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Eclipse Award Winner Bert Firestone, Owner Of Derby-Winning Filly Genuine Risk, Passes At Age 89

The Eclipse Award-winning owner of 1980, Bertram Robert Firestone died July 12 in West Palm Beach, Fla., at the age of 89, reports bloodhorse.com. He is perhaps best known for campaigning Genuine Risk, just the second filly in history to win the Kentucky Derby (1980).

In all, Firestone and his wife Diana Johnson campaigned 17 Grade or Group 1 winners and multiple champions: Honest Pleasure (1975 U.S. Champion 2-Year-Old); April Run (1981 French Champion 3-Year-Old Filly, 1982 U.S. Champion Grass Mare); Blue Wind (1981 English & Irish Champion 3-Year-Old Filly); Play It Safe (1981 French Champion 2-Year-Old Filly); Theatrical (1987 U.S. Champion Grass Horse); and Paradise Creek (1994 U.S. Champion Grass Horse).

The Firestones originally partnered with Hall of Fame trainer LeRoy Jolley, but were also responsible for sending Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott his first big horse, Theatrical.

“I had a private job with them for about five years, and I could not have been treated any better,” Mott told bloodhorse.com. “They were the ones who got me to New York full-time. They gave me a huge opportunity, and they sent Theatrical to me. He did more for my career than any other single horse. He was my first champion and first Breeders' Cup winner. I'm forever grateful for those opportunities.”

‘Onwards And Upwards’: 500th Career Win, Promising Juveniles Bring Optimism To Trainer Ingrid Mason

Trainer Ingrid Mason registered her 500^th career win on Sunday at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Ill., when Storminside scored a wire-to-wire victory as an odds-on favorite in the day's second race, a $4,000 claiming event going six furlongs.

A former exercise rider and jockey who in the early 1990s traveled to Dubai to work in Sheikh Mohammed's stable, Mason began training in 2004, saddling her first winner with her eighth career starter the following February. She lost the few horses in her stable, went back to exercising horses for a few more years, then returned to training in 2009. She hasn't looked back since.

“I started at the bottom and worked my way up,” said Mason, 50, who has stabled primarily at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas and Arlington and Hawthorne in Illinois. “When I restarted my career at Arlington, I had three horses and was work riding for Steve Asmussen. I'd start at 4 a.m. and work till 1 p.m. then come back to feed.”

Mason grew her stable to 40 horses at one point (she's now at about 28) and put together six consecutive $1-million plus earnings years beginning in 2014, her best season coming in 2016 when her runners earned $1,432,666. Much of that was earned by stable star Sarah Sis, a five-time graded stakes winner for Mason. The trainer's winningest year was in 2014 when she won 56 races from 287 starts.

“I've had a rough couple of years after some great years, but that happens to everybody,” Mason said. “If you don't have the animals to back you, it's hard. It's a challenging sport and so many things can go wrong. My biggest thing is to try and do as much preventive management as possible.

“I've got some nice babies this year, so it's onwards and upwards,” she added. “That's the fun and exciting part of our sport, the youngsters coming up and getting to watch them develop and progress. It's exhilarating and the best part of the game.”

Storminside is anything but a youngster. The 7-year-old gelding by Hansen was bought privately early in 2019 by Mason's “significant other,” Mike Waters, who races as Muddy Waters Stables. In his second start for Mason, Karl Broberg claimed Storminside for $10,000. Nine weeks later when Broberg ran him for the first time in a $6,250 claiming race, Mason and Waters claimed him back. He's been in the stable ever since, winning four of 21 starts, including his last three.

He was claimed out of Sunday's winning effort.

“I'm very fortunate,” Mason said. “I've got a lot of great owners who have supported me through the years and have never left my side, even during some difficult times. I'm very grateful for that. It's hard to find loyal people in this business, especially when they see this guy or that guy winning races at high percentages.”

Mason could not be at Arlington for her milestone win, watching the race at home after being hospitalized for two days with a kidney issue. She is hoping this will not be her final year of racing at Arlington, which has been put up for sale by the track's corporate owner, Churchill Downs Inc., and could be shut down for development.

