Trato to Retire After Injury

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

nle — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:51:18 GMT

i'm glad you had the experience fo your life because my parent, myself and all the family had the same experience you did. we claimed Special Matter for $12,500 and went on to win a grade 3 race. he took us to places we would have never experienced in horse racing. everyday i could see the smile on my parents face as I'm sure you had. Special now roams in my parent backyard and will enjoy the rest of his life there. that was there promise to Special Matter.

PS Just to let you know I was tracking your horse.

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

Jeff Deeney — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:30:43 GMT

Sandra, thanks so much for finding a temporary home at your farm where Trato can rehab for the next several months. We will be visiting soon!

Also, thanks to Southern California Thoroughbred Rescue (www.sctbrescue.org) for arranging everything and finding a good spot for him to recover.

If you wish to donate towards Trato's care and recovery please contact SCTB Rescue at sctbrescue@live.com or myself at jeff@deeney.net for details.

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

Lloyd Dalmacio — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:39:25 GMT

I bought a tiny share in Trato as a retirement gift for my dad two years ago. Growing up in the Bay Area, I remember spending weekend afternoons at Golden Gate Fields and Bay Meadows with Pops, watching the horses run and dreaming that someday we could own one. Trato was our first.

It was a great experience for my dad and I to see Trato progress from the little guy training at the farm to winning his first race at Golden Gate in the last jump. In between the victories at Bay Meadows, Ferndale and Fairplex, he tried his best and regularly was in the money. No matter where he was asked to run, Trato carried his lunch pail, punched the clock and put in his best effort. One couldn't ask for more from him everytime he ran.

My proudest memory of him was watching him battle three horses for the Cal Cup Starter Handicap honors at Santa Anita in October. Appropriately, it took a horse named Guts and all he had to just nose out Trato for the win.

I am hopeful that Trato will come through rehab successfully and go on to a long and happy life.

It has been a great ride watching him race and meeting all the other really nice owners, but most of all I thank Trato for giving my dad and I such wonderful memories we will always treasure. He will always be our first winner.

Lloyd Dalmacio

Noli Dalmacio

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

Sandra Warren — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 23:36:23 GMT

I'm happy to report that Trato arrived at my farm in Knightsen on Saturday. The weather was nice and he spent all day standing out in the sunshine, enjoying it. The rains came that night, and he now he stands in the stall doorway looking out all of the time. He's very high from being cooped up since the bow occurred, but he is a nice horse. The bow certainly looks like it will have no problem rehabbing normally. It is still hot and swollen, but he is not limping, and I expect him to recover fully. He would be very proud to know he had fans!

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

LittleGuyBreeder — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:00:03 GMT

Hey, I got to watch Trato's Humboldt Country Marathon over the weekend. What a great race he ran. Class act and a real professional! Add Trato to my list of favorite horses!

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

darlene — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 15:12:33 GMT

thanks for great news that trato will be ok All horses deserve a great home even the ones who never win a race I hope more and more owners will make sure that all their horses are taken care of after they are done racing thanks again Darlene in ohio

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

Jeff Deeney — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:40:55 GMT

For those interested, Trato now has his own Facebook page, it's a work in progress.

www.facebook.com/.../102677780583

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

Luvthehorses — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 02:22:52 GMT

Good luck to Trato.

I hope that he finds a loving, caring, forever home.

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

DONNA — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:08:08 GMT

Trato sure is a nice looking fellow. I'ts good to read a story about the average person getting into a partnership and the trials and tribulations they have. I'm sure with his caring connections Trato will find a caring home.

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

LittleGuyBreeder — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:45:39 GMT

He didn't just win distance races, he won true distance races. The C. J. Finley Memorial Humboldt County Marathon is 1 5/8 at the Ferndale track, which is a bullring. It's not a black-type stakes race, but it is one of the longest stakes races in the country. The one he missed, the Hasta La Vista at Turf Paradise, is a black type 1 7/8 turf race, making it one of the longest races in the country-period. Sad he didn't get a shot at it, but what a great story! Thank you for sharing it with us.

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

Kyri — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:04:42 GMT

Thank you for posting this. So often we see horses pulled up in distress and never hear another word about them. It's great to know that there may be a happy ending for Trato.

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

r8cehorseowner — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:25:56 GMT

Thanks for posting this feel good story. It's nice to see the people who do right by their horses getting their well deserved pat on the back.

I hope this sets an example for other owners to follow.

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

Rose — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:22:14 GMT

We forget that these claimers, the allowance horses and the weekday horses are the substance of the race scene. They are the blue collar force of the horse world as they represent the majority of the racing community. These horses are a vital part of the racing community, as they give the everyday person the opportunity to play the game. I am so glad you wrote this story. You focused on the norm of the industry and this narrative applaud's the blue collar working horse for the role they have in this industry.

