‘Fattest’ horse wins; trainer records 500th win

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/07/2020 (2016 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On the face of it, Unbridled Venture appeared to have two strikes against him.

The horse was 11 years old and was, according to trainer Shelley Brown, “the fattest horse I’ve seen in my life,” but she claimed him anyway out of a race at Assiniboia Downs with the confidence of someone who was on the rebound from mourning her father’s death.

It was the right move. Brown claimed Unbridled Venture for $3,500 out of a race in which he finished sixth, elevated him to $5,000, treated him to “peppermints, cookies and carrots,” and the gelding rewarded her with a win at first asking, paying a juicy $37.60 for a $2 win wager.

It was a victory that would have made her father, Tom, proud.

“He was my biggest fan,” Brown said.

When her father died two years ago at the age of 82, she said she “lost her heart” for racing.

The one-time leading trainer found herself going through the motions, winning just one of every 10 starts the last two years.

“After a bad race, my dad would call me saying, ‘you’ll get ’em next time,’” she said, describing how she missed that confidence boost.

Then, while attending a yearling sale in Florida last fall, something changed. Before she knew it, Brown had snapped up seven horses after a change in mindset.

“My dad would want to see me push forward,” she said.

Now, with a stable of 40 horses — more than she’s ever had in a decade of training — she says “I’m 110 per cent.”

Her keen horse sense has kicked in to make astute claims such as Unbridled Venture.

“Despite their age, race horses will always be race horses,” she said. “I thought Unbridled Venture would like the track. It’s soft and very kind to older horses.”

Now Brown is winning at the rate of 20 per cent and will soon be unleashing all those Florida babies with the hopes she’ll feel her father’s approval at having done the right thing.

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Speaking of achievements, longtime trainer Jerry Gourneau is having his best-ever start to the ASD season and posted his milestone 500th win last week.

Gourneau also has the best horse on the grounds, thanks to the shrewd buy-back of a horse,

Deep Explorer, who won him the Gold Cup Stakes last year. When the horse was finishing in runner-up positions for other connections at Will Rogers Downs in Oklahoma this spring,

Gourneau was able to claim him back for a mere $7,500. Back at his old haunt, Gourneau said,“Deep Explorer got happier and happier and happier” and — ta-da — promptly won the $25,000 Free Press Stakes. Horseplayers who subscribe to the “horses for courses” angle of picking winners were also happy, collecting $14 for each $2 bet.

He’s now the horse to beat.

Racing continues Monday to Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Although the grandstand is closed to spectators, you can still watch and wager on live races in the Terrace Dining Room and Race Book areas in the Clubhouse and, of course, online at HPIbet.com

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On Mon., July 6, at 7:30 p.m. Assiniboia Downs will feature a mandatory payout of its jackpot pick-5 pool that is expected to grow to $3 million. The bet is 20 cents and a player predicts the winners of five consecutive races.