“There is optimism here, because there are a lot of good people in the industry who want to buy Arlington Park and keep racing going,” she said. “To see Arlington Park close would be the saddest thing in the world.”

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‘I Had Big Hopes’: Moubarak Disperses British Stable, Will Return To U.S.

G1-winning trainer Mohamed Moubarak has quit as a trainer and is returning to the US frustrated at not being able to compete at the level he had hoped, despite starting his second spell in Newmarket with Zaaki in his stable.

Moubarak, 55, saddled his final runner at Newmarket's July Festival to bring an end to a six-season stay and will fly to Saratoga this week with plans to continue working in the racing industry, though not as a trainer.

“I really would have liked to have been able to compete at the highest level here,” he said. “When I left here in 1992, I had a stable full of Group horses and there was no money made from prize-money. Then I come back 30 years later and it's still the same money. I left everybody here arguing and trying to go on strike to raise prize-money and they are still at it today.”

In his first spell with a trainer's license Moubarak trained 53 winners in Britain and a hatful of big-race successes, including the Yorkshire Oaks with Magnificent Star, the Royal Lodge with Made Of Gold, the Park and Duke Of York Stakes with Green Line Express and the Mill Reef with Forest Wind. He was then in his 20s.

Moubarak's hopes of experiencing similar success second time were undermined when Zaaki, now one of Australia's top-rated horses, was moved on after one season having competed at up to G2 level. As a result there has not been a big win among his 33 winners.

“The progression was very slow and we never exceeded 12 or 13 horses in the stable and they were all bought very cheaply, with the exception of Zaaki and Poets Dream, who I bought in the first year and they turned out to be very nice horses,” he said.

“Neither stayed with me from two to three which hurt me a lot because they could have gone a long way. One went to Sir Michael Stoute and the other one went to Qatar. They were moved by the owners.

“I had big hopes for them turning three. I made a mistake. What I should have done was not run them until much later in their 2-year-old season, but having so few horses you are inclined to attack a little early.”

Zaaki, who cost 40,000gns as a yearling, went on to land two G3 races for Stoute but has really flourished in Australia under Annabel Neasham, winning the G1 Doomben Cup and two G2s to establish himself among the country's elite performers.

There have been others who have profited under Moubarak's care.

“We bought Royal Dynasty for 1,000gns and the other day she sold for 80,000gns after she won seven races and was placed seven times,” he said.

“Texting was bought for 14,000gns and she won five races and placed literally every time. It's been hard. I bought Tailor Made for 9,000gns and we sold him for 150,000k to Hong Kong.

“Overall I can't complain about the job done by me and my team, but I am not happy with the fact we didn't get a big horse.”

Lebanese-born Moubarak has been involved in racing since his teens, learning his trade under John Oxx, Paddy Mullins and Vincent O'Brien. He left Britain in 1982 to pick up his career in the US with his main owner Mahmoud Fustok, first as trainer then racing manager until Fustok was killed when hit by a car while out jogging in 2006.

Second time around Moubarak has been indebted to Royal Dynasty's owner David Fremel who “has been a super owner and the backbone of the whole stable”. But he was not so lucky with others who either failed to come up with the promised support or proved bad payers, which hurt him financially.

“Certain people told me to get a license and they will give me support,” he said. “I got the license and they weren't there. I am old enough to know that without a big owner behind you it doesn't work.

“It's left me not in a good financial position with some guys that really hurt me. It hurts much more with a small stable.”

Moubarak has dispersed his string and will regroup in the US where he previously sourced horses for the likes of Nick Zito, Richard Dutrow, Patrick Byrne and Bill Mott.

“I always bought most of the nice horses that Rick had when I was there, winning all types of races at Breeders' Cups, Dubai World Cups, and G1s all over America.” he said. “I hope to be recruiting horses over there. I also have a small market to get American horses for Saudi Arabia and Qatar.”

This story was reprinted with permission by Horse Racing Planet. Find the original piece and more content here.

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After 2020 Hiatus, Trevor Denman Ready For Del Mar Return

Trevor Denman called the last race at Del Mar's fall session on December 1, 2019. Shortly thereafter, he and his wife of 26 years, Robin, saddled up and headed east to their little piece of heaven in Kellogg (population 450), Minnesota for a winter's nap that turned out to be a whole lot longer than they'd planned.

