RR Stats

Here is former trainer Ronald Brandsma in the winner's circle at PM in the early 1990s. The onsite trainer in fact is standing at the left holding the halter. I'm in there somewhere.

JB was a favorite horse who almost daily for nine years gave it all he had. When he retired at age nine without any doubt he had more miles on the odometer than any racehorse in the USA. He went through the Iver's program twice, once with Paul Feliciano who broke Secretariat's maiden, as exercise rider.

One morning on the day of a major coming out race JB fell over in the washrack and fractured a hip. I'll always remember the incredulous look on Feliciano's face as I led the limping horse back to his stall. "What happened", Paul asked. I was just shaking my head.

I'm supposing if I'm going to ferret out the injuries in the Lukas and Mandella stables and indict the entire conventional training establishment, it would be fair to record the injury history of the RR stable through the years.

I'm finding it more difficult than expected to condense 20 years of stuff, but, give it a shot.

I've had 18 horses. 11 from auctions and 7 homebreds. I only train my own, and I had sole control. Seven is also the number that never trained. Eleven trained and five raced. There have been something like 30-40 races. There have been six wins. For a good long while I prided myself on never ever having finished out of the money. After JB fractured his hip I just raced him for fun, and that streak was broken.

My racing was unexpectedly interrupted in 2001. I had seven racers ready to roll on day one of the 2001 Woodland's meet. On day three I suffered a serious injury that kept me out of commission for a year, and forced the sale of all horses but four.

Of the horses failing to make it to training: one was too small, one talented filly there was never time for, another fractured her skull, another won at Oaklawn and died a month later, two had wind problems, and one was a danger to herself and rider due to rearing.

In chronological order to my best memory the injury record of the eleven trainee's follows. An (R) indicates the horse raced. There are a total of eight injuries below. Two were career enders.

Jeckimba Bay (R): bowed his tendon on a swede's plastic horseshoe three days post purchase. Next, injured a shoulder, out two weeks before first race. The horse was retired after a low bow late in year eight from a last ditch effort we knew might cause an injury.

Windy Lea (R): three years training, suffered career ender suspensory. RR gives new trainer at Remington directions for first gallop. Ooops. Instructed one mile too far. 50 phone calls to correct never reached the trainer. She faithfully followed instructions, three miles--one mile too far, in the slop under 150 lbs. goodbye suspensory.

Smooth Machine: this magnificent animal--people used to come out of the barns to watch this 17 hand Seattle Slew grandson work, fractured a pastern when Feliciano did a 5/8 instructed at 1:07 in :59. The mistake of lack of rider control. A $3000 pastern which we could have raced on, but, declined.

Aywlard(R): still going at age 12 without a pimple on him. Several wins.

Groovin Wind(R): still going at age 12. GW was heading to the derby but kept running away every day. Consecutive days of 2 miles at1:50 pace between breezes caused the beginning of a saucer fracture. The only other injury was mild tendinitis above the fetlock suffered in a race where the jockey walked him to the gate--a failure of warmup.

Gold Brush: This Broad Brush was a major league horse. His first 1F breeze was instructed in :15. The rider did 3f in :36. Wanted to see what the horse could do--lack of rider control again--horse was in no way ready for that--result, splint fracture. Later retired when suffered an eye injury.

Dr. Jackson, Code Name Doc, and Big Time Bones(R) and Danzig Connection Colt: Three were Pancho Villa Colts and all four had major talent. Bones went on to win two races after bowing a tendon. Bone's bow was directly attributable only to my own stupidity. Major error here. The regular jock was hurt out on the track the day we were to do a final breeze for Bone's first race. A substitute jock weighed 15 lbs more. I made the mistake of proceeding so we could get in the race, which was near the end of the year. Big mistake. Way too much weight for the little horse, and to compound things, after I had pounded into this new rider's head to abort if he failed to change leads in the stretch, that is exactly what happened. the idiot persevered with the horse. result bowed tendon. These horses suffered no other injuries over three years of training. All were sold when I had my accident.

Acesmash: Another that I thought early would be a break through horse. Tremendous athlete who turned into fat pig as he aged. My injury prevented early racing. Trained five years steadily without a scratch

Today's Training:
2/6/07: Mild exercise riderless pasture romp in bad ground conditions
2/7/07 Rest due to frigid weather
2/8/07 I was very pleased with today's result. The ground had softened some. We got some decent riderless speed out in the pasture, then came back in the paddock and went a few rounds. A good strengthening day to get back on track. Did some bellying with Art under tack.