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Game on Dude retires to Old Friends

By on October 6, 2014

Game On Dude and Mike Smith win the Grade I $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap Saturday, March 8, 2014 at Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, CA. ©Benoit Photo

Game On Dude and Mike Smith win the Grade I $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap Saturday, March 8, 2014 at Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, CA.
©Benoit Photo

The Dude is coming! Multiple-graded-stakes winner and racing superstar Game on Dude was retired to Old Friends Oct. 3, the Thoroughbred Retirement Center in Georgetown, KY.

Michael Blowen, founder and president of Old Friends, made the announcement in a press release.

Campaigned by trainer Bob Baffert and owned by a partnership that includes Joe Torre’s Diamond Pride, the Lanni Family Trust, Mercedes Stable, and Bernie Schiappa, the 7-year-old gelded son of Awesome Again was retired from racing on September 18 following one of the most prestigious campaigns in history, the press release states.

Game on Dude holds the distinction of being the only horse to ever capture three runnings of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap. His Big ‘Cap victory in 2014 came at a near-American record time of 1:58 flat, which was the fastest time in the race’s 79-year history.In addition, he is only the second horse in history to sweep California’s three Grade I handicaps¬–the Santa Anita Handicap, the Hollywood Gold Cup, and the Pacific Classic– in the same year.

In his 34 career starts Game on Dude captured 16 wins, eight of them grade I stakes, and earnings of just under $6.5 million.

“We are thrilled that Bob Baffert and the owners of Game on Dude are entrusting Old Friends with their spectacular racehorse,” said Michael Blowen. “It’s such an honor to show him off to all of his fans and visitors. Over the last few weeks, Bob asked a lot of detailed questions about his care,” Blowen added. “Now I know how the people of Cleveland felt when LeBron James signed with the Cavs.”

“It feels like we are sending our child off to camp for five years,” said Baffert via telephone. “[My wife] Jill and I have been supporters of Old Friends and we really felt Game on Dude needed to be somewhere where he would be loved on–he is such a sweet horse, such a good soul, and we know there will be a lot of interaction there.”

Currently, arrangements are being made for Game on Dude’s flight to Kentucky via the Tex Sutton Forwarding Co. and arrival times will be announced when they are confirmed. A press event as well as a public viewing will be scheduled. ♥

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Ken’s Kitten expected to go big in dressage

By on October 3, 2014

Ken's Kitten, the son of millionaire racehorse Kitten's Joy, performs Third Level Dressage at the Retired Racehorse Training Project's Racehorse Makeover at Pimlico

Ken’s Kitten, the son of millionaire racehorse Kitten’s Joy, performs Third Level Dressage at the Retired Racehorse Training Project’s Racehorse Makeover at Pimlico

Ken’s Kitten is poised to be the next off-track “it” horse.

With comparisons already being made to Thoroughbred Olympian Keen, the son of 2004 Champion Turf Male Kitten’s Joy, has the kind of all-around sex appeal to drop jaws the instant he moves into his springy and balanced trot work.

And he has the mind and athleticism to excel at Third Level dressage after only two short years in training!

Thoroughbred sport-horse proponent Steuart Pittman is so excited about Kitten’s future that he has arranged for the flashy chestnut ex-racehorse and his trainer/owner Nuno Santos to do a demonstration in two months at the Rolex Three Day in Kentucky.

Kitten just has to be seen, Pittman says.

“There are so many people who say that modern racing bloodlines are not good enough for jumping, that they’re not the movers they once were,” says Pittman, founder of Retired Racehorse Project. “Well, eat your hearts out. This is one of the best moving horses in the country!”

Ken’s Kitten
Sire: Kitten’s Joy
Dam: Cruise Line
Foal date: April 11, 2007Santos and Kitten found each other a few years ago at a racehorse-training farm where the young progeny of a millionaire was being prepped to compete for Eclipse Award winning owners Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey.

By the time Santos swung into the saddle and began to feel Kitten’s “floating and supple movements,” the seasoned rider who previously rode for Bobby Frankel, and had galloped the likes of Ghostzapper and Azeri, knew instantly the horse had potential.

