Roses for Ben, a 5 year old British Columbia-bred gelding, from the sire Mass Market and dam Catahoula Rose, won his third career race this past Saturday September 17 at Vancouver’s Hastings Park. The fans and pundits were onto him and fancied his chances considerably, which was a bit of an unusual occurrence for his connections, who are not known for running “favourites”.
My mom has partial ownership in ‘Roses, sharing ownership with a few others, such as the trainer’s wife, and my mom’s son-in-law. Through knowing them I’ve come to appreciate ‘roses as more than simply either a racehorse, or an animal. He has intelligence, a personality, & is loved by those around him, and usually tries to compete in his races.
This year his owners & trainer pointed him towards the lucrative Endurance Series, a number of races run at ever-longer distances, which give lower level “claiming level” horses a shot at purse monies normally set aside for “better” runners. ’Roses didn’t quite fulfill the expectations, and was taken off the Endurance trail later this summer.
The race featured in the link was run at 1 1/16 miles, for horses with a claiming price of $5000. The ‘bottom’ level at Hastings is claiming $3000, so the field of 9 horses was not at all shabby. The purse was $10,000, with the winner getting the lion’s share, likely on the order of 70% of the total.
‘Roses last race before this was August 31st, 2011, when he finished 7th. It was an uncharacteristically ‘dull’ performance, but he probably had valid reasons. Sometimes, the race looks worse on paper than it actually was, as jockeys often sense their horse isn’t up to the task and do not ask them to do more than they are ready for on that day.
However, in this race, it was clear ‘roses was due for a better effort, and his supporters were fairly sure he’d be flying late, gaining ground on the other horses. They felt this race would be his chance to showcase his talent, delivering the strong late run he’d trademarked in his best performances. He was looking fit and on his toes. His coat shone. He’d been eating well, and seemed full of himself, playing eagerly with his groom and exercise rider. This, it appeared, would be a day he’d be tough to beat, especially versus an easier group of horses than what he’d been running against for most of the season.
There were 9 horses in the race, and he drew post position 4 in the random draw earlier in the week. Therefore, his saddlecloth colour would be yellow, and his trainer Darryl Stewart, began preparing his horse and rider for what could be ‘roses’ last race of the year, as there were only a handful of days left on Hastings Park’s racing calendar.
On the weekend of ‘Roses race, the weather in Vancouver BC had been wet and cloudy, so the racetrack surface was rated as ‘sloppy’ by track officials. Experienced analysts knew a wet track would only heighten ‘Ben’s chances, as not only did his pedigree strongly suggest he’d take to a wet track, he’d already shown a distinct fondness for the off-going.
He went into the starting gate calmly, carrying himself with the confidence of a horse ready to do what he loved most – run fast and beat the rest of the bunch. His yellow saddlecloth colour makes it easy to watch Roses for Ben while the race goes on. He broke last of the 9 from the gate, and was allowed to settle by his rider, journeyman Jorge Espitia. ’Ben saved ground and let the pace-setters and pace-chasers do their thing up front, all the while patiently collecting himself on the backstretch.
After a 1/2 mile, ‘Ben takes a vigorous hold of the bit, and lengthens his stride. It’s breath-taking to watch, as he boldly advances on the rest of the field and begins to pass horses. On the sweeping turn, ‘Ben was 5 wide when he turned for home, his rider sure ‘Ben was loaded with energy, and had the drive to overcome such a wide path to do well. It was the only choice ‘Ben had – either steer 5 paths wide from the white rail, or be left with no room to run, and no way to get to the finish line first.
It was very gratifying to see ‘Ben win the race, holding off a charging Patzcuaro , number 6, deep in the stretch and win convincingly. The second place horse was dropping sharply in class, but was a 3 year old facing his elders for the first time, and racing when he probably would have been better off resting after a busy season and not exhibiting much forward progress. The horse the crowd figured mostly likely to win, the ‘favourite’, was Texas Buccaneer, the number 1 horse. He only finished 3rd, living up to a reputation as a ‘nibbler’, a horse who lacks the killer instinct and seems to prefer minor awards.
Watching Roses for Ben run in this race and win, providing something of a mild upset , is a rewarding experience, proof that patience , teamwork, determination, and hard work can prove to be elements more effective at winning than just reputations, bloodlines and dollars pumped into a project.
a very difficult
