For every Thoroughbred Off-the-Track enthusiast, having a strong and healthy old racehorse to partner with in a second career is all they’ve been hoping for. And while these guys will tell you their racing history doesn’t matter much, many of these OTTB fans will also acknowledge their immense pride when it comes to their racing careers. their companion’s horse, recreating it as much as possible for anyone to listen.
Nearly everyone in the Thoroughbred industry understands that most OTTBs are runners who act as mainstays of the race, filling lesser money races at races across the land. water, so it’s rare for a horse competing at the top of the game to end up in a second career that doesn’t include a barn or hatchery. The OTTB-classified bet winner – even a Class I horse – is like Big Foot or the elusive UFO in a racehorse’s second career. We know they’re out there, but they’re rarely seen.
So imagine, if you will, not one or even two, but three Class I winners in your backyard.
Maggie House-Sauque has spent most of her life competing at the elite level in the hunter/diver world, where expensive Warmbloods and expensive falutin have – for the most part – supplanted the Solid OTTB. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t support a second career and doesn’t have a lot of success in the ring with former athletes. Over the past three decades, House-Sauque’s father, longtime California owner Mike House, has campaigned alone or in partnership with some of the top horses, including the 2022 champion, 3-year-old. chubby age. Nest (make for curly), and House-Sauque has adopted and/or rehabilitated a few of them, including Ice Tape (Fr) (Marignan), who had held onto his power in the hunter/diver’s ring for many years and after more than 20 years with House-Sauque passed away peacefully last month at the age of 20. 27 due to sickness of old age.
In April 2012 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company sold 2-year-olds in training, House dropped $160,000 for a handsome Street Hero son he later named. Gabriel Charles. At the time, House-Sauque had just given birth to a preterm son and the baby, whom they named Gabriel Charles, had spent the first few weeks of his life in the NICU in San Diego. Like every horse wearing the yellow and purple happy-faced silks widely recognized as belonging to the House, hopes and expectations are high for the horse, but perhaps even more so for the stallion. This is a very special name.
House-Sauque said: “We took the baby to all of Gabriel Charles’ races as soon as he could walk. “It is definitely a family tradition. If I can’t go, Alex, my husband will take Gabe with my dad. If my husband can’t go, I go. My son missing one of Gabriel Charles’ races was not an option.”
Gabriel Charles won four of his 12 starts with earnings of $604,400, and as if it were some kind of kismet, when he finished first in GI Eddie Read S. 2015, he became the man. House family’s first Class I win. Unfortunately, intern Jeff Mullins has struggled with a host of issues throughout his career, including tendon injuries and life-threatening abdominal pain, and with little fanfare he has retired in 2016 after finishing runner-up in the GIII San Francisco Mile.
A brief breeding career followed at Dave and Sommer Smith’s Nextstar Ranch in California, but when the beautiful bay did not attract many breeders, it was decided to fire Gabriel Charles and give him a job. another second profession. House-Sauque is the owner of Lucky Kid Farms at Bella Terra Estates in Jumul, CA, where she lives and trains skydivers and teaches kids horseback riding, so she has the space. .
“We always said we would do what was best for him,” said House-Sauque. “We tried to get him some good mares and my dad sent some to him and Jeff (Mullins) too, but he couldn’t compete with the other stallions and the other stallions. The farm was bigger so Sommer and I decided that he was spayed and taking him home and giving him a job was the right thing to do. My son is very happy, he is completely attached to this horse and this horse loves my son very much.”
Gabriel Charles, now 13, has turned to horseback riding like a champion and he is constantly surrounded by activities, from lessons and his own learning to watching the lessons of the horses. other horses. But by far the most special thing for Gabriel Charles is spending time with his own little son, now 11 years old.
House-Sauque recalls: “Not long ago, he somehow lost his memory, like one does, and ran around like a madman. “And after a few minutes, he saw Gabe and ran right up to him and stopped. It just goes to show how much they love each other. He won’t stop running until he finds Gabe.”
