For each Off-the-Observe Thoroughbred fanatic, having a sound and wholesome former racehorse to accomplice with for a second profession is all they hope for. And whereas these identical folks will let you know their horse’s racing historical past does not matter a lot, many of those identical OTTB devotees will even admit their immense delight in explaining their companion’s racing profession, recreating as a lot of it as attainable to anybody who will hear.
Nearly everybody within the Thoroughbred trade understands that almost all OTTBs are runners who served because the spine of racing, filling the smaller-money races at tracks throughout the nation, so it is uncommon when a horse who competes on the very high of the sport results in a second profession that does not embrace a breeding shed or broodmare barn. The OTTB graded stakes winner–even a Grade I horse–is just like the elusive Large Foot or UFO of racehorse second careers. We all know they’re on the market, but they’re not often seen.
So think about, if you’ll, having not only one and even two, however three Grade I winners in your yard.
Maggie Home-Sauque has spent a lot of her life competing on the elite degree within the hunter/jumper world the place highfalutin and costly Warmbloods have–for essentially the most half–taken the place of strong OTTBs. However that is to not say she hasn’t advocated for second careers and hasn’t had an excellent quantity of success within the present ring with former runners. Over the previous three many years Home-Sauque’s father, longtime California proprietor Mike Home, has campaigned quite a few high horses both alone or in partnership, together with 2022 champion 3-year-old filly Nest (Curlin), and Home-Sauque has adopted and/or rehomed a handful of them, together with Bing Bang (Fr) (Marignan), who greater than held his personal within the hunter/jumper rings for quite a few years and after greater than 20 years with Home-Sauque died peacefully final month at age 27 because of the infirmities of previous age.
On the 2012 Ocala Breeders’ Gross sales Firm’s April sale of 2-year-olds in coaching, Home plunked down $160,000 for a good-looking bay son of Avenue Hero he would later title Gabriel Charles. On the time, Home-Sauque had just lately given delivery to her son prematurely and the infant, who they named Gabriel Charles, spent the primary few weeks of his life in a San Diego NICU. Like each horse who wears the yellow and purple blissful face silks well known as Home’s, hopes and expectations had been excessive for the horse, however possibly extra so for this one who carried a really particular title.
“We took the infant to all of Gabriel Charles’s races as quickly as he was capable of go,” Home-Sauque mentioned. “It was positively a household custom. If I could not go, my husband Alex would take Gabe with my dad. If my husband could not go, I’d. My son lacking certainly one of Gabriel Charles’s races wasn’t an choice.”
Gabriel Charles gained 4 of 12 begins for earnings of $604,400 and as if it had been some sort of kismet, when he crossed the end line first within the 2015 GI Eddie Learn S. he turned the Home household’s first Grade I winner. Sadly the Jeff Mullins-trainee battled a sequence of points all through his profession, together with a tendon damage and a life-threatening bout with colic, and with little fanfare he was retired in 2016 after a runner-up end within the GIII San Francisco Mile.
A quick stud profession at Dave and Sommer Smith’s Nextstar Ranch in California adopted, however when the good-looking bay failed to draw many breeders, the choice was made to geld Gabriel Charles and provides him a distinct sort of second profession. Home-Sauque is the proprietor of Fortunate Child Farms at Bella Terra Estates in Jumul, CA, the place she lives and trains showjumpers and likewise offers driving classes to children, so she had area.
“We all the time mentioned we would do what was finest for him,” Home-Sauque mentioned. “We tried to get him some good mares and my dad despatched a pair to him and Jeff (Mullins) did too, however he could not compete with the opposite stallions and greater farms so Sommer and I made a decision that gelding him and bringing him house and giving him a job was the proper factor to do. My son was so blissful, he’s completely bonded with this horse and this horse loves my son.”
Gabriel Charles, now 13 years previous, has transitioned right into a driving horse like a champ and he’s continually surrounded by motion, from his personal classes and education to watching different horses’ classes. However by far essentially the most particular factor for Gabriel Charles is spending time along with his very personal now 11-year-old little boy.
“Not too way back he bought unfastened someway, as they do, and ran round like a mad man,” Home-Sauque remembered. “And after a few minutes he noticed Gabe and ran proper over to him and stopped. That simply exhibits how a lot they love one another. He wouldn’t cease working till he discovered Gabe.”
