WON: Four More Years Stakes – G1, If I Had A Lillehammer Stakes – G1, Beligan Tike Stakes – G3, Dalesbark Cup – G3
2nd: Flying Saucer Stakes – G3

The Little Engine That Could

By- Kingab

During our most enjoyable interview, trainer Snowchief said she remembers the night she was planning her 2004 breedings and came across the name ‘Ambrosius’, her under-achieving Storm Cat horse. “He just never was much of a race horse, but I wanted to use him to breed. I also think that maybe I more or less wanted to be rid of him. I knew I was only going to get the one shot with him, so despite his shortcomings, I wanted to try and do the best by him that I could.”

Ambrosius, his blue-blood pedigree not withstanding, had been a major disappointment as a runner. The winner of only two of sixteen lifetime starts, the medium bay had banked less than forty thousand in his career – certainly not the stuff that legends are made of. “I figured he owed me,” grinned the lady conditioner, “and that his offspring would be what he wasn’t. What hurt me more than anything was that his speed figure in his first start was higher than 100, and I never could get him to break that barrier again. He had given me such high hopes and then went backwards on me. I blamed myself, like any trainer would.” She then told me that she had run Ambrosius twice on the turf, and that both races were quite bad. Despite those efforts, she wanted to breed to a quality sire that could produce runners on either surface, and that Gone West was really her first and only choice. What a choice the son of the legendary Mr. Prospector turned out to be.

“I very clearly remember the day the new two-year-olds arrived at the stable”, said the Eclipse Award-winning trainer. The farm foreman came up with all the youngsters that were ready for more serious training and we looked them over very carefully. When he got to a well-made little brown colt with a white star and stripe, he said, “This is General’s Chariot, the Gone West colt you bred from Ambrosius.” He then added, “You will love this little dude because he is just loaded with personality, and is a really good student. I can’t be certain, but I think he can run a bit too. He is way ahead of every other horse that we have here, and he’s really not far from a race.”

“I looked at that gorgeous head with those highly intelligent eyes and quickly fell in love,” gushed Snowchief. She said that in the days and weeks that followed you couldn’t help but be more impressed with him each day. He only had to be shown something once that you wanted him to do, and he never once showed a bad trait. The first time they asked him for speed in a workout was one of the most exciting days a trainer can have. Her top exercise rider galloped back and was just grinning from ear to ear. “This cat can really motor, and I mean motor right now.” Snowchief had checked her watch and caught him in 35:2 for the three-eighths mile work, which is outstanding time, but maybe a little fast for a first-time serious work. When she told him how fast he had gone the exercise rider shouted, “NO! I don’t believe it! He was going so easy under me. He really is The General because he is the leader of them all.”

General’s Chariot was ready to run as early as a two-year old can be, and at the end of February when the first entries for the babies were posted, Snowchief saw no reason not to enter her precocious colt. Using the theory that the turf is easier on a horse’s legs, she decided to enter the colt in a four and one-half furlong maiden race on the grass in Virginia. Eight youngsters answered the bell for the early season test, and although there were a number of royally bred colts that entered the gate, General’s Chariot reputation preceded him. The betting money poured in on the little colt and he was sent off as the over-whelming favorite at .60 to the dollar. From the gate The General broke smoothly and raced along the inside, always in close striking distance to the leader, which held about a length lead throughout the race. With about half a furlong left to run it looked as though the colt would finish second, but then jockey Larry Patterson shook the reins and chirped to the little package of dynamite. The General accelerated at once and quickly overtook the leader and passed the wire a half-length in front. Upon his return to the winner’s circle, Patterson explained the race. He told Snowchief that he had the leader in his sites at all times, and knew he could take him whenever he wanted. “It’s early in the year,” he said “and I saw no reason to ask him to do too much in his first start.”

Seven weeks later the son of Gone West was off on a trip to the ‘Big Apple’ with a chance to show off on one of the toughest circuits in the world. He was entered in a high-dollar allowance on the turf, at the same distance as his maiden, but now he would be facing other winners. The knowledgeable New York fans know a good thing when they see it, and they pounded General’s Chariot down to the heavy favorite. Stuck inside in the less-than-favorable one post, The General didn’t break the sharpest, and was in fifth place in the early running. Coming to the top of the stretch jockey J. Barba gave the little colt his head and he responded by coming through on the inside with a rush. Despite brushing the hedge, General’s Chariot showed the gritty determination that it takes to be a champion, and he quickly flashed past the field and had the lead by the eighth pole before finally posting a breath-taking length and one-half win.

