‘Special’ Uno Mas Modelo Preparing For Second Career With Racing For Home

Willingness to adapt to new surroundings and challenges is a hallmark of any successful athlete, equine or human. Uno Mas Modelo embodied that sentiment in a racing career that spanned 2015-19 and produced double-digit wins.

The Kentucky-bred son of Macho Uno, retired this year by Ron Paolucci Racing, produced consistent efforts at tracks across the country as he rose from claim to fame by winning a quartet of stakes races late in his 35-race career. The bay gelding posted a 10-5-1 record, mixing quality and quantity, compiling wins at five tracks in four states.

After registering a successful stint as a claiming horse who won at least one race for his first three trainers, Uno Mas Modelo came into the care of conditioner Anthony Quartarolo in 2018. The move resulted in a late-career resurgence, with all four of his stakes wins coming between 2018-19, when Uno Mas Modelo was 5 and 6 years old.

“He could win anywhere, he was a runner,” Quartarolo said. “We put blinkers on him and did some little things and he just turned it around. He got good and stayed good. He just kept winning. I love that horse. I love all my horses but he's special. He's a neat horse. To get good like that, he makes you look good as a trainer.”

His 5-year-old season also saw Uno Mas Modelo make an impression on New York fans, winning both of his 2018 starts at historic Saratoga Race Course before logging scores in the Bet on Sunshine at Churchill Downs and closing his campaign with a win in the Claiming Crown Rapid Transit at Gulfstream Park. He racked up two more stakes wins in Florida in 2019, taking both the Perseus and Rough and Ready. Fittingly for a horse who improved with age, Uno Mas Modelo ended his career with his first Grade 1 appearance, running 10th in the Churchill Downs going seven furlongs in May 2019.

On the track, a 7-year-old Thoroughbred such as Uno Mas Modelo is a respected old-timer. But as a horse, he is in the prime of his life with his breed's average lifespan between 25-28 years. With all his strength, intelligence, willingness and experience, Uno Mas Modelo just needed a new outlet to begin his career's next phase.

Racing For Home, a non-profit charity for off-the-track Thoroughbreds, is providing support for Uno Mas Modelo's new career. Founded in 2010 by NYRA television analyst Acacia Courtney, Racing For Home's mission is to rehabilitate and re-train racehorses for a second career. Run by Courtney and her mother, Sherrie Courtney, the organization was accredited in 2019 by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA), making them one of two such facilities in Connecticut and one of 74 throughout the entire United States.

Located in Ellington, Conn., Racing For Home provides Thoroughbreds with a structured and goal-orientated routine – similar to what was used during their racing careers – to transition to new vocations, which can include a new path as a show horse or preparation for adoption. The organization also provides a sanctuary for horses who were injured during their careers and physically cannot have a second career.

“They thrive on routine and having a job. They are bred to fill a purpose,” said Courtney, a key member of NYRA's America's Day at the Races broadcast team. “They can get bored, so giving them a new career, especially for horses just off the racetrack, is very important. Having a job, mentally, does so much good for them.”

Courtney said there are currently 11 off-track Thoroughbreds [OTTBs] in their care, with Uno Mas Modelo among the latest additions. The veteran horse last breezed in May at Churchill Downs and when his racing career concluded due to injury, Quartarolo's daughter, Ashley, reached out to the Courtneys about finding a new role for a talented horse who had banked nearly $400,000 in career earnings and won as many as five races in a single year.

“He didn't miss many dances, for sure, but he was a horse who came to our farm and is still in that transition period,” Courtney said. “He's the type of horse who you can tell has just received a lot of love and good care throughout his career. He's a total gentlemen and it's been a pleasure getting to work with him.”

A bowed tendon ended Uno Mas Modelo's racing days, but competition can still potentially be part of his future. As he heals, Racing For Home will try to transition him to a possible jumper once he's ready to be ridden and start that path.

“It might take a little bit of time to get there [being a jumper]. He didn't join us until this year,” Courtney said. “He had some foot issues and even walking was difficult for a while, but he's moving in the right direction. He's not able to be ridden just yet, but he has that attitude; the willingness to please, and he has such a good, calm mentality. When he is physically ready, the mental jump to a new career should be no problem at all. He just rolls with anything and is really agreeable.”

