“I often tell the guys there’s no better feeling than watching your horse in the lead as they charge for home. I tell them it’s just like scoring an NHL goal.”
Are you ready to talk a little hockey and horse racing? For Erik Johnson (@6ErikJohnson), Colorado Avalanche defenceman and thoroughbred owner, it’s pretty much the best question anyone could ask.
“Absolutely,” he says with a laugh. “I could probably talk about those things all day.”
On this day, Johnson is in Denver. Less than 48 hours later, he was off to California, more specifically, to Santa Anita Racetrack.
The 28-year-old wanted to be there live to watch Crosscheck Carlos (pictured below), one of the horses he co-owns, contest the day’s first race on June 12.
Johnson is certainly glad he made the trek west. The bay colt’s debut was impressive, a nearly nine-length romp in the $31,690 maiden 2-year-old event.
Crosscheck Carlos is trained by Doug O’Neill, the man who won two-thirds (Kentucky Derby, Preakness) of the 2012 U.S. Triple Crown with I’ll Have Another. He celebrated another Derby triumph this year with Nyquist.
Dennis O’Neill, Doug’s brother, a successful bloodstock agent who buys Johnson’s 2-year-olds, raved about Crosscheck Carlos.
“He told me to buy into him,” recalls Johnson, pictured below with NFL star Tony Romo and Doug O’Neill. “He said, ‘you need to buy into this horse…he's a running son of a gun!’”
Johnson also has Tap It All (2-year-old filly), Bourque (2-year-old ridgling), Wheres the D (3-year-old filly), La Vitesse (2-year-old filly, bought by Dennis, co-owned with Vinnie Viola, owner of the NHL’s Florida Panthers) and a pair of 2-year-old unnamed fillies with O’Neill.
Wheres The D is set to race in Sunday’s Grade 2 Honeymoon Stakes at Santa Anita.
Point Streak (a 2-year-old filly, co-owned with ‘good Canadian guy’ John Sikura, who owns Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms) and Diva la Mousse (2-year-old filly) are under the tutelage of Hall of Fame conditioner Bob Baffert. The 2-year-old colt Competing is with Dale Romans.
“I started owning horses about two and a half years ago,” recalls the first overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. “I had always watched the big races on television growing up and I loved it. My interest just continued to grow and the next thing you know, I’m reading Thoroughbred Daily News and BloodHorse. I just really love being around the horses. It’s been a blast.”
It also helps when you are good friends with high-profile thoroughbred owner Paul Reddam, whose stars include the aforementioned I’ll Have Another and Nyquist.
Johnson, who was with Reddam at Churchill Downs for Nyquist’s Derby score, co-owns several horses, including Wheres The D, with the Windsor, ON native.
“He’s been great to me,” says the Minnesota-born Johnson, who’ll suit up with the U.S. side at this fall’s World Cup of Hockey in Toronto. “Obviously, we talk a lot of horse racing. He’s a huge Red Wings fan, too, and that’s why he names some of his horses after Detroit players (Niklas Kronwall, Petr Mrzaek and Tomas Tatar have all received the honour).”
Johnson was also afforded the same treatment from Reddam, albeit in a cheeky way.
“When I buy in on a horse, Paul’s only rule is that you have to buy in at the auctions,” he notes. “You can’t buy in after that.”
It’s how Sorry Erik, a Kentucky-bred son of Wilburn, got his name.
“He got me on that one, didn’t he?” laughs Johnson. “I liked the horse before it was named and I wanted to buy in. Paul and I were talking and he said, ‘Sorry, Erik.’ The next thing you know, that’s the name of the horse.”
Johnson, whose blue-based jockey silks showcase a white horseshoe with ‘EJ’ in the middle, along with a black hockey stick and puck with a white ‘6,’ isn’t considering naming any of his future horses after Avalanche players, adding fuel to the Colorado/Detroit NHL rivalry.
Instead, his focus will be on finding the next star to add to his stable of starters.
“I love everything about the sport,” says Johnson. “Outside of hockey, it’s my biggest passion. It’s been a fun hobby to pick up. You realize early on, that 80 per cent of the time, you aren’t going to win – that’s just the reality of racing. But, you always come back to that feeling of seeing your horse in the lead as they turn for home. It’s just an incredible rush.”
By Chris Lomon
Courtesy of NHLPA.com
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