THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF HIDDEN BROOK FARM

AUGUST, 2013 · VOL. 3  NO. 8

UPCOMING  

SALES  

............ 

Hidden Brook's 2013
Stakes Horses:    

(sold as a yearling)   

 Lady Henrietta

(purchased as a yearling)  

Saint Arthur 

(foaled and raised) 

Silverette 

(foaled for Robsham Stables)  

True Thought

(sold for Danny & Donna Brown)

Weekend Hideaway

(consigned for Flying Zee)   

Through August 2013...

CONTACTS

Sergio de Sousa  

(859) 983-1897 

sergio@hiddenbrookfarmky.com

Jack Brothers

(917) 287-2273

jkckjbrothers@msn.com

Dan Hall

(859) 621-0526 

danhall@hiddenbrookfarmky.com

Mike Recio  

(859) 221-1809   

mrecio@hiddenbrookfarmky.com

HIDDEN BROOK

Hidden Brook Grads Impress   

Game On Dude leads August stakes success 

The Hidden Brook program was represented by four stakes wins this month including a spectacular romp by Game On Dude in the $1 Million dollar Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar.

Game On Dude, currently the richest active racehorse in North America with $5,602,158 in earnings, made his third Grade 1 Pacific Classic attempt a victorious one, after running fourth and second in previous efforts.  On a six-race winning streak, Game On Dude was guided to the dominating win by Martin Garcia, subbing for regular rider Joel Rosario, who was out with an injury.

Hitting the lead early in his signature style, Game On Dude opened up on the field with moderate fractions and was never challenged, crossing the wire a record-setting eight and half lengths the best. Game On Dude's score in the Pacific Classic puts him in the top twenty for all-time leading money earners in Thoroughbred racing.

Hidden Brook purchase Alpha Bettor, conditioned by Danny Vella and carrying the colors of Bulldog Racing, notched his second consecutive $150,000, Grade 3 Seagram Cup victory at Woodbine. Tracking the leaders with a ground saving inside trip, the son of Alphabet Soup slipped through on the rail
and scored by just under a length. Alpha Bettor has earned $545,571.

Silverette in paddock

 

Silverette, another Hidden Brook purchase, debuted on the turf in the $100,000 Caress Stakes at Saratoga. The speedy daughter of Street Sense, raced just off the front runner through blazing fast fractions of 21 and 42 and change, before sweeping to the lead and hanging on to win the 5-1/2 furlong event in 1:01 and 1, just a tick off the track record for owner Paul Pompa, Jr. 

Millennia garnered a stakes victory in the $100,000 Ta Wee Stakes at Gulfstream for owner Brinker Hill Farm. The Hidden Brook sales grad, by Milwaukee Brew, was bred by Adena Springs and boasts earnings of $305,237.

Hank and wife Rosemarie Buffalo 5K race 1st place 75-79 age group

One of the most popular features of The HIDDEN BROOK TIMES is a Q&A with some of our valued clients. Hank Garda has been associated with Hidden Brook since 2011. Hank is retired from Burlington Industries in New York, where he was Assistant Treasurer for 37 years.

Born: Union City, New Jersey (Hudson County)

Residence: Lakewood, New Jersey (for last 18 years)

Family: Wife of 55 years, Rosemarie, 2 sons, Tom in Old Bridge, New Jersey and John in Southlake, Texas, a daughter, Maria Shroyer in Wyoming, Delaware, and 10 grandchildren, ages 8-19.

Education: Saint Peters College in Jersey City, New Jersey; earned degree in Business Administration

Tell us a little about your family:  I met my wife in high school and when we got married we moved to Colonia, New Jersey. We've been married for 55 years. She was a registered nurse and then was able to be a housewife, and stay at home to raise the children.  We have three children and ten grandchildren. My kids are always involved with choosing the horses in our partnerships.  

How did you become interested in horse racing?  You've probably heard this story many times, but when I was very young, my father took me to the track for first time - I remember it was the old Jamaica racetrack in New York then.  After that he and I frequently went to Monmouth Park.  My father and I saw the first race that Kelso ran as a three-year-old; he never made the Triple Crown races because he was hurt early on in his career, and his season began after the Triple Crown. After that race, I remember my father saying that he was going to be special and he became my favorite horse. Even though he didn't run in the Triple Crown, he was voted Champion Three-Year-Old and Horse of the Year so that really tells you something.

