Trainer Kevin Attard comes by his love for horses and horse racing naturally. His father, Tino, has had a decorated conditioning career, while his numerous relatives have also enjoyed great success at Woodbine.
It was the horse once named after a famous Muppet that inspired Kevin to join the ranks of Attard trainers, winning his first career race on July 12, 2001.
Over 260 wins later, along with several stakes triumphs, he fondly recalls Fozzie Bear as the horse that changed his life.
“The first horse that had a lasting impression on me was Fozzie Bear, a horse my father (Tino) trained. He had to have his name changed – he became Bold Revenue – because of a potential lawsuit due to the name being a character on The Muppet Show.
I was around 11 when he was racing and he was just amazing. He was my father’s first stakes winner and I can remember him winning his first start out. I was sitting at Woodbine with my dad and ‘Fozzie’ just annihilated the field. He was unbelievable. I can remember as soon as the race was done that there were big things to come for him. It was also great because my dad was in the midst of a great time in his career, a lot of big successes, which was great to be a part of.
I’d go with my dad to Woodbine on the weekends and I’d always want to see Fozzie Bear at the barn. He was a very aggressive horse and he liked to bite, but my parents would tell me that I was able to walk him, even though I was so young. My mom told me that before the horse’s first race, I looked up at her and said, ‘He’ll win first time out and he’s going to be dad’s first stakes horse.’ Happily, I was right.
In my dresser, I kept a clipping out of the race program that mentioned Fozzie Bear and my dad. I think what I’m most grateful for when it comes to this horse is that he was the one that made me stop and think, ‘This is what I want to do with my life. I want to be a trainer.’ I wasn’t going to be a jockey, but I was going to be a trainer.
It was wonderful to be able to share that moment in time with my father, to be around a great horse that I’ve never forgotten and a horse that really inspired me to do what I do now.”
By Kevin Attard, for OHR
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