Now convinced that she had a stakes-quality colt, Snowchief looked around for a stakes that would fit her little guy. She found a grade three race in Ostend called the Belgian Tike Stakes, held at a lovely little track she had been to a number of times. “They have one of the most beautiful turf courses in the world,” she told me, “but more important, it is one of the safest I have ever seen. As easy as horse travel is now days, I saw no reason not to take him.”

Five weeks after his New York debut, General’s Chariot found himself in the gate with ten other highly thought of juveniles, all ready for the first big stakes test of their brief careers. The General didn’t break well from his number six-post position, and quickly found himself in seventh place in the four and one-half furlong race. Usually when you fall behind that many runners in such a short race against quality foes, you are doomed. However, no one told General’s Chariot this. As soon as the field reached the top of the stretch, his jockey turned the diminutive colt loose and asked him for his best. The General responded with a turn of foot that the others simply didn’t possess, and he went from seventh to first by the time they reached the eighth pole. His shocked rider then took the General in hand, and they cruised to the wire almost two lengths in front. The applause for the little colt was deafening and Snowchief was overcome with pride.

Snowchief decided to keep General’s Chariot overseas, where there are more opportunities to run on the turf. Six weeks later she took him to Queensland and entered him in the grade-three Dalesbark Cup, this time at a distance of six and one-half furlongs. “I was really worried that day,” she recalled. “It was his first time to run that far and we drew the eighth post in an eight horse field. I told the jockey to make sure he didn’t get caught wide from there, but not to get too far behind because there were a couple of really speedy colts in there that I was afraid of.” Jockey Thad Phillips listened well because when the gates opened he shook the reins at The General who grabbed the bit and rocketed away from his outside post to quickly take the lead. “When I saw him on the lead I almost died,” Snowchief recalled. “He had never gone to the front before, and I had no idea how he would react with no other horse to run at.” Her fears were quickly put to rest as General’s Chariot went on cruise control, opened up almost a five-length lead, and bounded home under wraps by better than two lengths. “He was just cantering the last part of it and they couldn’t catch him,” she recalled. “I was just thrilled.”

Seven weeks later Snowchief was tightening the girth of General’s Chariot in the paddock at Athens Racecourse, home of the 2004 Equinics. The spectacle of the Equinics attracts most of the best horses and trainers in the sport, as well as race fans from all over the world. Seventeen juvenile colts showed up for the very prestigious grade-one, If I Had a Lillehammer Stakes, a 6f test over a firm turf course. Seventeen horses of any age in one race can cause quite a bit of trouble, and many horses lose all chance to show their best form simply because of traffic problems. Snowchief recalls she spent most of that day worrying about the size of the field, and the very stiff competition she was facing. “Grade one races bring out the best horses there are,” she said. “In addition it was the Equinics, which everyone wants to win -- plus the prize of a quarter-million dollars was a lot more money than most of these youngsters had ever run for.” When the starter opened the gates General’s Chariot broke well from his number four post position, and his jockey, Marvin Mills, secured a nice position along the rail in fourth place, about a length or two off the battling leaders. The bulky field swung into the stretch with most of the field swinging wide, trying to secure a spot to make their run at the leaders. General’s Chariot was asked for his best as soon as the field straighted out in the lane, and by the time he reached the furlong pole he had a over a length lead on the second place horse and was widening his advantage with every stride. With the fading sun striking his beautifully dappled brown coat, the little General hit the wire with three lengths to spare over his nearest pursuer.