When did you first get involved with your own horses?  I use to say to my wife that someday maybe we'll buy a racehorse, and we would watch the horses walk around the paddock and say, maybe someday. Then, finally after I had been retired for a few years, I said, now is the time to do it. So fourteen years ago I decide to invest in a racehorse, and I called up a trainer that I didn't know and told him I was interested in owning a racehorse, and he invited me to visit. That trainer was Michael Dickinson, who trained DaHoss to his second Breeders' Cup win after nearly two years off, which was why we chose him. His assistant at the time, now his wife, took us to the Timonium sale in Maryland and she helped us find our first horse. We also bought with Buzz Chace, who recently passed away. I didn't even know him, but knew he was a good bloodstock man. I called him up on the phone one day about buying another. So he asked us about my plans and our budget and he picked out a horse for me.  And Michael Dickinson trained that horse as well.  He trained for us until he retired to pursue his Tapeta synthetic surface business.  

What made you decide to get involved with partnerships? Well, I had the two horses with Michael, and then he put together a couple racing partnerships with four or five partners and asked me if I wanted to join in. One of those ended up earning about $250,000.  But then Michael gave up training to pursue his synthetic track surface business and I decide to buy into a few other partnerships and I went with a couple different ventures. One of the horses we were involved in was Macho Again; Tom and Maria both picked him. He ran second in the Preakness to Big Brown in 2008, and he also won the Jim Dandy at Saratoga that year. In 2009 he won the Stephen Foster at Churchill, and then he ran in the Woodward against Rachel Alexandra in Saratoga.  To this day, I still get chills when I watch the replay and hear that call - if you have a chance, watch that race and listen to Tom Durkin's call. Macho Again came from way out of it and he barely got beat at the wire.

How did you become connected with Hidden Brook? For that one I give credit to my son John. By then we had had a little success with the other partnerships and my kids and wife would take turns picking which horses to partner in.  Now it's 2011 and it's my son John's turn to pick and he liked a horse called Street Life. So, he tracks the horse down and finds out he is owned by Hidden Brook. John called and got in touch with Dan Hall, and asked him about looking into buying an interest in the horse. Dan needed to run it by other partners and they decided to sell an interest in Street Life, who went on to run in the Wood Memorial, the Peter Pan and was fourth in the Belmont, before running in the Travers. We were all there for the race, my wife, my kids and a few grandchildren, so when he pulled up right after the wire, we were really worried, but it turned out okay with his recovery and a new job in California as a stallion - he lives a better life than I do!  So that was our first horse with Hidden Brook, and now we let my kids take turns picking out horses. We currently have Canaryinacoalmine and Catch My Drift, which my son Tommy picked out.

How has the Hidden Brook experience been different?  To me it's a family thing, and that's what we are able to have with Hidden Brook.  Our family needs and values the knowledge the Hidden Brook staff and partners have, and they offer that to their clients. The communication we receive from Dan is straight forward and is always done respectfully and we appreciate that. The accommodations they make for us on race days is always first rate. We feel like we are part of the Hidden Brook family.  

What would you tell someone who was interested in getting involved in the sport? I would probably tell them four things to make sure they understood it won't be easy.

1. I would tell them that there is a good chance that their venture won't be profitable.

2. I would pass on a quote made by Cot Campbell of Dogwood many years ago.  "90% of the feedback you receive from your trainer is bad, and if you're really unlucky, it's 95%."

3. If you have some extra money, and you want to experience some thrills and excitement and make memories for a lifetime, give horse racing a try.

4. Finally, talk to the people at Hidden Brook before investing.  They are involved in many different areas of the horse racing industry, and they will work closely with you to determine what area suits you the best, and then they will guide you and offer you help to meet your goals.

Do you follow any industry news or publications?  I read the Blood-Horse and I used to read the Thoroughbred Times when it was around.

Any hobbies or interests?  There are two things I like to do - I still jog four days a week for three miles. I've been doing it for 34 years and I still jog the same speed since I started! And I bowl with my wife in a league. We also go to the Beach and of course the horses are our favorite.

Favorite sports teams? University of Notre Dame - Go Irish!  And I'll give you a second one, a pro football team, the New York Giants. In 1960 they played in The Greatest Game ever -- it was the Giants and the Colts and the game went into overtime. Unfortunately, the Colts won, but pro football really took off that day. And I was there.