Horse Racing

Offield Saddles is the ultimate winner – from later


Via

Statistically speaking, Northern Roses (Northern Causeway), a 6-year-old mare with a 4 to 32 record, is hardly the star of the stables for trainer Duane Offield, who died September 29 After a long battle with cancer. But the 82-year-old air conditioner shines too bright for her anyway. A hybrid for one of his most dedicated clients, Northern Rose has been in the care of Offield since she started her career 3 and a half years ago, and she has enjoyed a high stand subordinate to Offield’s Golden Gate Fields warehouse, not far from his office so he could always watch over her and be proud of her.

Offield, a kind and soft-spoken mainstay on the Northern California circuit for seven decades, has earned a reputation as an old-fashioned trainer who likes to let his horses do the talking for him. He would probably downplay it if he lived to see it, but Northern Rose’s performance in the third race at Golden Gate on Saturday speaks volumes in terms of good karma.

Northern Rose was entered by Offield on a $5,000 claim path on October 1 before his death. He was unable to cross the track near the end of his life, but still looked forward to managing his horses. So when her barn darling dashed home from behind the herd for a 17-1 margin of victory, her score put an exclamation point on Offield’s horseman life. by giving him a final official victory after his death.

You could say that Northern Rose sent Offield out a winner. But those who knew him long ago recognized Offield as everyone, no matter where his horse finished.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever met anyone so selfless. He is a man from another time. He is just the epitome of someone who never puts himself first,” says Rozamund Barclay, owner and breeder of Northern Rose. TDN hours after Saturday’s emotional win.

“With Duane, everything is about the horses. It doesn’t matter if it’s a $2,500 claimant or a stallion. All noticed. He feels very honored to be able to make a living doing what he loves. He never forgot that. He’s so grateful that throughout his adult life he got to do what he wanted to – be with the horses,” says Barclay.

“He also loves his crew. That’s his family. The same people who worked for him for many years. We talked [Saturday] about an exercise equestrian, when he was 15 or 16 years old, Duane helped him get a special license to gallop at that age. That gymnast is now almost 60 years old. Duane has that quality that makes people want to work for him, and people remain loyal and want to continue working for him.

Duane Offield | Photography Vassar

“He had a lot of young men going through his barn. John Sadler worked for him. So did Kim and Sean McCarthy. There are probably a lot of people who worked for him that I don’t know. It’s a rare person that nobody has anything negative to say about him,” Barclay said.

Barclay lives not far from the Emerald Downs in Auburn, Washington, and also owns the Northern Rose, Northern Causeway male. She keeps track retirees at her home and her stallions and the Northern Causeway at Rancho San Miguel in California. She first started sending horses to Offield in 2014 after her former California trainer fell ill and introduced Offield as someone he wanted to take care of his herd. Since then, she has kept a stable of 10 to 15 horses with Offield, and Barclay said they have gotten along well with owners and trainers because Offield treats her horses as individuals. their own development timetable.

“He likes the old school way. He liked the horse being led, getting a lot of attention, that sort of thing. And it’s really hard to do that, you know. Costs for train drivers are rising and rising, and owners can only afford so much. So, handing all your horses, doing them daily, all of that is a lot. But Duane seems to have managed to do it.”

Originally from Prosser, Washington, Offield studied animal husbandry at California State Polytechnic University before embarking on a racing career in the late 1960s, first with the Quarter Horse and then with the Hybrid. His lifetime stats predate Equibase records dating back to 1976, but since that day Offield has amassed 722 winners and just over $10 million in wallets.

Offield spent nearly two decades in his career before he trained and owned a horse that could break through in the national arena as a Triple Crown contender. In 1989, a raw speed runner named Restless Con (Restless Native) won three of his first four races as a 2-year-old in NorCal. But the foal developed a life-threatening virus shortly after the age of three that prevented it from competing for the GI Kentucky Derby.

Offield got Restless Con healthy again, and after winning two small stakes in Golden Gate and finishing second in the Ohio Derby then GII, he was ambitious to deliver the KEESEP’s worth of cross-country shipments. $17,000 to Monmouth Park for the GI Haskell Invitational. Disqualified 10-1 in a bet like a speedball in California in a race rife with luxury rivals on the East Coast, driver Tim Doocy surged to the top of the table but then suddenly evaluate Restless Con out of rhythm, fix the score 2 1/4 length.

Restless Con then finished twelfth in the GI Travers S. and ninth in the subsequent GI Super Derby. Offield brought the pony back to its NorCal base, where Restless Con won just one more race before retiring in 1992. Offield may have pinned its hopes on developing more senior talent over the decades. coming, but Haskell’s win will be his one and only winning bet classification.

Fast forward to this season. With Offield unable to attend daily activities at the track because of his illness, his record has dropped to 4–75 for last Saturday’s race year. When he learned his life was coming to an end, his concern shifted from winning races to making sure his racetrack family was in a position to care for him after his death.

“That’s his type of person. It’s hard to explain,” Barclay said. “But one of the things that keeps him going is that he has a great team that is always in touch with him. He was bedridden until the end, but he relentlessly poured his energy into operating the barn.

“Even the day he passed away, he was still concerned about the welfare of his horses, especially some of the horses he campaigned for for a long time, wanting to make sure they all would continues to work fine. I think all horsemen strive to do the best of the horses they train. But it was in his nature to worry more about the children who worked for him and the horses than about himself. “

Barclay said Northern Rose loves to run outside of horses, so it was a bit confusing when she drew the track for the mile race. She added that Offield isn’t the type to coach her riders excessively, but she knows he would tell track runner Armando Ayuso to go outside with a clear bid. if possible, and those were the instructions given by assistant coach Jorge Bautista when he knocked one foot out of Ayuso on Saturday.

Northern Roses | Photography Vassar

Northern Rose broke behind, settled on the inside and contented themselves to rank in the middle of the fifth pack before moving closer to the 4 1/2 duel leaders. She sped up her run through the far corner, and when Ayuso swung the mare out of the intersection to turn home, Northern Rose reacted recklessly.

What’s going on may not resonate immediately with the public. But Barclay said those behind watching from the side of the track knew what was being done, and a noticeable buzz began to reverberate in the grandstand aprons.

“Northern Rose outside took the lead when it reached the sixteenth pole!” Announcer Matt Dinerman was attentive, emphasizing his call with enthusiasm for a profound length of time. “Northern Rose begins competition for Duane Offield! And how about this? Northern Rose at 17-1! “

As Barclay said, “If you’re part of the backcountry community, you can hear the excitement as Northern Rose is making its way down the ramp; there’s even a hint of amazement in Matt Dinerman’s voice. And I think it’s like everyone’s day. “

When asked what went through her mind during the winners’ circle ceremony, Barclay said the scene left her a bit emotional beyond words. She then tried to explain anyway, her voice only flickering with affection before continuing strongly.

“I can’t tell you how in love he was. Everyone knows Duane. Everyone on the track knew if they needed help they could go to him. He just had the upbringing that you don’t turn down any help from someone if you can help them,” Barclay said.

While she was processing all of that after giving Northern Rose an affectionate pat on the nose and hugging Bautista, Ayuso and another member of the Offield team, Barclay said the phone rang near the car. weigh. The managers wanted to talk to her, a racing official told Barclay, who said her first thought was, “What did I do now?”

However, the managers simply wanted to express a general sense of awe at what had just happened.

“The managers are very sweet,” says Barclay. “They asked me, ‘Well, do you believe that?’ And I said, ‘No!’ What a wonderful tribute to Duane. I couldn’t think of a better trip. He was an extremely private person, but always had that in common – he loved horses and everyone knew it,” Barclay said.

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