note by handing his clients horses over to another able body person who could train them to their potential. Although I wasn't really interested in the prospect of training other peoples horses, when he mentioned a couple of them were his own investments, I instantly became interested in knowing more about them.
By the end of the afternoon we had come to a decision to take on a couple racing Thoroughbreds. One of them was a gorgeous dark bay 2015 stallion who was bred by a pretty famous stable known as Rising Pheonix Farm where many champion racers and otherwise had been bred, started and shown or raced!! We have envied some of their horses in the show ring, and now going through some of my Blood-Horse magazines, I find many of their awesome racehorses in there competing and winning big!! I couldn't wait to get my hands on the stud colt particularly. Yeah he missed the first leg of the Triple Crown, but who is to say he couldn't make it as a Breeder's Cup winner or something one day?? His name is a fitting one; Extra Mile RPF, he is going to be going the extra mile to win his way to the top, and I just have this feeling he is going to be awesome!! The other horse on the other hand is kind of a mystery, he didn't want to give us too much information, but he said she would be well worth the wait, so we will see!!
JT finally got to the point where he had just talked to the trainer about half an hour ago, and the guy would be arriving around noon to speak with us. Now, I have been a major racing fan for as long as I can remember, but not knowing much about the trainer or what level his clients horses were kinda gave me the willies. I don't like to be misinformed and then end up on the wrong end of the barrel so to speak when it comes to a situation of this sort! So I told JT we would meet with the trainer and see what he had to say and ask him a bunch of questions to see what information we could gather. JT touched the brim of his cowboy hat and was off and running to finish his chores before the trainer arrived. I just shook my head and laughed, JT was always getting into crazy situations like this, but maybe, just this once, it wasn't too bad of an idea. I had been nosing through my older Blood-Horse magazines with interest. I just wasn't sure what kinds of horses were available, what stallions were up for stud, or anything like that. I felt like I was in the dark because I had fallen so behind in following racing in the past few years, it was a weird feeling, but I was very tempted to step back into the spotlight and give it a try once more!!!
At around noon a battered old pickup truck wandered up the driveway and into the stable yard. I watched from the Office window as JT rushed out to meet the guy. I groaned and got up, figuring I might as well make an appearance even though I was very skeptical about what to think or how to act around the guy. So I chose to play it cool and hear him out, after all, what did I have to lose?? I walked out of the barn and into the stable yard to greet the man, he looked and seemed very gentleman like. His name was James Milton, he had been a trainer, a part time exercise rider and jockey for a short time until he got tired of the trainers he kept riding horses for. He decided he wanted to be the trainer, and he treated his horses and his jockeys and clients with care and consideration. He never bossed them around, or treated them badly, and he got results! His horses were winning, he kept a great client list and continued to get the best horses he had ever gotten until he got greedy one day with so much fame and fortune, and it all fell out from under him like so much sand. He became very disappointed in himself and started drinking and gambling until he was nearly broke. But an old friend of his got him onto the right track, and he started training winners again, but it just wasn't the same anymore. He decided it was time to throw in his chips and retire on a high note by handing his clients horses over to another able body person who could train them to their potential. Although I wasn't really interested in the prospect of training other peoples horses, when he mentioned a couple of them were his own investments, I instantly became interested in knowing more about them.
By the end of the afternoon we had come to a decision to take on a couple racing Thoroughbreds. One of them was a gorgeous dark bay 2015 stallion who was bred by a pretty famous stable known as Rising Pheonix Farm where many champion racers and otherwise had been bred, started and shown or raced!! We have envied some of their horses in the show ring, and now going through some of my Blood-Horse magazines, I find many of their awesome racehorses in there competing and winning big!! I couldn't wait to get my hands on the stud colt particularly. Yeah he missed the first leg of the Triple Crown, but who is to say he couldn't make it as a Breeder's Cup winner or something one day?? His name is a fitting one; Extra Mile RPF, he is going to be going the extra mile to win his way to the top, and I just have this feeling he is going to be awesome!! The other horse on the other hand is kind of a mystery, he didn't want to give us too much information, but he said she would be well worth the wait, so we will see!!
