By: Chris Lomon
Perhaps the best illustration of Sean Fitzhenry’s love for owning and breeding thoroughbreds was on the afternoon of August 9, 2015, a day when he sat under clear skies at Woodbine and enjoyed not one, but two, memorable moments.
The toteboard on the Toronto oval infield for race three suggested Get Rhythm, a daughter of Street Boss, had a solid chance of taking all the spoils in the six-furlong added-money event for two-year-old fillies.
Sent off at 9-2 in the compact five-horse field, Get Rhythm, co-owned by Fitzhenry, Dave Anderson, John Fielding and Kingview Farm, had a large cheering section on-hand for what was her second straight stakes appearance.
The grey’s ownership group was soon swept up by what was unfolding on the Toronto oval main track. The louder they became, the more heads they turned.
Meanwhile, jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva was busy plotting out a winning path. He angled Get Rhythm to the outside for the stretch run, the duo setting their sights on the leaders and gaining on them with every stride.
At the wire, the fleet-footed filly netted top prize courtesy of a hard fought half-length triumph.
Michael Burns / WEG photo
Bedlam quickly ensued.
“I would say it was pretty loud in our box,” said Fitzhenry with a laugh. “It really was. Actually, it was so loud that (award-winning photographer) Michael Burns turned and took a picture. I still have it and I still watch the replay of the race. And you know what? Horse racing is supposed to be fun. If you can’t yell and scream and jump up and down, you probably shouldn’t be in the game.
“Anderson Farms and Marette Farrell bred the horse,” he continued. “Dave Anderson is a good friend of mine. Catherine’s (trainer, Day Phillips) brother, Richard, was looking at Dave’s horse at the sale. He came to me and said, ‘We should buy this horse. She looks like a fast filly. If I buy her, would you like a leg?’ I said, ‘Sure.’ And then Dave stayed in for a leg and John, another friend of ours, he bought a leg, too.”
Fitzhenry’s big day wasn’t over.
Five races after Get Rhythm’s win, he watched as Season Ticket, the horse he bred, punched her ticket to a Wonder Where Stakes score for owner Woodford Racing and trainer Mark Casse.
Not too bad for someone who “wandered” into horse racing.
The path to the Fitzhenrys’ life as breeders and owners began over 15 years ago through a friendship with another couple.
“Really, it was just that we (he and his wife Dorothy) wandered into it,” said Fitzhenry. “Some friends of ours – they moved back to Canada from the United States – decided they wanted to buy a farm. Somehow or another, a thoroughbred got involved.”
That thoroughbred would turn out to be a good one – a very good one.
A son of Compadre, Virginia-bred No Comprende would make 30 starts, winning seven times and hitting the top three on 17 occasions. One of his victories came in the 2003 running of the Grade 3 Woodbine Slots Cup.
In all, the dark bay earned $592,667.
No Comprende also played a big part in the Fitzhenrys decision to get involved in racing.
“He raced all over,” recalled Fitzhenry. “They raced him at Saratoga, at Hawthorne, Oaklawn, Woodbine – and of course, Dorothy and I went along for the ride. It was a lot of fun. It was their horse, but we saw how much fun they were having, and it kind of rubbed off on us.
“We started out by buying a couple of horses in partnership with them. The more I researched the business, the more it became to clear to us that we wanted to get involved on the breeding side. We started buying fillies, which was around 1999 or 2000.”
There was no need for Fitzhenry to come up with an elaborate sales pitch for his wife.
Her affinity for all things horses grew even more once the decision was made to join the thoroughbred ranks.
Mr. Will Wong photo
“I like the action,” noted Sean. “It’s fun and exciting. My wife just loves horses. So, it really wasn’t a hard sell to her. I got very interested in pedigrees, crosses, the breeding process – right from the get-go.”
That interest hasn’t wavered over the years.
“No,” he said. “Not at all. I love it. We love horses and it’s a lot of fun. I guess it’s kind of like watching your kids play hockey. The majority of stock that we race – in fact almost all of it – is homebreds. We have probably close to 30 horses. At the end of foaling season, we’ll probably have 35.”
One of those nearly three-dozen horses is three-year-old Guy Caballero. The gelding is named after the fictional owner and president of SCTV – the iconic Canadian television comedy series – that was played by Joe Flaherty.
Fitzhenry, who has named several of his horses after SCTV characters (“I think I might have used all of them up. People pick up on those names”), is buoyed by the possibility the bay he and his wife bred could contest this year’s Queen’s Plate.
The son of Quality Road, who was fifth in last year’s Coronation Futurity Stakes and third in the Display Stakes, is listed in 10
th spot at 20-1 in the Queen’s Plate Winterbook.
Guy Caballero
“It’s exciting when you have a horse on the Plate trail,” said Fitzhenry. “We had a horse called Tallboy Tuesday who got injured before he could race in the Plate last year. He has a half-brother, Mr Havercamp, who we couldn’t run as a two-year-old because he wouldn’t stop growing. We also have a couple of two-year-olds – Dixie Moon and Abe Froman – that Catherine really likes.”
Said Day Phillips, “Sean and Dorothy love racing; but first and foremost, they love their horses.”
Perhaps, with a little racing luck, the couple can enjoy a replay of that warm August afternoon two years ago, this time, though, in early July, with a horse named Guy Caballero.
For the husband and wife who wandered into the thoroughbred world almost 20 years ago, the thought of wandering over to the Queen’s Plate winner’s circle is certainly something to cheer about.
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