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

Ruth A Plenty — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:34:59 GMT

Thank you, thank you, thank you Ted Grevelis - no I have not made a mistake with my three thank yous - I would write more but I could use all the space I'll be allowed.

Who? You are right Ted. I did not know of Trato. But, I know of the many, many wonderful champions who go to track day after day, and of their devoted loving owners/trainers. These champions, owners and trainers are not among the celebritie or even known beyond their "circles"; however, THEY are the back-bone of the yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows of the American racing industry.

Trato I send you a piece of my heart, a hug and a prayer for your quick recovery. To your connections I say Thank You for your love and respect to an honest horse.

Ted, not all your stories will have such a hopeful ending, but please do not stop speaking of these heros.

Ruth A Plenty

Pile of Old Rocks Ranch

Harmony and Hope Horse Haven Inc

Portal, Arizona

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

Jeff Deeney — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:31:24 GMT

There are several people in this story who deserve thanks:

1. Martin Pedroza for saving Trato's life. His quick work pulling him up on Thanksgiving day saved Trato. We will forever be grateful for that.

2. Armando Lage for doing a heck of job training this guy, especially after his return from his ankle injury. His last handful of races were his best performances of his career.

3. Doug O'Neill and his crew for being so accomodating to us after the race in the barn and taking good care of Trato.

4. Thanks to Ted for penning this item, and giving Trato some well deserved publicity.

Our first two horses as licensed owners were two yearlings we bought into a little over 3 years ago. One of them was a small colt named Trato. We fell in love with him at the farm from day one. He was a very sweet horse with a very playful personality. You couldn't help but get attached to this guy. We live 5 minutes from what is now left of Bay Meadows where Trato spent most of his career. We would visit him several times a week, and he would devour all the carrots we would give him. He would see us coming from a mile away and knew every time he was getting treats. As much as we loved the guy for his personality, another reason we were so attached to him was that he absolutely ran his tail off for us every time out. He shocked us by winning his debut race, after being 15 lengths back in the race. He won on dirt, grass, regular sized tracks, the half-mile track at Ferndale, and the bullring in Pomona. In just over two months, he went from a 6,250 claiming race to losing in a photo finish at the Cal Cup.

I know a lot of owners read this blog, and I am sure most of you have had a lot of horses pass through your barn, but there is one horse that means ten times more to you than any of the others, whether it was their personality, their heart, or how they ran on the track. This was our guy who is like that for us, for all of those reasons. Most of his owners feel that way, and he had also acquired many fans who had no official connections to him but had met him in the barn, or had seen him run.

I am glad to report that Trato is currently back up at Golden Gate Fields in Armando Lage's barn doing as well as can be expected. The difference between how we saw him on Thanksgiving Day at Hollywood Park right after the injury, to a few days later at GGF was very encouraging. The current plan is for him to stay at Armando's barn until the end of the month so they can keep a close eye on his recovery. After that, we have taken up the responsibility to make sure he has a good, permanent home. He deserves nothing less. We'll probably need to find him a place where he can have time to rehab his injury for several months before he has a permanent home. We're in the process of locating a good place for that as we speak. Janette and I would adopt him in a heartbeat, however we actually adopted Trato's half-sister, Maggie (aka Calm Agnes) a year ago from the track, and having two horses just isn't financially feasible for us, as much as we would love to keep him. We will do everything in our power to make sure he has a good home, and hopefully one nearby where we can visit.

Thanks to everyone who has sent well wishes in the last week, and again thanks to Ted for giving Trato his proper due.

Jeff and Janette Deeney

jeff@deeney.net

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

Windy City — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:26:38 GMT

I hope he will find a good home. He deserves it! Hold on, handsome boy!!

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

Karen in Indiana — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:16:31 GMT

Thank you for this story. And thank you to everyone involved with this horse to be as kind and considerate as they're being. I hope he finds a home with people who will care for him as much as they have.

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

Jake — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:12:02 GMT

I just loved this story, I am a small horse trainer and this is so true! We do this because we love the horses, it is not always about the almighty dollar,so we can all think about when our horses hurt so do we,, Thanks a lot!!

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

MLS — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:51:06 GMT

Good looking horse. I did a rehab on a bowed tendon in the past and ended up with a wonderful dressage horse. If the owners would consider vanning him to the midwest, he would get a happy (forever) home with me.

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

MIKE RELVA — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:41:09 GMT

MY HOPE IS THE CONNECTIONS DO RIGHT BY THE HORSE AND FIND A VERY NICE HOME FOR HIM.

re: Trato to Retire After Injury

minnie — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:17:45 GMT

Thanks for writing about this wonderful guy -- hopefully this attention will keep him from ending up at auction.