Whitmore is more than a race horse to Moquett and family
Lots of people consider their pets part of their families. And while a racehorse might not exactly fit into the category of “pet,” that doesn’t change how trainer Ron Moquett and his family feel about Whitmore, the seven-year-old gelding that will make his 35th start in Saturday’s Grade 1, $250,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes.
“My kids call him their brother,” said Moquett by phone this week. “He’s the really good brother, the really successful brother.”
Younger children often know how hard it is to follow in their older siblings’ footsteps. But when that includes a multi-millionaire whose footsteps are made my horseshoes, how do you compete?
Whitmore will be making just his second start at Saratoga in the Vanderbilt, but he’s already made his mark here, winning the Grade 1 Forego Stakes in 2018. He’s run at 10 racetracks, winning at five of them, earning $3.1 million.
Moquett owns Whitmore in partnership with Robert LaPenta and Head of Plains Partners and has trained him since the horse was a two-year-old. Whitmore has won at least one race every year since then.
He’s found most of his success at Oaklawn Park, winning nine of 13 races at the track in Hot Springs, Arkansas, including the last three runnings of the listed Hot Springs Stakes.
“Hot Springs is becoming more financially- and prestige-driven,” said Moquett, “and we look towards Oaklawn to point to big races.”
Moquett kept horses at Saratoga last year, but because of COVID-19 logistical consequences, he elected to pass on stalls this year, opting instead to ship to races at Saratoga and elsewhere.
“We’d be in Saratoga again this year, except for
the virus,” he said. “Like everything else in racing, all the [racing jurisdictions] have their own rules and protocols, and NYRA’s restrictions meant that my horses would have to train at 10am, in the heat of the morning and when everyone else was done.”
Whitmore is surrounded by people who have known him since he started training, including his groom, his hotwalker, his farrier, and his exercise rider.
“There’s a big family that makes up the support for this awesome horse,” said Moquett. “We all know him, and we know what it takes to make him happy.”
He’s finished out of the top three only seven times, for a remarkable 80% in-the-money rate, and with two wins and a second from three starts this year, he remains competitive and interested in racing. But when he no longer it, his future is assured.
“He’ll stay with us,” said Moquett. “We’ll let him decide what he wants to do. Maybe he’ll be a racetrack pony, maybe he’ll be my wife’s dressage or jumping horse, or maybe he’ll hang out in a pasture, and we can go by and thank him for what he’s done with a bunch of carrots. The most important thing will be that he gets to do whatever he wants to do.”
Whitmore will meet four competitors in Saturday’s Vanderbilt, including two fellow Grade 1 winners. The 2-1 second choice behind favored Volatile, the chestnut son of Pleasantly Perfect will break from post 2.
“It’s a great field of horses, and we’re trying to win another Grade 1 at Saratoga,” said Moquette. “It’s always a tough task, but we’re feeling great and excited to go.”