Uno Mas Modelo wasn't the first horse formerly trained by Quartarolo to end up with Racing For Home. The conditioner said the first Thoroughbred he got for his daughter, named First Love, didn't end up doing much on the racetrack and was handed over to an acquaintance in New Jersey. Years later, Quartarolo said they found out that First Love was in Racing For Home's care. When it was time to find Uno Mas Modelo a new home, the choice was obvious.

“He was a roan and he's all gray now,” Quartarolo said with a laugh. “We didn't even know she had him. So, after that, when we were looking at things for Uno, my daughter said, 'let me call Acacia because her family does a great job.' It's a great home for him, and they love him. He's a sweetheart.”

Courtney said that love and support from Quartarolo's barn was evident immediately after taking him in.

“His connections trained and treated him so well,” Courtney said.

“Unfortunately, some horses that have raced a lot of times can be very sour. Some of ours, it took them awhile to transition away from the racetrack. The mental side of things is the most important, so Uno is the great example of a horse who can re-train easily. But like people, horses have their own personalities and quirks and some transition more easily than others. You just have to follow their cues.”

Acacia Courtney said earning TAA accreditation was a proud moment as her non-profit is nearing its second decade of existence. NYRA and its horsemen are also committed supporters of the TAA, which accredits, inspects, and awards grants to approved aftercare organizations to retrain, retire, and rehome Thoroughbreds using industry-wide funding.

“For me, given that I work in the industry, aftercare is a huge part of my life and my family's life, so to know our organization meets those high standards, it's a source of pride for me and my mother,” she said. “When you have horses end up in great spots off the racetrack, it's a great feeling. It's not always a success story like Uno Mas Modelo.”

Courtney, who began riding at the age of 8 with training in the hunter-jumper and dressage disciplines, inherited a lot of her skills as horsewoman from her mother, bolstered by their time together when the organization was founded.

While Acacia now travels extensively for her television work, she remains as involved as possible with her schedule.

“She travels so much now and it's a fabulous career for her,” Sherrie Courtney said. “When she's in Florida, she obviously doesn't get to ride as much as she likes to, but early on when we first started, it was day-in and day-out and we did it together all the time. You need to be a soft, kind rider and that's what Acacia is. I think that's what I miss most about not having her with me is that she's not being able to ride as much. But I have myself and a wonderful trainer we work with, because no matter how experienced you are, eyes on the ground are so important.”

Sherrie Courtney said Uno Mas Modelo is thriving in his new surroundings.

“I've never had a horse quite like him where he's just settled in so immediately,” she said. “He's so kind. All the people who took care of him before did a wonderful job, because he's mannerly and kind and sweet.”

A frequent winner on the track, it appears that Uno Mas Modelo is well on his way to a successful second career as he bonds with his new caretakers.

“He likes human contact and loves when you are in his stall,” said Sherrie. “Right away, I blanketed him in his stall, and I don't usually do that because I don't really know the horse, but I just felt like he was so appreciative.”

And the Courtneys are appreciative for the support of the industry as they work to rehome retired equine athletes like Uno Mas Modelo.

“We care and we give the absolute best care for the horses. It's the point of giving them fabulous homes and giving them sanctuary,” said Sherrie. “That's what it is all about; making sure every horse is in a great situation and we're doing the best for them.”

The post ‘Special’ Uno Mas Modelo Preparing For Second Career With Racing For Home appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Imprimis Puts Orseno Back in the Spotlight

You have to have the right horses, manage them properly and get them to the big races when they are at their best.

Those are the sentiments of Classic-winning trainer Joe Orseno, who will saddle Saturday’s GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint morning-line co-second choice Imprimis (Broken Vow).

It’s been some time, 20 years to be exact, but this isn’t Orseno’s first trip to the Breeders’ Cup with a live runner. Far from it.

Back-to-back wins at the 2000 Breeders’ Cup-held then as just a one-day, blockbuster eight-race program-put an exclamation point on a career year for the now 65-year-old.

“That year, we won two Breeders’ Cups, the Preakness, and a bunch of Grade Ones, and I just thought it was gonna happen every year,” said Orseno, a former private trainer for Stronach Stables between 1998-2002.

“It’s not like I forgot how to train in the last 20 years,” he added with a laugh. “You have to have the horses.”

