Sweet Flying Dreams

Thinking back over the last few years, and of what is coming next, it’s hard not to feel emotional. I remember clearly Christmas Day in 2005, flipping through the Canadian Thoroughbred magazine and landing on a story about Carolyn Costigan, a young Canadian who was enrolled in the Darley Flying Start programme. My interest immediately piqued, I jumped online to learn more. That’s where the dream began.

Now, I’m just days away from beginning my own Flying Start journey. In the five years that have elapsed since that Christmas Day, I’ve met many of my goals in my quest to becoming a Thoroughbred industry leader. I’ve worked with broodmares and in foaling units, with yearlings doing sales prep, breaking, and training, at the racetrack as a groom and hotwalker, as an office assistant and an editorial intern. All of these were wonderful accomplishments, and important stepping stones along the path to Flying Start, which was the most important target.

Like in any journey, there have been important people to help me along the way. There are a few special ones I’d like to point out:

My parents: My parents ingrained in me many valuable principles from a young age. Three things in particular I have always known are to work hard, have proper manners, and most importantly, to always go after your dream. I think once my parents realized it was inevitable that I would have a career with Thoroughbreds, they pushed me to reach the very top; mediocrity was never an option. For that I will be forever grateful.

My parents are also the type of people that did everything to help me succeed. They gave up their days off to take me to the races to see my favourite horses, including nationwide treks to Kentucky, New York, and California. They ensured that I met the most influential people in the business at a young age, whether that meant bullying our way into paddocks or sneaking onto backstretches. They made me realize that it takes more than just a name to succeed. It takes heart and resilience and a little faith, and today I’m realizing the results of all of those things.

Lauri Kenny: The day I started working at Schonberg Farm (July 4, 2005), I believe was also the day Lauri took me in as another daughter. Over the last five years I have been closer to Lauri than anyone else, and there are times I swear we are telepathically connected. We basically finish one another’s sentences, and it still amazes me how Lauri always seems to know what’s best for me. He can tell me something I hate hearing at the time, but it won’t take me long to realize he knew what he was doing. Lauri understands me better than anyone else does, he is unconditionally there for me, and I don’t know what I would ever do without him.

Liz Pathak: I’m a firm believer that things happen for a reason, and when I met Liz in September 2008, I knew this was good news. Liz had just returned to Ontario fresh from Flying Start, and I was never more eager to meet someone than when I met up with Liz to inspect yearlings at Woodbine. From the day we met Liz began helping me with my flying start quest, and I believe having her as a reference had a great impact on my being selected for the programme.

So here I go, on to the next great chapter of my life. I cannot imagine the wonderful happenings the next two years will hold, but I can promise to cherish each one and do myself and those who believe in me proud. I hope you will follow my journey, every step along the way.     

Wando Wanders Home

While I’ve let Turf Beat go quiet recently as I prepare for Darley Flying Start, I couldn’t go without mentioning the homecoming of Wando.

On July 17, Wando returned to Schonberg Farm from Lane’s End in Versailles, Kentucky, where he stood his first five seasons at stud. For those who don’t know Wando (you’ve obviously had your head buried in the sand…er, Polytrack? but nonetheless…) he is owned and bred by Gus Schickedanz, and is the last winner of the Canadian Triple Crown, a hat trick he achieved in 2003 for trainer Mike Keogh.

For me, there is no other horse (or human), like Wando. I won’t go through the tiresome story about how as a 15-year-old fan I gained the friendship of Wando’s human connections and went on to work for both Schickedanz and Keogh. That’s not the real story here. The real story is the feeling I experience each and every time I see Wando.

It’s not something that words can do justice, and it can only be really understood by someone who has felt the same thing. It’s the lump in my throat as I take in his spectacular aura, and the butterflies that flutter about in my stomach when I touch him. As I let my fingers caress his coppery coat, I sometimes have to fight back tears as I attempt to understand how such a fantastic animal can be so serene and loving. Something in me jumps to life when I see my Wando. I can recall once being particularly sad and visiting him. While nothing made any more sense, everything somehow seemed to be ok.

Just last week while spending the night at the farm, I wandered to the stallion barn to visit Wando. I found him snoozing near the door. Slipping inside, I wrapped my arms around his withers and pressed my cheek against his neck, staying this way for at least 10 minutes. Wando didn’t so much as twitch a muscle.

It’s hard for me to write about my horse without gushing and ranting on, so I’ll wrap this up. I just want to say, I’m glad Wando is home, and I hope I get to spend many more special moments with him.

Artic Feeling

Oh, the racing game. It never fails to humble. Anyone who has been involved long enough has tasted its notoriety for devastation and disappointment. As quickly as you are on top, you’re booted to the bottom.