“Number one: He’s a very, very flashy horse, and even though he was a very nervous horse, I knew I could take the nervous out of him,” Santos says. “I started riding him for Tom Voss, who was training him for the Ramsey family, and he was such a nervous horse and he didn’t like to run. So, I kept bothering Tom, asking when they wanted to get rid of him, and finally, one day, Tom said, ‘OK. You can have him.’ ”

Ken's Kitten, who has a natural flair for dressage, demonstrated his prowess at last year's Retired Racehorse Project at Pimlico.

Ken’s Kitten, who has a natural flair for dressage, demonstrated his prowess at last year’s Retired Racehorse Project at Pimlico.

Santos gave up exercising horses to return to his roots as a dressage rider; he established Santos Sport Horses and began the slow, methodical process of harnessing Kitten’s energetic gaits.

“I was born in Portugal and my background is in classic European dressage,” Santos says, noting that after 15 years working on the track, it was a joy to start Kitten in the beautiful dance of the exacting sport of his youth.

“It’s been a long process, going day by day, and teaching him bits and pieces,” he says. “But after two years, he’s starting to perform really well. Knock on wood, I believe he’s going to be very special.”

The pair demonstrated Third Level work on the Pimlico racetrack last fall during at a national symposium hosted by the Retired Racehorse Project, and recently performed at the Maryland Horse World Expo.

In both cases, eyes were riveted to Kitten.

“A Thoroughbred,” Santos says, “can do what every other horse can do, sometimes a little better.”

Better is what Pittman is betting on.

“I think we’re looking at the next Grand Prix Dressage Champion off the track,” Pittman says.

Proving once again that an OTTB can move on up with the best of them. — This story is republished in honor of the upcoming Retired Racehorse Project’s show at Pimlico. ♥

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TRF welcomes Carl Domino to its board

By on October 2, 2014

Carl J. Domino, a longtime fixture on the New York racing circuit an d a staunch supporter of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, has been elected to the TRF Board of Directors.

Carl J. Domino, a longtime fixture on the New York racing circuit an d a staunch supporter of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, has been elected to the TRF Board of Directors.

(Press Release)
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY Carl J. Domino, a longtime fixture on the New York racing circuit and a staunch supporter of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, has been elected to the TRF Board of Directors.

“We are thrilled to have Carl join the TRF board,” said TRF Vice President of External Affairs Diana Pikulski. “Carl has been a major supporter of the TRF for many years and he really walks the walk with the horses in his stable, his generosity, and his fundraising on behalf of the TRF.”

A native of New Brunswick, N.J., Domino began his training career as assistant to Dave Schneider. Schneider trained horses for Domino’s mother, Lee Cannata, who owned a 14-horse stable in New York.

Domino would go on to train for several prominent owners, including the late George Steinbrenner’s Kinsman Stable, for whom he won Saratoga’s Grade 1 Ballerina in 1993 with Spinning Round; the late Fred W. Hooper, for whom he won Belmont’s Grade 1 Champagne in 1991 with Tri To Watch and Stanley Ersoff, for whom he won the Grade 1 Arlington Handicap in 1985 with Pass the Line.

On October 15, 1998, Domino’s 13-year-old daughter, Jana, died unexpectedly. The Jana Domino Thoroughbred Foundation was later created in her memory. Its purpose is to financially assist several racing related charities, including the TRF.

“I feel honored and excited to join the TRF, especially at a time when our sport is facing so many different issues,” said Domino, who has two winners at the current Saratoga Race Course meeting. “I am focused and dedicated to giving back to our horses that have given me so much love and pleasure in my career. It is crucial for all people in the horse business to do the right thing by the horses, and since I have always had their best interest at heart, this is a perfect opportunity for me to show it.”

Domino and his wife, Sophia, live in Sea Cliff, NY.

About TRF: Founded in 1983, the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) is the largest equine rescue organization of its kind, devoted to the rescue, retirement, rehabilitation and retraining of Thoroughbred racehorses no longer able to compete on the track. The TRF is perhaps best known for its pioneering TRF Second Chances Program which pairs inmates at various state correctional facilities across the nation with ex-racehorses. The inmates participate in a certified vocational training course in horse care and stable maintenance while experiencing the therapeutic benefit of working with horses. For additional information: go to www.trfinc.org, or call (518)226-0028. ♦

 

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