After 48 starts and nearly $1 million in earnings, hard-knocking gelding Night Ops has been retired and is preparing for his next career at Mid-Atlantic Horse Rescue (MAHR).
The 7-year-old graded stakes winner retires with a win in the Grade 3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker, and seconds in the G3 Ben Ali and G2 Monmouth Cup.
As an early 3-year-old, Night Ops was trained by Keith Desormeaux for Big Chief Racing and was later campaigned at the graded stakes level by Brad Cox for Steve Landers Racing. After three seasons running in stakes and allowance company, he eventually landed in the claiming ranks in fall 2022.
MAHR co-founder and president Bev Strauss said last week that Night Ops has been at the facility about ten days and is enjoying some downtime before he enters training for a new job.
“He is just happy being out with a herd of five other Thoroughbreds,” she said. “He is super classy and professional. We all love him.”
Racing fans had taken note of Night Ops' career shift on social media and many had expressed concern about his welfare based on his class changes. Strauss was more worried that he could end up in Puerto Rico, which has recently faced questions from mainstream media about the fatality rate and veterinary care quality of racehorses living there. Strauss had been unsuccessful in her attempts to retire stakes-winning gelding Chris and Dave before the horse was claimed by someone who exported him to Puerto Rico, and worried that the same could happen to Night Ops.
Meanwhile, Night Ops had been through eight trainers since the start of his career, and added a ninth this fall when he was purchased privately by Eliot Sullivan.
Sullivan said he'd actually tried to claim Night Ops earlier this year but had gotten outshook. He purchased Night Ops from Michael Simone after the Delaware Park meeting concluded.
“He's a really cool horse to be around,” Sullivan said. “Just really professional and loved doing his job. He was running on a much lower level now but he's a pretty healthy horse. Soundness wise he didn't have much going on. Really nice-looking horse, big in size, nice in coat.
“I like those type of horses, the older class horses. I try to claim a lot of those types of horses. I like to have them toward the end of their career because I can try to get them rehomed. I've had a few along the way and have kept a few of them.”
Sullivan took Night Ops to Mountaineer Park, where he won his final start for a $4,000 tag. He said he knew that he could keep running the horse at that level, but the chances were strong that he'd be claimed. Strauss reached out to Sullivan through a mutual friend, and Sullivan said he welcomed the call.
He had assumed he'd be the person who ultimately placed the gelding with an off-track home; Sullivan said he has connections in his native Ohio who work with Thoroughbred sport horses and has had a number of his runners go on to a polo operation there.
“They've brought a lot of horses out of the racing community into secondary homes, which is nice,” he said.
It is frustrating, Sullivan admitted, to see racing fans posting on social media, making assumptions about the quality of care at his barn, but he can see how they got there. He's seen management and horsemanship at the lower levels that troubles him, and recognizes that most people haven't seen the ways he tries to do things differently.
The public concern also meant that Strauss had heard from people who would be willing to purchase the horse for retirement if necessary. Longtime supporter Laurie Asseo stepped up in Night Ops' case to purchase and help transport him.
“Elliot was super happy, the horse looks like a million bucks, and he will be restarted after a little vacation and placed up for adoption with our contract,” said Strauss. “He will always have a safe place to land; it took a village!”
Sullivan said he's excited to see where Night Ops goes next. In his brief time in Sullivan's barn, the trainer came to think of him as a serious horse. Not one to cuddle during grooming sessions, and not one who's all that patient on the ground – but a horse who still exudes class, soundness, and who takes his job seriously.
“I'd contemplated contacting Old Friends and maybe sending him there because he's made a lot of money. He kind of fit the mold for what they might be interested in,” said Sullivan. “I told Bev, it'll be interesting with his transition. He's going to be a horse that needs a job. He doesn't like not doing anything.
“He's not that old – he's only seven – so he can go into a lot of different disciplines. Hopefully we can all follow along and see how he does in the future with that.”
The post Night Ops Retires, Preparing For New Career At Mid-Atlantic Horse Rescue appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
