by Chris Lomon

It was only fitting that Fannie Saul-Beaulieu was on the road when she took the call.

With her husband, trainer Jean Beaulieu, behind the wheel, Saul-Beaulieu was in the passenger’s seat as the couple made their way back to Quebec after morning training at Rideau Carleton Raceway in Ottawa.

“We were in Florida and now we’re up here in Canada,” said Saul-Beaulieu, a co-trainer and caretaker for the couple’s racing operation. “We’re racing at Rideau, and we stay at the farm of our partners, Philippe Trudeau and Isabelle Labbe, on the Quebec side.”

It’s the latest adventure for the horsewoman born into a racing life in Florida.

There wasn’t any need during those early days for arm-twisting to pique her interest in the pacers and trotters.

“My father was a horse trainer, driver and owner,” Saul-Beaulieu said. “My dad was from Florida, so we did most of our racing at Pompano Park. My mother, on her side, my grandfather was a trainer and driver too. He participated a lot at the fairs in Pennsylvania. So, I grew up at the racetrack in Pompano, running around, cleaning stalls and doing buckets.

“Eventually, I started jogging horses and doing other things with dad. After a time, I started training with dad, side-by-side and progressed from there. I worked for a couple of different trainers. I went to Rockingham Park [now closed] in New Hampshire, and when I met my husband, that’s when I started coming to Canada.”

Her current travel adventures have yielded some winning results.

One of those victories came as a welcome surprise, courtesy of a rookie son of E L Titan that Saul-Beaulieu co-owns with Philippe Trudeau and Isabelle Labbe.

“We bought Safe Choice for $20,000 at the Harrisburg sale this past winter, took him to Florida where we had him broke and started his training,” Saul-Beaulieu said. “He has a great attitude and loves his job, so we staked him in New York for the sires stakes. It’s just such a thrill to be able to watch him on the track. He wants to chase everybody and then he doesn’t want anyone to pass him. We took him up to Vernon and got him qualified. We raced him at Buffalo, which is a tougher track to get around. And he’s a big, husky horse, but he got around there okay. Then we took him to Tioga where he had a little mishap, a 2-year-old moment. We decided to bring him up to Rideau to give him a little education.”

On July 27, Safe Choice, in rein to Ryan Guy, went off at 27-1, the second longest shot on the tote board. By the end of the mile, he had graduated at the top of his class.

He came into the race with a third as his best finish from three starts.

“First start here at Rideau, he didn’t have any chance of winning, but he found a way to do it,” Saul-Beaulieu said. “Coming down the stretch, the driver tipped him three wide. He said, ‘I just touched him once and he took off. He surprised me.’ So, we just got our first win with him, and we’ll head back to Vernon for a stakes race coming up. I don’t expect him to be a champion. I just like that he’s a nice horse and he tries. It’s just a great feeling when you start from scratch, and you can see that development end up with that result.”

Le Massif, a 4-year-old son of Shanghai Phil owned by Melanie Boulianne, is another Saul-Beaulieu trainee.

The well-traveled pacer, who has a top-three mark of 5-3-11, recently clocked his 50th career racing mile.

“We got him last summer as a 3-year-old,” Saul-Beaulieu said. “He was a lanky horse, still growing, so he needed some education. He raced well last year, and he paced in 1:54. He was a little win-shy, but always competitive. Coming back this year, he blossomed this summer. He swelled up. He’s a big body, big chest horse now. He took a lifetime mark of 1:51.3 at Tioga. He’s continued to progress. He’s a nice horse and has done really well.”

When they aren’t participating in races, the couple’s daily routine still includes racing.

“How do we unwind?” she said. “If we’re at Vernon, we’re sitting at the end of the barn with a TV hooked up watching races and usually, we have Uber Hanover in the stall next to us watching the TV with us and pulling the chair.”

Another example of how a couple that races together, stays together.

“For us, yes,” Saul-Beaulieu said. “We’re together 24/7. All our decisions are made thoughtfully, all with the best interest of the horse in mind. We will talk about plans and decisions, go back and forth on ideas, and agree. If we have a tiff, it’s for about five minutes and then it’s over. We both have the same interest at heart, which is the love of horses and the love of racing. We want the best for the horses. It always starts and ends with the question, ‘What is best for our horses?’”

It’s the first thing that comes to mind when Saul-Beaulieu walks into her home base barn at Vernon.

“You hear that nickering and whinnying, and everybody is happy that you are there,” she said. “It’s a great feeling and every one of them has their own personality. You really appreciate that individuality. They have their likes and dislikes, their routines, and how they go about their day. They are like children, and they always make you laugh and smile. I adore my job. It’s not really a job for me. It’s fun.”

And it’s also a seemingly never-ending adventure.

From the U.S. southeast to various spots in the northeast, to crossing the border into Ontario, road trips have become commonplace for the racing couple.

“Everywhere we go is an experience and we enjoy it,” Saul-Beaulieu said. “Buffalo, this summer, it’s a beautiful place. The barns are gorgeous, and we received a wonderful welcome package, everything we needed. We go to Saratoga and it’s a welcoming environment. Tioga is wonderful as well. We are stabled at Vernon, and we love it there. It’s just like home. Rideau Carleton, having to deal with the aftermath of the fire [the paddock burned down in February], they are doing a wonderful job to make sure everyone is taken care of who races there. Everyone is helping each other out.”

As for who controls the radio, Saul-Beaulieu delivers a quick response.

“That would be me and we’re usually listening to country,” she said.

Wherever they happen to find themselves and whichever horse they have competing, the husband and wife continue to pursue their shared passion with a smile on their faces.

Win or lose, time spent with their horses, noted Saul-Beaulieu, is always time well spent.

“A successful day or night at the races would mean that everybody went out there, tried their best and picked up a check,” she said. “We’re happy to finish second, fifth… as long as every horse participated, we’re happy. If it didn’t go well, we spend the whole drive home thinking of what we can do next time. We just want what’s best for the horses, to bring out their best, and see them be as successful as possible.”