Just two days ago, I could not have been higher. I was tooting the horn of Artic Fern, the Queen’s Plate contender I had foaled, helped raise, and broke at Gustav Schickedanz’s Schonberg Farm. I would tell the story of the night he was born, and remind everyone that I was the first to sit on this rising star’s back. I told all my family and friends, “put your money on this horse. He’s for real. This is the one.”

Artic Fern would be the one. It all made sense. His breeding suggested it: He is by Langfuhr, sire of a Queen’s Plate winner (Wando), out of Wood Fern, a full sister to a Queen’s Plate winner (Woodcarver). This year, the Queen would be coming to the Plate, which is to be run on my birthday, the fourth of July. Artic Fern is three for four, riding a three-racing winning streak displaying versatile running styles. And he couldn’t be going for better people: both Schickedanz and trainer Mike Keogh are the picture of class and humility, and well-loved by many at Woodbine and in the global industry. Yes, everything seemed to be falling in to place, and the excitement was electrifying.

That was until a late night phone call on June 27. Upon hearing the news, my head seemed to stop working, and all of the strength seemed to leave my body. In an instant, the electricity was gone, and I found myself leaning against the wall for support as I fought back tears of disappointment and anger. The feeling is as cold as the Artic.

Artic Fern had his final work in preparation for the Plate on Saturday the 26^th, moving five furlongs in 1:00.40. He exited the work in good order, but came up lame Sunday morning. His chances looked dim Sunday evening, and he was officially withdrawn from consideration on Monday morning.

So this is where our story ends. But the end of one story must mean the beginning of another, and perhaps bigger things are in store for Artic Fern and Gus's stable. While the disappointment is still crippling, the best I can do is be thankful that it wasn’t worse; Artic Fern is still in the barn, and with some better luck, will live to run another day. I will now have to shift my interests back to D’s Wando and Mobthewarrior, the two Plate contenders bred and sold by Schickedanz. 

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

On the evening of June 2, the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame at Woodbine Racetrack hosted a wine and cheese reception to introduce its 2010 inductees and to unveil display cases for Hall of Fame members Hugo Dittfach and Gustav Schickedanz.

The event began with a video tribute to the 2009 and 2010 inductees. Each human and horse were honoured with a few seconds of video clip displaying their character or greatest moments. After a few words from Woodbine handicapper Jim Bannon and new Hall of Fame president John Stapleton, the display cases honouring Dittfach and Schickedanz were unveiled.

Dittfach, an inductee of 1983, strung together a career that made him one of the foremost jockeys in Canadian Thoroughbred racing history. A winner of 4,000 races, Dittfach was a leading rider across the country, picking up titles in Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, and Ontario. Dittfach won the Queen’s Plate, Canada’s premier race and North America’s oldest continually run Thoroughbred race, in 1961. Among his accolades are a Sovereign Award as leading Canadian rider, and the 1991 Avelino Gomez Memorial Award.

Schickedanz, a longtime Ontario owner and breeder, was inducted into the Hall in 2009. Schickedanz’s horses call Schonberg Farm in Schomberg, Ontario their home, but the 81-year-old Schickedanz’s success has extended across the world. Most notably the breeder of multiple grade I winner and leading sire Langfuhr and his champion sons Wando and Mobil, Schickedanz is the only Canadian to have bred the winners of the Kentucky Oaks (Gal in a Ruckus), and the Arlington Million (Jambalaya).

The 2010 induction ceremony will take place on August 19 at the Mississauga Convention Centre. Leading this year’s inductees is Victory Gallop, the Canadian-bred winner of the 1998 Belmont Stakes. Victory Gallop, bred in Ontario by Ivan Dalos, placed second in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. The son of Cryptoclearance won an Eclipse award in 1999 as champion Older Male.

Also to be honoured in the horses category are Lady Angela and Victorian Era, both long overdue for recognition. Lady Angela is best known as the dam of Nearctic, sire of Northern Dancer. Victorian Era was Canada’s Horse of the Year in 1966.

Also worth noting is Mel Lawson, who, like Schickedanz, is a veteran contributor to the industry with his Jim Dandy Stables. Lawson has campaigned Sovereign Award winners Eternal Search, Let’s Go Blue, and Ginger Gold during his nearly 50 years in the industry.

From the standpoint of an industry participant and fan, and having worked for Schickedanz for nearly five years, the reception provided for a very enjoyable evening. The Hall of Fame looks better than ever, with enough well thought out and interesting displays to keep any racing enthusiast busy for hours.

For more information and a complete list of 2010 inductees, visit canadianhorseracinghalloffame.com.