Long Live the King: D. Wayne Lukas

--By Christina Bossinakis

   Heading up to beautiful Saratoga Springs, NY, last week, I imagined the trip would prove to be memorable. In fact, it turned out to be epic. With this year’s induction ceremony only a few weeks away, my mission was to have a sit down with the King himself, D. Wayne Lukas. Lukas, who was himself inducted in 1999, also trained one of this year’s inductees, champion Open Mind. For those of you who don’t already know (and there probably aren’t many of you!), I have been one of his most ardent fans since the late 80's. So the trip was exciting to me on so many levels. I arrived at the track just after 6 a.m., and the big man himself was already out on the Oklahoma track. His temporary absence gave me a chance to get the lay of the land. As advertised, barn 83–situated right across from fellow Hall of Famer Nick Zito’s establishment–was landscaped to perfection, punctuated by a lawn jockey prominently displayed amidst a lovely flower bed.
   As I was having a look around, an obviously well-bred Australian Shepard was haltered, but given a very long rein, out front. Being the dog lover that I am, I immediately headed over to play with the youngster. Wrong move. In his excitement (and I later realized in the absence of his master), he almost took me down. Only 4-months old and full of sass, Boomer was just about to run off with my sunglasses (thankfully I’ve had plenty of experience with canines) when I heard a voice that I would recognize with both ears closed. It said with an air of amusement, "Don’t you hurt my dog." And so the King returns to the kingdom. Dressed in a style I like to call ‘Cowboy Chic,’ Wayne was astride a ‘pony’ that is probably valued at more than many of the Thoroughbreds stabled at that track. White cowboy hat. Check. Bad ass chaps. Check. Crisp pressed shirt. Check. I have to say, Wayne Lukas never disappoints.
   A quick side story: the first time I met Lukas was back in 1994, the year Holy Bull won the Travers S. Lukas took the King’s Bishop with Chimes Band a couple of races after the big one, and I happened to be down by the winner’s circle for the presentation. I have to admit, I was a bit star struck, so I didn’t have the guts to go up and ask for his autograph. Thankfully, my cousin did. As one might imagine, I was totally frozen and could barely utter a word (I know many of you are shocked), but I often think back to this moment, because it turned out to be a defining moment for me as a racing fan. We all have to wonder if we have the opportunity to meet a celebrity from any industry, whether that person will live up to our expectations or whether we will be sadly disappointed. With no cameras rolling or shutters clicking (except for a great picture of us, courtesy of the aforementioned cousin), D. Wayne was as charismatic and charming as I had always seen him on tv. I’m not sure how a negative response from somebody I so admired would have affected the trajectory of my life and my career, but I can say with certainty that was one of only a handful of experiences that cemented my passion for the sport.
   But back to last week’s visit. At just before 8 a.m., the temperature was already hovering at around 80 degrees (hello Saratoga, nice to see you again). I went down to the Oklahoma track to watch a few of the Lukas horses take to the track and was quite impressed by the military-like timing and thoughtful scheduling that went into planning the day’s program. I wandered around the backside for a bit, waiting for my 9 a.m. appointment with The Man. It’s really pretty amazing how many former Lukas assistants I bumped into during a single tour around the backstretch. It's a testament to his ability to pick out people of quality and ability, I think. Back at barn 83 at the appointed time, I am invited into a little stand-alone office situated directly across from the main barn. Not sure many trainers have their own little private quarters like that, however, that luxury was obviously well earned. With Boomer tucked in quietly near his master’s feet, Wayne made a couple of quick calls and off we went. So, I proceeded to pick the brain of the man that I had so admired all these years, and during our chat, maybe a half dozen people, including members of the press, vied for his attention. Committed to the task at hand, we ran up the time to an hour (I could have listened to those stories for days!) and talked about everything ranging from his Hall of Fame induction to number of his champions and former owners. Winning Colors, Lady’s Secret, Open Mind, Serena’s Song, Landaluce, Tabasco Cat, Charismatic, Grand Canyon, and of the human persuasion Gene Klein, the Lewises, William Young– the man is a legend. Too much ground was covered during our conversation to include here, however, a few of those stories will be trotted out in the days leading up to Open Mind’s Hall of Fame induction on Aug. 12. Stay Tuned.