As a result of the COVID pandemic, the Denmans opted to lay low on their 500-acre rural farm for what wound up being the whole year and even into 2021, causing the race caller to miss his first Del Mar season since he began employing his distinctive tones and style at the shore oval in 1984.

Del Mar was able to plug in a fine pinch-hitting caller for both of its 2020 meets in Larry Collmus, but now stands ready to return its longtime (this will be his 37th Del Mar summer) “voice” to the stand starting on July 16.

How and what has Trevor been doing during his extended hiatus? Read on and let him tell you.

Q – How are both you and Robin doing after approximately 20 months at home avoiding the pandemic?

A – We are doing really well. We are so remote that COVID did not affect us very much. We have a driveway which is a mile long, so we do not even see the mailman – he drops the mail at the end of the drive. We have a new farmhouse and these new houses are practically sound proof, so we don't even hear the UPS deliveries arrive (which is about twice a week). We open the front door and there they are. I get gas once every 5 or 6 weeks and even grocery shopping is a breeze nowadays – one orders online, arranges a time for pick up and someone bring a trolly out and loads your groceries into the trunk. No contact at all! Since we live in farmland and the towns are very small the chances of getting enough vegetarian supplies are not very high, so our grocery shopping is done 45 miles away in Rochester (population 106,000). Ironically, Rochester is the home of the Mayo Clinic, which means there are tons of healthy food choices. Overall, dealing with the pandemic has gone well in Minnesota. They're mostly law-abiding citizens with great morals and they have handled it very responsibly.

Q – You built a new house and moved into it in 2019. You said your old farm house (built in 1858) was simply going to be 'left to the critters' (mice, squirrels, etc.) How are the critters doing in their new home?

A – We were just a nuisance to them when we lived in the house; we were squatting in their territory. They think they own the house anyway, so they are doing just fine.

Q – How will you return to Del Mar – take a train, take a plane, take a car?

A – We are driving. I have a penchant for Indian War battle sites. We are going through South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming, which are prime battle site states. So we will take a week to get to Del Mar.

Q – Do you have your regular spot to stay here for the summer?

A – Yes, we stay in a very quiet area near Lake Hodges. It's tucked away behind trees on a large lot.

Q – Will you go back to Kellogg between Del Mar's summer and fall meets?

A – Yes. It's just too long to stay in California for that period of time (approximately two months).

Q – It's going to be more than a year and a half between race calls for you. Any concerns?

A – I feel a little weird right now. I will probably call some races off TVG in my entertainment room this week just to 'loosen up.'

Q – Del Mar used to race six days per week, but now the focus is on fuller weekend race cards and less weekday racing. How much easier is it for you now with the fewer race days?

A – Thank goodness I was in my 30's and 40's back then! (He's 68 now). We would live life to the fullest each night and still be at the track six days a week. I dare not go out at night now because I might miss work for two days afterwards! It is certainly much easier now, though I wouldn't mind a five-day week.

Q – There aren't a lot of Mexican restaurants in the Kellogg area; there are many in Southern California. How do you and your vegetarian ways get on with Mexican cuisine?

A – We have a great Mexican restaurant (authentic) in a place called Lake City, which is about 35 miles away, but that's no problem when you have all day to eat lunch. Besides, the drive is along the shores of beautiful Lake Pepin and there is hardly any traffic. They have delicious vegetarian food. In San Diego we have a Mexican restaurant where they have a special menu just for vegetarians – perfect!

Q – When you dropped back from a year-round schedule to calling only Del Mar in 2016, you used a lovely phrase to explain it: “It is time to stop counting dollars and start counting stars.” How have those stars been looking in Minnesota?

A – The stars at night are truly unbelievable! One looks up and sees a billion stars. Then one gets the binoculars out and looks up and sees a trillion stars. We see the International Space Station all the time. It feels like you can almost touch it. The night sky is just so tranquil. You want to be awed by the solar system? Come see it in rural Minnesota. Ursa Minor (Big Dipper) is right outside my bedroom window and the North Star is right there, too. Awe-inspiring sight!

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