by James Platz

It’s hard to believe that two months have already passed since First Turn Stable launched the 2025 campaign with Robertsgladerunner. As I documented last year when I first joined the fractional ownership group, the experience ran the gamut of both expected and unexpected outcomes. This time around it is no different, and recently the stable had to make a difficult decision. More on that later.

In my last update, Robertsgladerunner had just made his debut for the stable. Racing out of the Patrizio Ancora barn, the 9-year-old gelding finished seventh at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino. Following that April 4 outing, “Bob” lined up behind the gate six more times, racing every Friday night through April and halfway into May. The results were mixed. After finishing out of the money in his debut, the gelding earned checks for four straight weeks. He managed to race fifth each time out before hitting the board on May 2, pacing third in an $8,000 claimer. It wasn’t spectacular, but he was earning.

That string of consistency came to a screeching halt the next time out. I didn’t observe Bob’s next effort as a railbird at Hoosier Park, but instead at home on RTN. It was a particularly exciting evening as family friends from the African country of Zambia were guests in our home. They were aware of my activities within the industry. In previous visits, I had introduced the husband, Mukuka, to harness racing. We had talked in depth about the industry; the breeding, yearling sales and racing. I had even taken him to visit a farm near Fort Wayne, and together we attended a pony auction. He was thrilled to get an up-close view of equines, as he explained back home it is a rarity to see livestock of any kind. Usually, those experiences are limited to exhibitions.

Although we had talked about the various aspects of the business, they had not witnessed harness racing. On the night of May 9, we sat down to dinner and watched the opening races from Hoosier Park. Robertsgladerunner was in the fourth race that night, drawing post 3 in a field of 10. He was sent off as the second choice in the $8,500 claiming handicap.

As the gate folded, I provided commentary. Bob had gotten away second. A great place to sit and bide his time until the stretch. But he didn’t sit. Following a :26.1 opening panel, driver Mike Oosting abandoned the pocket and moved to the lead as the field raced to the half. Looking over Robertsgladerunner 2025 lines, he was accustomed to being forwardly placed at times, but not on the engine. He had also given up more positions in the lane than he had gained. Seeing him on the lead felt awkward and I remarked that he would need to have something left for the stretch. He didn’t. We watched as he backed through the field with a :29.2 last quarter — the slowest in the field — and finished ninth.

The summary email to First Turn Stable members the next day was titled “Early speed duel gets the best of Robertsgladerunner.” Within the update, Ancora and his wife, Rebecca, provided their perspective on the race.

“Unfortunately, that wasn’t the ideal trip we were looking for last night,” they said in the email. “We felt like it was a bit overly aggressive, the additional move to the lead up the backstretch, with as quick as they were going, was just too much. We were happy with Bob; he raced well was just put in an unfortunate position. We will draw a line through this week and move on.”

Moving on, however, has proven difficult. Racing May 16 over a sloppy track, Robertsgladerunner finished well off the pace. Drawing the outside post, Oosting looked for a spot near the front and settled in second on the way to a :56 opening half. Along the pylons turning for home, the gelding faded with a :31.4 last quarter to finish last in the 10-horse field.

“We were pretty disappointed in how things went on Friday night,” Patrizio and Rebecca said in the next stable update, “After such a tough trip in his last start, we were hoping for something a little more conservative on Friday that would allow Bob to finish the mile with pace, and that just isn’t how things worked out unfortunately. We are going to give Bob a much-needed week off and regroup before we try again.”

That was the last time Robertsgladerunner will see the starting gate. After the week off, Ancora entered him in a $5,000 claimer May 29. He would be scratched out of the contest. Below is part of the comment from the Ancoras that came with the notification of the scratch.

“He trained on Tuesday, and unfortunately came up a little sore in his left hind. We had the vet go over him and think that it is likely just an infection that is causing it to be irritated. We are treating it with some antibiotics and expect it to be resolved within a few days. If it doesn’t, we will scan him, but the vet thinks that is likely all it is. We will give him some R&R and hope to have him back on track soon!”

Despite the initial optimism, the notice sent to First Turn Stable members on Friday (June 7) painted a much different picture. Earlier in the week I had checked the entries for the weekend. Bob had not been dropped in the box Tuesday for Friday’s card, and his name could not be found among Saturday’s entries. I suspected perhaps another week of rest was needed. Friday’s update provided the cold hard reality of the situation. Writing to the group, Jacob Rheinheimer, Hoosier Park’s race marketing manager, laid out the facts.

“As many of you know, he has missed the last few weeks on the racetrack while dealing with a nagging left hind injury,” Rheinheimer said. “While initially, we were hoping this was nothing more than a minor infection, it was discovered that Bob has suffered a partial tear in his tendon in the left rear. This is an injury that Robertsgladerunner could in theory return to the track from, but after discussion with Rebecca and Patrizio, we decided that we would like to retire Bob at this time, and ensure he goes to a good home where he can spend a happy and long life.”

As Rheinheimer explained, First Turn Stable has done this twice before with stable horses. Robertsgladerunner will be donated to New Vocations and transition to the next chapter of his life away from the track. Great news for him, and it’s good to know he will live out his days with a family that cares for him.

But Friday’s announcement also leaves the stable in search of a new horse. Last year, the struggle of claiming a horse dragged on for weeks and abruptly brought the experience to an end. Hopefully, we can claim one soon and get back in the game. While I didn’t expect this outcome in my second fractional ownership experience, it again highlights the many different ways that things can go wrong in racing. Right now, First Turn Stable is in need of some racing luck. Fingers crossed we get it.