Gabriel Charles’s standing as the one “large horse” at Fortunate Child Farms would not final, nonetheless.
In 2015, Home-Sauque’s father privately bought a good-looking grey 3-year-old Dundalk maiden winner named Hunt (Ire) (Darkish Angel {Ire}) and introduced him to California for a turf marketing campaign. Within the care of coach Phil D’Amato, for greater than a yr Hunt raced primarily in allowance firm earlier than profitable his first stakes, the listed Siren Lure S. at Santa Anita in 2016. After which in 2017, the Home household was again within the GII Eddie Learn S. winner’s circle after Hunt earned his first graded stakes win within the Del Mar turf function, claiming a second victory within the race for the Home household. Wins within the GII Del Mar H., GII Seabiscuit H. and GI Shoemaker Mile adopted, making Hunt the official Home horse and their most profitable runner as much as that time.
And all of the whereas the affable grey loved secure visits from his household, particularly Home-Sauque herself.
“We all the time go to our horses within the barn space,” she mentioned. “We do it as a household, my husband Alex and my son and my mother and father and I. Hunt loves folks so he beloved the visits. And my dad all the time knew that when Hunt was executed he had a house with me, it doesn’t matter what. And that is precisely what occurred.”
In 2019 after struggling a minor damage Hunt was retired with a report of 32-9-5-3 for earnings of $918,156. Nowadays 11-year-old Hunt is now practically white and spends his time sleeping within the San Diego solar when he is not being ridden or offering leisure for Home-Sauque’s camp children.
“Throughout holidays and college breaks children come and do camp right here,” she defined. “We gown the horses up and paint them and do video games and issues with them. Hunt loves the children and he loves the eye. He’s essentially the most sort soul and we love having him right here and I thank my dad each day for doing the proper factor for the Huntster.”
Rising up across the racetrack all the time creates tight bonds with the households who take part, as everybody is aware of, and this state of affairs was no exception for the Home and Wellman households. Home-Sauque has identified Eclipse Thoroughbred Companions’ Aaron Wellman since he was 9 and she or he was 12. They used to hang around at former coach Jude Feld’s Del Mar barn as children and have maintained a friendship ever since. And it was Wellman who introduced Mike Home in as half proprietor of Nest.
In 2021, Eclipse Thoroughbred Companions’ GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile winner Ohio (Brz) (Elusive High quality) had been retired sound at age 9 and Wellman was on the lookout for a spot for him to be let down and get some coaching with the concept he’d ultimately change into a driving horse for his daughter, Sadie. Quickly after, Ohio arrived at Fortunate Child Farm, the place Home-Sauque would develop a plan for his post-racing life.
Coach Michael McCarthy referred to as Home-Sauque on the time as he was making ready GI Preakness S. winner Rombauer for the GI Belmont Stakes to present her extra perception into the good-looking gelding.
“I could not consider he took the time throughout an important time in his profession after profitable the Preakness and whereas he was preparing for the Belmont to name me and inform me about Ohio,” Home-Sauque remembered. “He advised me his quirks, among the little points he had, all of it. He did not need me to have any surprises and he needed Ohio to have an excellent retirement. He actually went above and past.”
It wasn’t lengthy earlier than Ohio’s retirement plans modified, although solely barely.
“Aaron came over and noticed how blissful he was,” Home-Sauque mentioned. “I advised him Ohio may keep if he needed him to for so long as he needed him to. And Aaron determined that it will make Ohio most blissful to remain and be one of many lesson horses right here. And Ohio is so blissful doing it, too. He loves the children and he loves his job. He was made to do that.”
The novelty of caring for 3 Grade I winners is not misplaced on Home-Sauque, who has all the time been a racing fan along with advocating for OTTBs. However she says the horses’ racing accomplishments do not actually have a lot to do with their lives right this moment and should not outline their care, or take care of any OTTB for that matter.
“They’re the identical as all of my horses right here,” Home-Sauque mentioned. “They eat the identical meals, they get the identical care as all of them. Bing Bang was right here nearly his entire life and there are different OTTBs right here owned by some shoppers. Sure, it is nice to have them right here and it is particular for us realizing what they did on the monitor for our household and for Aaron’s, but it surely does not matter.
“We love all of them the identical.”
