| |
Photograph taken, Jeff took control of Fury and led him to the test barn where all winners had to be tested for drugs immediately following the race. Santos walked Natalie back to Barn 17 to take care of the other horses, clean the stalls and wait for Jeff to bring Fury back and settle him in for the night.
That Santos planned to spend the night at the barn didn’t surprise Natalie. It wasn’t unusual for Santos to stay overnight, sometimes even in the stall with one of the horses, particularly with Fury. The young grey had been sick as a foal and nearly died of septicemia. Natalie and Jeff spent hours with him and his dam back then, but Santos had moved into the stall with both horses. Although Santos was an animal whisperer of sorts, his connection to Fury seemed almost a psychic bond.
“Why don’t you go grab some dinner,” Natalie suggested. Experience told her that Santos would rarely leave the barn for the next 48 hours, to be sure Fury had suffered no silent injury or illness following the race. “I’ll finish up here. Jeff should be back within half an hour.”
“Want me to help you clean the water buckets first?” Santos asked.
“No, thanks. It will keep me busy while I wait for Jeff. Besides, I’m sure you could use a break. I know you won’t leave the barn for anything until Jeff gets here in the morning. So just go. Go get something to eat.” With a playful shove, Natalie pushed him toward barn door.
“Okay! Okay! You convinced me,” Santos surrendered. “I want to catch up with Carl, then I’ll grab some dinner in the horseman’s kitchen. I’ll be back in an hour or less. Oh, I almost forgot; Sonny called earlier and said he has the pedigree for that filly he told you about last week.”
Sonny Owens was the other member of the Frazier crew. A jack of all trades, Sonny worked for Jeff on a part-time basis. He did anything that Jeff needed done, always cheerfully. A stocky, muscular man, Sonny had years of experience breeding and foaling thoroughbreds, and he was also good with a hammer and nails. He was an excellent horseman, yet never minded hot walking or mucking out stalls if that was the business of the day.
Sonny lived with his wife, Vanessa, and her brother, Charlie, at the Williams horse farm a few miles from Angelina Racetrack. Vanessa’s parents and grandparents had raised Quarter Horses on the farm. They spent years expanding it into a successful boarding stable. The three of them had grown up together and were a close-knit bunch. They had moved into the old farmhouse after Vanessa’s father passed away. Vanessa’s mother was up in years and no longer able to keep up with the business. Sonny split his time between working for Jeff and taking care of the horses with Charlie at the Williams farm, where Charlie worked full time and handled the breeding end of the business.
Since the farm was close to the track, it was sometimes convenient for Jeff to send a horse or two to Charlie for boarding. Sometimes Jeff needed an extra stall in the barn at the track, or he would want to give one of his charges some time off from racing. The Williams farm had several paddocks, and they were always willing to work with the Fraziers. That arrangement also gave Jeff flexibility when he wanted to ship in a horse for a new client or bring a young horse in to get started in training.
While she went about taking care of the never-ending list of chores, Natalie kept up a steady stream of conversation with the horses.
It wasn’t long before Jeff got back to the barn, leading the animated FraziersFury. “He looks good and isn’t worn out,” he informed Natalie after he locked the colt behind the gate. Fury stood calmly and nickered at Flight, who nickered back from the next stall. Chaser, the barn cat, appeared and began rubbing against Jeff’s ankle.
Jeff reached down to pet the little grey cat. “Fury looked great today but sharing first place cost us 20% of the purse money. We’ll need to win a Grade 2, or hit the board in a Grade 1 race, for Fury to earn enough in time for an invitation to the Million Dollar Derby.”
“Do you think we really have a chance?” Natalie asked.
“It’s a long shot,” Jeff said in his business voice. “If we get the invitation, which is nowhere close to a sure thing, it will be a tough race for a lot of reasons. The entry fees are expensive, and the costs associated with shipping and travel will use a big portion of any profit we’ve made from his races so far. The decision would be much simpler if we didn’t have to worry about finances.”
Jeff’s response was a reminder that he wanted his wife to at least consider a partnership arrangement with Fury. A partnership meant sharing the expenses of a high-level race campaign, as well as a hefty check upon an agreement. If it was his decision, Jeff would sell a share of Fury, even if it meant giving up the training of the colt. It meant more to him for Natalie to own a champion and collect all the purses that would go with that championship than for him to be the trainer of a colt that might have been.
“Fury has won enough to get us to the next race, including the shipping costs, our transportation and accommodations,” she said.
Jeff pursed his lips. “A bigger concern is that Fury has only raced at Angelina. We don’t know how he’ll run on a different surface, and we have no idea how he’ll react to a new environment. We could throw all that money away, if he won’t adapt. There are a few Grade 1 races coming up, but we need to look at the dates and figure out the expenses. In the meantime, I’d like to give Fury a few weeks off.”
The sparkle dulled in Natalie’s eyes. “I don’t care if we spend every penny he made. I want to give Fury a chance, and I don’t want to be bound by the wishes of a partner who is in this just for the money.”
Jeff shoved his hands into his pockets, as he always did when annoyed. “Okay, I get it. You’re the owner. I’m the trainer. All I can do is tell you what I think is best for the horse. You make the final decisions, alright?”
Rather than add another argument to the number they’d had since David Marsico’s offer, Natalie proposed, “The Sapphire Stakes is coming up in Laredo. It is a Grade 1. We can enter, see how Fury handles being shipped, and whether he’ll be comfortable running on another track.”
“The Sapphire might work,” Jeff compromised, avoiding another confrontation. “I’m going to the jockeys’ room to see Carl. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Okay, I’m just about finished here. Santos should be back any time now. I’ll catch up with you at home.”
When Jeff left, Natalie went to Fury’s stall. He lowered his head so she could easily reach up to stroke his neck. He nuzzled her shoulder.
“Want to go to Kentucky?” She asked the colt. “First, we’ll need to go to Laredo.”
