Behind the Gate

He was a fast horse and personality wise, he was the nicest horse I ever trained. George the Fifth was not the fastest horse I ever had but he showed up every night. Certain horses stick out in your mind for various reasons and he was one of them. Walter Simmons, Hal Bevan, Tom Clark and I were his owners. jack Brown’s T Bear Pride was a special horse to be around, a really nice horse bred by Wayne White and purchased from Errol Ford. Bold Rooster had kind of a special place with me and my stable. He was the first horse I saw each day, and if he was— n’t there we would miss him. He was owned by Bert Haneveld and we had him for eight years. We trained Lloyd Mathieson’s Thruway Hershey down to 2:02 as a two—year—old at the C.D.P. She went on to take a record of 1:51 at the Meadowlands and won nine races at that track in one year. She has become a suc- cessful broodmare. I owned Mam/man Hanover with Tom Clark and Hal Bevin and this horse took a record of 149.4 in the winter of 2006 at Woodbine in Ontario.”

An enlarged and beautiful picture of Woodmere jet adorns a wall of the tidy tackroom of the Ronnie Matheson Stable. I now know why, after asking him to select his favorite horse. He answered emotionally, “I co—owned W()odmer)_/et with Bill Mulligan and he was my all time favorite horse. We raced him as a two and three—year—old. I have never had a horse like him. He was a real horse. He never knew the end of a mile and he had a real—

‘\ .

ly good temperament around the barn.”

It was not surprising that Woodmere‘lez‘ was the horse that gave this talented horseman his most memorable race. He described that experience, “The biggest thrill I ever got while driving a horse was when Woodmere jet won the RBI. Colt Stakes at the GDP. in 1257.5. It was a track record for three—year—olds. He beat Woodmere Topcaz‘, a horse that he wasn’t supposed to beat. I knew how special our horse was before that race but the public didn't. We sold him to Neal Moase and the next year he raced successfully in Maritime Invitationals including the Gold Cup Trials. Tragedy struck when sick— ness ended his life prematurely."

I asked Ronnie What the biggest change was that he noticed in industry since his involvement. There were many possible and plausible answers to this question and each could be supported. Pylons, the quick—hitch, newer bikes, simulcast— ing, slots, etc. answers. Ronnie didn't select any of these and his answer may surprise you. He explained, “There is a lot more main— tenance done on the horse today. There is a lot more involved today in the care of a horse than there was when I was a kid at the C.D.P. For example, years ago there wasn‘t as much attention paid to a horse’s blood like there is today.” This was the biggest change for Ronnie but not the best change. He was emphatic when he said that the best change was definitely the replacing of the hub rail

were 501116 suggested

45