by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal-Expo

Sacramento, CA — Jason Maier couldn’t have asked for a better start when striking out on his own earlier this year at Cal-Expo. He returned to the winner’s circle with four of his first six starters, including going three-for-three on his opening night. Jason comes by his driving and training ability quite naturally, as his parents are Tim and Denise Maier while his grandfather Ray Richmond was also a respected horseman for many years.

“From the time I was old enough, I knew this is what I wanted to do,” Maier explained. “I remember when Luke Plano, Scott Cisco and I were just kids on the backstretch, we would get on the carts and pretend we were drivers with our whips.”

Jason learned his lessons well under his parents, knowing at some point he would strike out on his own as a conditioner.

“Last summer when my dad got hurt, my mom and I were basically running the barn and I got a lot of experience during that period. It gave me the confidence to step out and try with my own barn.

“It’s great to win races as part of the stable with my mom and dad, but there’s a certain special satisfaction you get when you do it with your own horses. I can’t do it by myself, though, and my assistant Jason Landers has been a great help. They call us ‘The Two Jasons’ and he certainly deserves credit.”

Along the way, Jason has found quite a bit of wisdom from those who have tutored him on the road to running his own shedrow and competing as a pilot against so many seasoned drivers.

“The first one I remember came from my grandfather,” he explained. “He told me there was no money or photos at the end of a training mile, and that’s always important to remember. The idea is to get them ready to do their best in a race, not in the morning.”

His father Tim also dropped a Zen-like saying on his son that Jason has found to be pretty true.

“It had to do with catch-driving. He said when you drive for somebody else, the horse always wins the race and the driver can only lose it. He said someday I would understand, and he was right.”

Our subject also recalled learning a valuable lesson in only his second lifetime trip to the post.

“I was lucky enough to be driving a 2-5 shot in my first start and we went right to the front and won easily. The next time I was on a pacer who was 50-1 and ended up parked the mile and pretty much messed up the race.

“After we got back, Rick Plano came up to me and said that if you want to be a good driver, you have to know how to read the program. I realized that he was telling me you might drive an odds-on horse one way if you felt they were the best, but a 50-1 shot usually needs an easier trip to win.”

Thomas, Trishie Mae on a roll

Troy Thomas makes his main living as a horseshoer, doing at least a quarter of the performers at Cal-Expo, but admits driving and training his own small stable is what gives him the most satisfaction.

Among those currently residing in his shedrow is the 5-year-old pacing mare Trishie Mae, one of two pacers and two trotters he conditions for Leroy and Sherry Lynn Kirk. After blanking in her first 18 starts on the season, Trishie Mae has now reported to the winner’s circle following two of her last three appearances while rewarding her backers to the tune of 5-1 and 9-1 on those occasions.

“I got her a couple of months ago and she had some little problems that needed to be worked on,” Thomas related. “I also changed the rigging a little bit. That first win last month was pretty strong, but then the next start she didn’t pick up the bit at all and was on a loose line the entire way and had no interest.”

Troy did a bit more work with Trishie Mae before her most recent outing and it paid off.

“This time she was into it and you could tell the difference right away. She likes when they’re moving along pretty well and she can sit back and finish.

“She doesn’t have the kind of speed where you can come out of a hole and explode, she’s more like a Volkswagen and she just keeps on coming. She’s honest, and that’s as much as you can ask of any horse.”

As mentioned earlier, Thomas is one of the most respected horseshoers on the grounds and as a result, it can make for an awfully long day that sometimes starts at sunrise and ends close to midnight.

“That’s why I don’t want to have any more than 10 horses in my barn at any time.”

In addition to training Trishie Mae for the Kirks, he has also a couple of hard-knocking trotters in Ailene’s Prince and Photo Delight for that couple, and he’s looking forward to getting a couple of youngsters to the races later in the year.

Race honors memory of Ironridge

Saturday’s feature (June 13) is named for Ironridge, the hard-knocking racehorse and stallion that passed away last Sunday evening (June 7) at the age of 22 due to complications from colic.

Ironridge was by Armbro Aussie out of the BG’s Bunny mare Prestigious Gem. He earned $403,573 and took a lifetime mark of 1:52.3 as a 4-year-old while racing mainly at the Meadowlands and Freehold before shipping to California late in his career.

At one point, he held the track record at Freehold for a mile and a sixteenth, which for a short time was the world record on a half-mile track. Owned, bred and raced by Arthur Giambrone and partners including Fern Wald, Ironridge was retired to the Desomer Farm in Wilton, where he stood until his death.

“Ridgie” as he was known, made his mark as a stallion, not for the amount of mares he bred, but the quality of offspring he produced. Having sired only 16 foals, 12 made it to the races including Ridgeline p,4,1:51f ($239,219); Ridge Jumper p,4,1:52.1f ($260,995); Charter Ridge p,6,1:54.4 ($73,409); and Diamond Ridge p,4,1:56.1 ($73,103).

Art Giambrone praised Ironridge as being very special.

“Ironridge was a quality being that happened to be a racehorse,” he said. “He was smart and tough as nails on the lead, with speed to get there on all size tracks.

“His dam was purchased as a yearling at the last sale at Liberty Bell. She was a great looking mare with high speed, but jogged sore from the first day she was hitched. She did break her maiden and managed a place in a New Jersey Sire Stakes, but ultimately her soreness ended her racing career.”

Giambrone convinced his partners to breed her and they started looking for a balanced mix of bloodlines, in the spirit of Niatross’ pedigree.

“I wanted a tough, smaller, sound horse and locally Armbro Aussie fit the bill. I’ve always admired Tar Heel in a pedigree for the toughness he instills.

“The colt was small as expected, being a first foal from a smaller sire, but conformation wise he was very correct. When I had to pick up Ridge and his dam from the farm, as she was going to a mixed sale, he wouldn’t follow her into the barn, preferring to stay in the large paddock. It took a tank of fuel and eight horses chasing him with my pickup to convince him that he should join his mom, at least for a drink. I was exhausted, he was not, as stamina was in his pedigree.”

This is a game of ups and downs, and Art noted this was one of the down periods.

“As is normal for a small, but full time racing operation, there is a cycle of boom and bust. We were in the bust stage, which is why the mare was sold. In order to get through this next stage, we needed partners for the horse, so 75 percent of him was sold.

“The partners’ names were Ron, Ira and Ron. I liked the word Ridge, so I-Ron Ridge evolved into Ironridge. It was one of those rare times where the horse lived up to this name.

“When he started racing, we had him convinced that coming from behind was a good thing, until he tasted being on top. He absolutely loved leaving and making the top. His best progeny also showed a tremendous closing kick, but like their dad, could leave the gate in serious fashion.”

Fern Wald groomed him for nearly all his life except a brief period when she migrated to California and he stayed in New Jersey. She was recognized as a top caretaker by the Red Smith Caretaker Committee for her work, especially with Ironridge.

Summing up, Giambrone said, “Ironridge gave us many thrills and had many drivers. He seemed to get along best with Howard Parker. It was Howard who drove him on Breeders Crown day in 1993 at Freehold, when he won in 1:55 when Life Sign, Riyadh and Presidential Ball went in 1:54.2 in a knock down, drag out Breeders Crown contest.”