However, Gabriel Charles’ single “big horse” position at Lucky Kid Farms won’t last.
In 2015, House-Sauque’s father privately purchased a handsome gray 3-year-old Dundalk maiden winner named Hunt (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and took him to California for a field campaign. Under the care of coach Phil D’Amato, for more than a year, Hunt primarily raced in the pension company before winning his first stake, Santa Anita-listed Siren Lure S. in 2016. And then in 2017, the House family returned to the circle of GII winner Eddie Read S. after Hunt landed his first graded bet win in the Del Mar turf feature, won the second in the race for the house. Victory in the GII Del Mar H., GII Seabiscuit H. and GI Shoemaker Mile followed, making Hunt the official House horse and their most successful runner to that point.
And all the while, the affable gray man received frequent visits from his family, especially House-Sauque himself.
“We always visit our horses in the barn area,” she said. “We do it as a family, my husband Alex and my son, my parents and me. Hunt loves people so he loves visits. And my dad always knew that when Hunt was done, he’d be home with me, no matter what. And that is exactly what happened.”
In 2019, after suffering a minor injury, Hunt retired with a 32-9-5-3 record with an income of $918,156. These days, 11-year-old Hunt is almost white and spends his time sleeping in the sun in San Diego when he’s not allowed to ride horses or provide entertainment for the kids in House-Sauque’s camp.
“During the holidays and school holidays, the kids come and camp here,” she explains. “We dress the horses, draw them and make games and everything with them. Hunt loves kids and he loves the attention. He’s the best at soul and we love having him here and I thank my dad every day for doing the right thing for the Hunters.”
Growing up around the racetrack has always created strong bonds with the participating families, as everyone knows, and this scenario is no exception for the House and Wellman families. House-Sauque has known Aron Wellman of Eclipse Purebred Partners since he was nine and she was 12. They often hung out at coach Jude Feld’s Del Mar’s old barn as children and have maintained a friendship ever since. And it was Wellman who made Mike House a part owner of Nest.
In 2021, GI winner Frank E. Kilroe Mile of Eclipse Purebred Partners Ohio (Brz) (Elusive Quality) retired at the age of 9, and Wellman was looking for a place where he could let go and train with the idea that he would eventually become the equestrian for his daughter, Sadie. Soon after, Ohio arrives at the Lucky Kid Ranch, where House-Sauque will develop a plan for his post-race life.
Coach Michael McCarthy called House-Sauque at the time as he was prepping GI Preakness winner S. Rombauer for GI Belmont Stakes to give her more insight into the handsome gelding.
“I can’t believe he took the time at the most important moment of his career after winning the Preakness and while he was preparing for Belmont to call me and tell me about Ohio, ‘ House-Sauque recalled. “He told me his quirks, some of the little problems he had, all of it. He didn’t want me to have any surprises and he wanted Ohio to have a great retirement. He really went above and beyond.”
Not long after, Ohio’s retirement plans changed, though only slightly.
House-Sauque said: “Aron visited and saw how happy he was. “I told him that Ohio could stay if he wanted to for as long as he wanted. And Aron decided that Ohio would be happy to stay and become one of the training horses here. And Ohio is happy to do that, too. He loves the kids and he loves his job. He was made to do this.”
The novelty of taking care of three Class I winners is not lost on House-Sauque, who has always been a racing fan beyond backing the OTTBs. But she says the horses’ racing achievements don’t really have much to do with their lives today and shouldn’t define their interest or interest in any OTTB for that matter.
“They are like all my horses here,” said House-Sauque. “They eat the same food, they get the same care as all of them. Bing Bang has been here almost all his life and there are other OTTBs here owned by several clients. Yes, it’s great to have them here and it’s special for us to know what they’ve done on the track for our family and for Aron, but it doesn’t matter.
“We love them all equally.”
