A CHANGE IN THE OFFING?... Hope, at least (Part 57d)

On Sunday night I made contact with Dan to let him know I’d be at the track on Monday. The conversation was short and nothing was mentioned about my grandparents or what had happened to me. Elle didn’t want me to go to work on Monday because I was so weak. It was a struggle but I made it through the morning. At lunch time I told Chit that I didn’t feel well and wouldn’t be back until the next morning. He didn’t need to be persuaded telling me that I looked “like hell warmed over”.

Dan was back on Tuesday. He felt pretty confident that the horses he was preparing for racing at the season opening were progressing well so decided to take a closer look at the two and three year olds that I was training. They were all “staked” meaning that they would be racing on the Grand Circuit (GC) if they progressed as hoped. The GC didn’t start until Memorial Day week so there was still plenty of time. One of the horses I was training was a three year old filly that Dan had high hopes for. She’d disappointed him as a two year old, not training up to expectations so Dan had turned her out to pasture hoping she’d grow some and get stronger. He’d often brag how he’d ”stolen“ her at the yearling auction. She had magnificent breeding and Dan felt that even if she didn’t make it as a race horse that she’d be worth a lot as a broodmare. However, her value would be increased if she raced and earned a ”record”. (In harness racing, a horse’s "record" is the fastest winning time over a career. The faster the better.) I had told Dan that she seemed to be “hitting the wall” as far as training times were concerned. A 2 minute 20 second mile isn’t all that fast and she had a hard time getting there. Dan didn’t believe in using a whip in training feeling that it was best used in a tight race to surprise the horse. Using it in training gave a horse the chance to get used to it, therefore not responding when it really counted. We all called her Goldy as her full name was Golden something or other. In any case, Dan elected to go the last training mile of the day with her to see for himself. It didn’t bother me in the least. I was actually looking forward to seeing her, on the track, from a different perspective. Dan was able to get her to beat the 2:20 that had been a hurdle for me but just barely. I was standing with Chit while they were on the track and I made a comment to him that I thought that she would make a better pacer than a trotter. (In harness racing there are two different gaits... trotting, where when the right front foot and leg goes forward the left rear leg and foot go forward while the left front foot and leg go backwards with the right rear leg and foot also going backwards. Pacing is the other gait and that’s where when both right legs go in the same direction the left legs go in the opposite direction. Harness horses are bred to be either a trotter or a pacer. However, a horse bred to be a trotter can be switched over to become a pacer.) I was somewhat surprised when Chit agreed with me. I stored it in the back of my mind.

Dan was disappointed and told me he wanted me to take her to the blacksmith and to have him change her front (horse) shoes, making them a few ounces heavier. He also told me to put heavier toe weights on her the next time I trained her. I made notes and scheduled her for the blacksmith before Dan left to go back to the farm. On the day I took her to get her new shoes Chit made a comment that caused me to think about my comment to him on changing her over to be a “pacer“. While at the blacksmith shop I had a conversation with him about what it would take to convert her. It sounded really easy and I left with my mind really churning.

Goldy didn’t do any better in her next training session. Dan was there and when I reported back to him he made it sound like it was my fault. I took umbrage with his comment and shot right back that I thought she would probably make a better pacer than a trotter. He was like a volcano with his response. I listened to a diatribe on why she would never become a pacer. I never said another word. In a matter of a few minutes I saw my standing with Dan go from being fairly high (based upon not being criticized or yelled at pretty much since our arrival in Ocean City) to be in the toilet. In closing he told me that if he ever wanted my opinion he’d ask for it but not to hold my breath. He pretty much told me to keep my mouth shut around him.

The rest of the week went by without incident. On Sunday, after all the horses had been cleaned up and walked, Chit came up to me and told me that Dan was just being stubborn about Goldy. He went on to say he understood why Dan didn’t want to change her over. He’d paid a pretty good price for her trotting bloodlines. If he raced her as a pacer all that would pretty much be for naught. But what really had my attention was when he said that it made more sense to race her as a pacer than to not ever get her to the racetrack as a trotter.

I had about 1/8th the experience that Dan had but in the time I had been in the business I’d learned some important things. One of them had to do with a horse’s confirmation (the size and relationship of all of the moving parts of a horse). Goldy was small and stocky and her front legs were a bit short, not good for a trotter. She just looked like a pacer to me and Chit’s comments added to my feelings. I decided I was going to be stubborn as well.

Chit and I were standing in the grassy area between barns and I suggested we get a pair of hopples (leather loops that go around a pacer's upper legs to keep them on gait) and just hang them on Goldy and have her on a ”gyp” line to see what would happen. Chit grinned and headed off to get the hopples.

To be continued...