After his glorious victory in Athens, Snowchief brought her hero back to North America for his final starts of the year. Six weeks after the Equinics, she sent the undefeated colt to Ontario for the grade-three Flying Saucer Stakes, a mile and one-sixteenth test over a firm turf course. Snowchief remembers her worries about ‘The General’, a name now used by not only everyone in the barn, but by turf writers and fans alike. Her big worry was could he get the two-turn distance for the first time? “ His pedigree says no problem,” she said,” but until they do it, you naturally worry.” She shouldn’t have worried so much about distance as she should have about ‘plain old racing luck.’ Billy Renfroe, one of the best riders in the world and Ontario’s all time leading jockey had the same worries as Snowchief. When the gates opened he took the little colt well back off the lead, in seventh place almost six lengths behind the runaway leader. As they swung into the stretch Renfroe still had The General on the hedge, but had now found room to make his run. Through the stretch the colt had dead aim on the front runner, but on the far outside he never saw the flying Jupiter’s Moons(IRE), who simply flew past them all, and before General’s Chariot could react, the race was over. The little colt had finished second and lost for the first time. Snowchief took it in stride. “You lose much more than you win in this game, and they all get beat,” she said. “I’m not sure any two-year-old could have beaten Jupiter’s Moons(IRE) that day. I just put it down as bad racing luck and moved on.”

‘Moving on’ was to Texas for the grade-one Breeders Bowl Juvenile Turf, again a one and one-sixteenth mile race over a firm turf course. A Breeders Bowl win is a trophy all owners, trainers, and jockeys want to claim. Snowchief was no exception. “You dream of winning one of these,” she said. “They are the ultimate in racing.” She felt her colt was ready for a huge effort, especially after she had secured the services of David Givens, Kentucky’s all-time leading jockey and one of the best riders in the world. She had her little colt trained to the best of her abilities, but if she thought she had suffered bad luck in Canada, she hadn’t seen anything yet. The fans bet her little soldier down to the favorite, despite his drawing a poor post and his last race defeat. He broke slowly from his eleven-post position, and Givens immediately took him back, trying to find a spot where he could save as much ground as possible. That spot ended up being in eighth place, tucked down inside, but not too far from the leaders. The field turned down the backside with the little colt still hugging the rail, covered up and saving ground, patiently waiting to be called on. As the field approached the top of the stretch Givens now found himself in a box, with a colt tugging to run, but no room to do it. Givins had no choice but to wait, hoping for the smallest of holes to open. So he waited. Then he waited some more. He angled closer to the hedge, but the front-runners were leaving no room to go through. Finally his competitive nature took over and General’s Chariot could wait no longer, so he tried to bull his way through. That’s when Givins had to steady him sharply, slowing his momentum to almost nothing, in order to avoid a serious accident. General’s Chariot was fifth at the eighth pole, and he ended up fifth, some five lengths behind the winner. Givins brought the little colt back to a very disappointed Snowchief and begged her forgiveness. “He never had a chance,” he wailed, “and it’s all my fault. I was worried about the distance and now I know I should have just swung him out at some point. He would have handled the distance with no problem.” There was nothing the crushed Snowchief could say or do.

Six weeks later she brought her little colt to Pennsylvania for Del-Penn Championship Day, one of the best and most prestigious race days in the sport. The Delaware clan put on a great day of racing over two tracks, with some of the stakes for their residents only, and some open to all comers. Snowchief saddled General’s Chariot for the million dollar, grade-one seven-furlong, Four More Years Stakes. An overwhelming field of twenty was set to run, and with her streak of bad luck Snowchief was anything but confident. When General’s Chariot broke a step slow from his number six stall, jockey Nick Bedford hustled him up to be eighth, but only three lengths back at the first call. As the field streaked toward the top of the stretch, Bedford swung The General out for clear running room. This was in accordance with the only orders Snowchief had given him. “Make sure this colt is in the clear when you turn for home,” she demanded, “I don’t care if you are a dozen horses wide.” He wasn’t out quite that far, but he was out in the center of the track. However, once in the clear he was gathering momentum and really beginning to roll. As they passed the eighth pole he was a length behind the leader, and was swallowing him up with every stride. He hit the wire a length and one-half in front of the place horse with eighteen more of the finest colts in the world strung out behind him.

So there you have him. General’s Chariot. The little engine that could. Your pick for Eclipse Award Juvenile Turf Champion. He won six of eight starts with one second, and was the only two-year-old of either sex to win a million dollars. He won four graded stakes, two of them grade-ones. He was trained by one of the best, and most caring trainers in the game, and a more deserving champion we couldn’t have. I can’t wait for his three-year-old campaign.