A Day Fit For a Queen

--Christina Bossinakis

   Queen’s Plate day started out sunny but, by the time the Bossinakis tribe (my mother Lily, uncle Costa and aunt Artemis) set off for Woodbine, it looked like we might get yet another round of rain. Luckily for us, we were spared the predominant theme since my arrival in Toronto last Wednesday. Back up in the Woodbine Club dining room, we found ourselves in great company–seated nearby was Martin Schwartz (owner of Plate runner Bowman’s Causeway); the West Point team, headed by the always dapper Terry Finley (represented by Enduring Star); and the connections of Queen’splatekitten (Nicholas Brady’s Mill House), including agent Steve Young and trainer Todd Pletcher. It’s interesting to note that Mr. Pletcher, who was at Belmont Saturday to accept the trophy for Buster’s Ready’s runaway victory in the GI Mother Goose S., arrived at the Toronto oval shortly after noon before jumping back on a plane to New York not long after a fifth with the ‘Kitten’ in the feature. Oh, did I forget to mention that this is the way he spent his birthday? And that’s one of the reasons why I refer to him as ‘T-Train.’ (other than the obvious reason, of course). Sometimes I swear he is superhuman. His dedication, discipline and commitment to his clients and horses are really quite admirable.

   As for our dining experience, the staff was very attentive, and accommodating, and the food was superb, with plenty of fresh seafood and a tasty dessert selection (and this coming from the daughter of an accomplished pastry chef!). As for the Bossinakis crew, we kicked off Sunday the same way we concluded Saturday–winning. The big score of the day, however, came from Costa, who hit a healthy payday of $600. That’s the great thing about horse racing, sometimes blind luck proves more lucrative than over analysis.
A couple of races prior to the Plate, we accompanied the Romeo family (of Big Red Mike fame) down to the paddock to watch their horse, Daniel Be Good, in an allowance (optional claimer). (FYI: ‘Daniel’ came home a winner in the race prior to last year’s Queen’s Plate...that’s TWO wins in front of the Queen for Terra Racing). The whole crew seemed to be in the paddock Sunday: Dom, and his sons Steve and Frank, who also had his wife Rose and son Mike in tow. (Note: If you have the chance to see Mike, you will know precisely why he is the namesake for the Queen’s Plate hero). With speed appearing to hold up well earlier in the day, ‘Daniel’ seemed to have a very good chance at 7-1, and though he ran admirably, he weakened late to be a close-up third. I must say that it was such a pleasure to get to know the Romeos. They are people of the highest class who have a tremendous passion and affection for our game. We certainly would be blessed if we had more of them in our industry.

Christina and Lily Bossinakis in the Woodbine Paddock

   The paddock area prior to the Queen’s Plate can best be described as a mass of humanity, and horseflesh. Inglorious was led out of the saddling enclosure and into the paddock fairly early, and never seemed to turn a hair. I observed her owner, Vernon Dubinsky, rushing back and forth between the bay filly (Post 9, saddled in the center of the enclosure) and his other entrant, Seawatch (Post 12, situated at the far corner). In all honesty, if races were based on looks, I would have given the nod to Check Your Soul, who looked absolutely stupendous. Just a picture of health and confidence. Also getting a notable mention was Queen’splatekitten. While those two might have collected the ribbon for sexiness (at least of the equine variety), it was obviously not their day. (Check Your Soul tired late to be seventh). On the front side, the atmosphere leading into the race was almost electric, only muted by the seemingly endless loading process. The stands looked filled to capacity, however, I am told that was nothing compared to last year when Queen Elizabeth II was in attendance. When all was said and done, the winner of the Woodbine Oaks came away with a 2 1/2-length win, becoming the 34^th filly to collect the first leg of Canada’s Triple Crown. Returning in front of the stands amid a rousing ovation, the filly was greeted by her visibly moved trainer, Josie Carroll, who was collecting her second Plate win following her 2006 score with Edenwold. The day couldn’t have ended more fittingly with a pair of gallant ladies collaborating to win the "Gallop for the Guineas." Bringing down the curtain on my Queen’s Plate experience, I couldn’t help but think just how gracious and helpful our friends at Woodbine were during my visit, which really added to the whole experience.

March to the Winner's Circle

   This morning, I was greeted with an absolutely stunning day for my departure (after most of my trip was spent under an umbrella!). However, I can’t really complain, because the weather really cooperated when it had to. And while I was sitting in the airport sipping on my Tim Horton’s coffee (Dunkin’ who??), I couldn’t help thinking, this may not be my town, but they sure are my people.