Orseno certainly had the horses on that aforementioned Championship Saturday at Churchill Downs. Perfect Sting and Macho Uno reeled off dramatic wins in consecutive fashion beneath Hall of Famer Jerry Bailey, providing Orseno with a rolling double in the GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf and GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, respectively. He also tightened the girth on Red Bullet to an upset victory over GI Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus earlier that spring in the second leg of the Triple Crown.

“That was a great day, obviously, for myself, the owners and my whole team, and a few of those guys are still with me,” Orseno reflected of the 2000 Breeders’ Cup.

“I thought I should’ve won one the year before and was very disappointed that Perfect Sting had a rough trip. I was like, ‘Geez, is this really ever going to happen for me?’ Then when she won, it was just like a big weight was lifted. We won a Breeders’ Cup! Wow! Then to come back and win the very next one. What can you say? It was just a great day. Two very good horses. And you know what? We had ’em ready to run that particular day. That’s what it’s about.”

Orseno looks like he has another one ready to run Saturday.

A punchless sixth in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita–Orseno’s first starter at the Championships since 2002–Imprimis underwent a pair of throat surgeries to repair a breathing issue this off season.

“Gene Recio had him on the farm in Ocala and started to hear a little noise once he was back in training,” Orseno said. “We went ahead and scoped him and saw that the first surgery was starting to fail a little bit. We walked him across the street to Equine Performance Center and did another surgery in February. This one worked and he hasn’t looked back since. It 100% has helped him.”

Imprimis crossed the wire a dominant winner in his comebacker for his 6-year-old debut, but had his number controversially taken down to third for causing interference in the stretch in Saratoga’s GIII Troy S. Aug. 8.

“Take the human aspect out of it as far as taking him down, the horse ran his race and he couldn’t have run any better off a 10-month layoff,” Orseno said. “I sent him there to Saratoga and he ran a great race, and I was very proud of that.”

The gelding got his chance at redemption and backed up that strong performance with a visually impressive, come-from-behind score in the ‘Win and You’re In’ GIII Runhappy Turf Sprint S. over the soft going at Kentucky Downs last time Sept. 12.

He’s earned Beyer Speed Figures of 101 and 102 in his two starts this year. Irad Ortiz, Jr, a perfect three-for-three in the irons aboard Imprimis, is booked again to ride this weekend.

Imprimis’s six-race campaign in 2019, led by a course-and-distance tally in Keeneland’s GII Shakertown S., included a trip to Royal Ascot, where he finished sixth in the G1 King’s Stand S.

“This year we chose to do a different path. He didn’t run as much and he’s very fresh,” Orseno said. “He was getting little to no air [last year], and he still tried every single time.”

Produced by the Put It Back mare Shoppers Return, Imprimis was purchased privately by Mike Hall and Sam Ross’s Breeze Easy LLC after beginning his career with a pair of wins for breeder Craig Wheeler and trainer Tim Hills at the age of four.

The Florida-bred’s resume also includes wins in the 2018 Jim McKay Turf Sprint S. at Pimlico and the Wolf Hill S. at Monmouth, and the 2019 Silks Run S. at Gulfstream. Hailing from the family of GISWs Miss Shop (Deputy Minister) and Power Broker (Pulpit), he sports a record of 15-8-0-2 and career earnings of $759,948.

“When he’s right, he brings his ‘A’ game,” Orseno said. “I’m going in there knowing that my horse is as good as I can have him and as good as he could be. He’s ready.”

A native of Philadelphia, Orseno grew up not far from the now defunct Garden State Racetrack and went to the races with his father as a kid. He paved his own way into the business, taking out his trainer’s license in 1977. “When I was in high school, I played sports. I didn’t grow up around the horses,” Orseno said.

Based year-round at Gulfstream Park with 40 stalls, Orseno is closing in on 2,000 victories and $50 million in career earnings. Since re-opening his stable to the public in 2002, his runners have grossed seven figures in earnings in every season bar three. Other standouts campaigned by Orseno include GISWs: Golden Missile, also a longshot third in the 1999 GI Breeders’ Cup Classic, Collect the Cash, Roaring Twenties and Tap to Music.

“I’ve always been a hands-on trainer,” Orseno concluded. “The game’s changed a lot since I first came in. [Late trainer] Mickey Crock took me from the ground up and taught me the right way. The horsemen way. I always say, ‘There’s horse trainers and there’s horsemen.’ I always considered myself a horseman.”

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