After 40 years of helping, Ward died alone

Dan Ward has had a practical role in the barns that have developed some of the fastest and most important horses of our time—generational talents like Ghostzapper And Lark a person earns 5 million dollars in Medaglia d’Oro a Belmont Stakes winner in Empire maker, the three Kentucky Oaks heroines in Keeper Hill, Flute, and blind luck children of children Toussaudand many other champions, Breeders’ Cup winners and 1st grade winners.

After more than four decades working for two Hall of Fame coaches — first Bobby Frankel, then Jerry Hollendorfer — Ward, 64, has passed away alone. When Hollendorfer decided to downsize and focus on California, it was the right time for Ward to take the lead. On July 1, Ward assumed responsibility for Hollendorfer’s chain of 29 horses at Monmouth Park (which will go south to Oaklawn Park in winter) and within a few days asked for three more.

Having learned from two legends over the years and so many horses, there could be no assistant more prepared to make the move to head coach. Ward talked to BloodMarketHorseView about first times participating in the sport, getting started on your own and good memories.

Market tracking: Why is this the time to go out alone?

Dan Ward: We talked about it for a while. Jerry said, “When I’m done with all the lawsuits and everything, then you’re on your own.” He was good enough to let us set up in two different places. Whenever you go to a new track, you have to learn all the state coaches and veterinarians, racing commissions and offices and how to read books and everything. It’s a nice situation and I’m pretty lucky.

I found two places that we really like, Oaklawn and Monmouth, and on schedule it’s perfect. We can train at Monmouth until the end of October and then they open in Oaklawn in November. It’s a good race, good wallets and they are safe races to practice.

MW: How did you finish at the racetrack and what was your first job in the back?

DW: I’m a racing fan growing up in Pasadena and then we moved to San Diego. I am a fan of the Secretariat and will go back to Majestic Prince when he runs at the Triple Crown. I used to go to races at Del Mar with my friends and during Santa Anita we will go there for the big races on the weekend.

I am a huge fan of Bobby Frankel. I started with a trainer named Joe Manzi, then as soon as I had a chance with Bobby I went to work for him, walking and grooming, then foreman and then assistant. Basically, I have to work for my idol.

MW: How did you manage to climb the ladder in the Frankel warehouse the way you did?

DW: When I started with Bobby, I was 17 years old. I started as a groomer because I used to work for another coach. He gave me two for grooming, and then I started walking. It’s just hard work, and then he’ll say, “That kid looks good, you’re taking good care of them.” He liked that I was a hard worker, even though I was clueless at the start.

MW: You have to learn from two very successful coaches at Frankel and Hollendorfer. What separates them from all the other excellent riders out there?

DW: Those are two great and very similar teachers, both hard workers. And to them, it’s all different types of horses. Of course, every horse is different, but the art of equestrianism works for book lovers and great horses. It’s good to learn about asking for horses and ponies and 2-year-olds. We have Songbird and Unique Bella when they start training, but we also declare Sahara desert sky and won the Met Mile (Metropolitan Handicap-G1). we declare Vasilika for 40 (thousand) and she made $1.8 million. And we also know how to ask a horse for eight or ten (thousands).

MW: What did you learn from Bobby Frankel?

DW: The things he told you, they are still good to this day. Like when I was just starting out, he said, “I’ll take you on the road with these horses. If you think you need to maneuver the five (fur) horse, go half (mile) instead. ” It’s always a little easier, because a lot of people overdo it.

MW: Is it true that with Jerry, you jog each horse on the sidewalk outside the barn every morning?

DW: Yes, every horse. Because it takes about 15-20 minutes, but you better see something in the morning and say, ‘Hey, let’s not work on this horse today’ or ‘This leg is hot’ or ‘Me. don’t like the way it jogs.’

And we don’t train with any drugs, so it’s a lot easier to see if there’s a problem. That’s the way I’ve always done it, working for Bobby and then working for Jerry.

MW: How do you feel about everything that has happened to Jerry in California over the past few years—removed from 1/ST Racing’s Santa Anita . Park And Golden Gate Fieldsthen Del Mar, due to a string of deaths, leading to legal action and ultimately settlement with racecourses, plus additional lawsuits with the California Horse Racing Board?

DW: I don’t know how people can say you’re sloppy if they see how well the horses are cared for.

Jerry has a ranch in Washington where he raises horses. It’s called Down the Stretch Ranch. He pays for the whole farm, unlike these people who go on TV and pat themselves on the back. We all care about after-sales service, but Jerry pays for it himself. The veterans work with the horses and it’s good for them and Jerry sponsors the whole thing. So what would you say? That he doesn’t care about his horses? That does not make sense. It must have been bad luck in that meeting (2019), but last year, we had no deaths.

MW: Can you tell me about a horse you especially miss that wasn’t one of the obvious superstars?

DW: When we first got our horses from Juddmonte, we had three and Ron McAnally had three, to see what we could do with them. One of the horses we had was a Marquetry, and it turned out to be a really good ground horse, but there was another one, a grass horse named Exbourne.

He was one of Bobby’s favorite horses because he was grouped in Europe – broke his maidenhood, then placed second in group one – but they couldn’t bring him back. race again. So when we got him, he was a real project. He’s not a really smooth player on dirt roads but when you leave him on the pitch it’s a different story. He’s won the Hollywood Handicap (G1T) and I think it’s really important for us to get more horses for Juddmonte because once he becomes a big horse, then they do. I started getting more and more horses from them. And once you get those horses, then you get others.