A lot more give than take

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/06/2023 (983 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Trainer Marvin Buffalo of Day Star First Nation in Saskatchewan, and his wife Deb, won the first stakes race of the season at Assiniboia Downs with their Spitten Kitten on Tuesday night, creating a perfect segue into National Indigenous History Month, as if it were scripted.

Six-time leading trainer Tom Gardipy, Jr. from Beardy’s Cree Nation in Saskatchewan followed the same script, scoring a hat trick to move into a tie at the top of the trainer standings with Wendy Anderson and Lise Pruitt with four wins a piece. Gardipy teamed up with jockey Ronald Ali for his three wins, while Buffalo hired underrated jockey Sven Balroop to boot their big winner home.

A former champion apprentice in Trinidad, the 28-year-old Balroop won 11 races at Century Mile in Edmonton last year, but oddly couldn’t get noticed there. We’ve only seen him ride 15 horses here, and he’s looked dynamite on anything that had a chance — and some that didn’t. Balroop has won two races so far at the meeting, both for the Buffalos. Catch him on the odds board before he gets hot.

Marvin and Deb are already at that temperature. They’ve won two of three starts since arriving from Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Ariz., including the One and Only Overnight Stakes with Spitten Kitten, a three-year-old filly they bought for $2,500 as a yearling. Deb picked her out.

“I saw her in the stall, and she was breathtaking, just beautiful,” said Deb. “But in the stall she looked a little too dainty. So we had them bring her out and we liked her, and when she walked into the sales ring, she just had something about her. She was brave. She wasn’t afraid.”

“We got to the second bid on her,” said Marvin. “And I wasn’t going to go any higher, but Deb gave me one of these (elbow to the ribs). So she deserves all the credit for us getting the horse.”

Spitten Kitten has now earned US$35,216 from three wins in six starts, including a win in an allowance optional claimer at Turf Paradise in her last start before winning the One and Only. She has proven herself to be exactly what the Buffalos hoped for — a good horse at a bargain price.

“When we go to the sales, the ones we really want are out of our budget range,” said Marvin. “So we look at other angles. We generally look at maiden mares that are having their first foals, because nobody really wants to take a chance on them.”

Spitten Kitten was a California-bred in an Arizona sale, which resulted in less looks from potential buyers who were going after Arizona-bred bonuses, but she also had some quality in her pedigree that some might have overlooked. Her dam is a half sister to four US$100,000 plus earners including Grade III stakes winner Polonius.

“She’s a small horse, but she makes up for it in talent,” said Deb. “Our youngest son named her. I told him I wanted her damsire Kitten’s Joy in the name and that she was feisty, and he immediately said, ‘Spitten Kitten.’”

How easy was that? A lot easier than owning and training 10 horses that have to run well in order to survive in the racing game.

“What we’re doing is working for us,” said Marvin. “Deb runs the barn and I gallop the horses. When we first started going to Turf Paradise in the winter, we didn’t have a lot of support, but we decided to do it anyway. The first year we won five races there. We had two wins and a second from nine starts this winter.

“We have four owners now, some own a quarter of a horse with us, and some own a half, but we think we have the best owners out there. These are the people who have stuck with us through thick and thin. You’re going to lose a lot more than you win, so having good people on your side makes a big difference.”

Marvin credits top trainers including Bert Blake and Charlie Smith, and Dr. Norm Elder with providing him with the advice and information he needed to become a successful trainer.

“You listen and learn,” said Marvin. “And you have to keep the horses happy.”

The same goes for their relationship. Marvin (55) and Deb (50) have been married for 15 years and together for 22. They work together and play together. Do they ever take time apart? “We don’t, we’re together all the time,” said Marvin.

Isn’t that difficult?

“If you want it to be,” said Marvin. “You have to adjust and understand each other.”

“There’s a lot more give than take,” said Deb.

Is there some compromise? “Absolutely,” said Deb.

And that’s, how you win.