Page 7 - June 2009 The Game

Canada’s Thoroughbred Racing Newspaper
For the Love of the Agon By Peter Valing ~ Photo by Jackie Humber
The Game, June 2009 7 their blessings. I’m so glad I did. Not only do I train for
the guys at Swift, but we’ve become close friends. And they provide me with so many good horses!”
The people behind Swift Thoroughbreds Inc. are young and successful. Dino Condilenios is young and successful. And both parties are sold on thoroughbred racing and its future. “The guys at Swift can’t get enough of this game, and I can’t either. I can imagine training horses for the rest of my life and dying right here at Hastings, like some of the old-time trainers,” Dino smiled. Our beloved sport will one day be in the hands of horsemen such as these, who have taken a tradition started so long ago by the likes of Xenophon and are carrying it forward.
In these pages, I’ve written about Greek horsemen of the ancient past, speci cally of one Xenophon, a soldier-philosopher who in the Art of Horsemanship produced the world’s rst treatise on how to buy, tend, train and ride a horse. Fast-
forwarding 2,500 years to the
present, we nd at Hastings
trainer Dino K. Condilenios
practicing not only the same
time-honoured vocation, but
doing so largely for the same
reasons that inspired his Greek
ancestors, namely the love of the
agon, or contest. “I’m by nature
competitive,” said 38-year-old
Condilenios, seated before a
wall covered in winner-circle
photographs. “Whether it was on the soccer eld as a kid, or now here at the track – I like to compete and I love to win.”
Dino’s off to a great start this meet. He’s ranked leading trainer at Hastings and has “a lot of young promise” in his barn. This would be suf cient reason to pro le him, and yet it was not mere statistics that impelled me to seek him out in his tack room on a rather drab Thursday morning. Indeed, it was a kind gesture on behalf of his mother, Mina, towards my children and I that rst planted the seed for this story.
The backstretch had just opened, and I had taken
my children to see the shaggy-coated horses that were being brought in from the farms. Having reviewed the few that had arrived, I wheeled Francesca and Emil to the backstretch cafeteria for a snack, only to nd it still closed. Through a window I saw what appeared to be a family, cleaning the kitchen and stocking shelves. As the wind picked up, my son began to scream for his bottle and my daughter began to cry for the doughnut I had promised her. I was about to hightail it home when the door opened, and a woman beckoned us to come inside.
the of ce looked like it might belong to a horse-owning accountant or lawyer rather than an actual trainer. “I
see myself mostly as a trainer, but also as a CEO or manager of a sports team,” Dino explained. Since 2006,
From left to right: Victoria Condilenios, Andrew Hoban and Lackey Condilenios.
Hastings backstretch kitchen is under new management for the next three years. Lackey and Victoria Condilenios have leased Trackers for the next three years.
The rst change which was well overdue is that all the food is served on plates with silverware rather than paper plates with plastic utensils The new menu items are a treat to all the horsemen.There are daily specials served with salad and the portions are very generous. Many horsemen have commented on how the taste of their meals are more avourful and cooked to perfection.
A Big Welcome to the new team.
By Jackie Humber
Trainer Dino Condilenios
he has trained exclusively for the highly successful owner syndicate, Swift Thoroughbreds Inc. This year he has been charged with 40-odd horses and all the responsibilities that this entails.
It took nearly two decades to get this far. Dino grew up watching his father Nick’s horses run at Hastings, and high school summers he spent walking hots. “When I graduated,
I had two career choices that were appealing,” Nick said. “I could try
out for a professional soccer team overseas, or I could try my hand at training horses.” Though he had played on the Canadian National Team and had a chance at making a livelihood from soccer, his attachment to Vancouver and growing fondness for thoroughbred racing made him opt for the track. He had gained signi cant insight into thoroughbreds working for Hastings trainer Wayne McGillvray, and by 21 he held a trainer’s license.
“I had a few of my dad’s horses to start with, and I’d train them in the mornings and work nights as a waiter. I think I won two or three of my rst ve starts, but then hit a slump that lasted months.”
His breakout season came in 2000. Together with horse owner Jeffery Sengara, Dino claimed a number of horses that the pair successfully moved up in value. The year was capped with a Futurity victory, repeated the following year. “Things began to snowball from there. The phone kept ringing and the horses kept arriving,” said Dino. “Horses like thirteen-time stakes
winner Lord Nelson.” Dino was consecutively
named leading trainer in years 2003/04, and in
2005 was approached with a lucrative offer by
Swift Thoroughbreds Inc.
Red Oak Training Centre
• Consideration given to Multiple Bookings
• Customized Programs • Trainer Les Baker -
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Located One Hour from Woodbine
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Training Rate $40/day Lay-Up Rate $20/day
In the warmth, I fed Emil while Francesca wheedled
apple slices from a dimpled blond girl who was but one
of the kids scattered across the cafeteria. When my own
kids were warmed and fed, I thanked the woman for her
kindness. She asked me what I did at the track. Upon
telling her that I was a track scribe, she said, “You must
know my son, Dino, the trainer.” Not being good with
names, I looked at her quizzically. Then, eureka! Her
accent was Greek, the nature of the family bu1s4in38e1s_sCwTaHsS_TispiStuearietisoAnll:tLoaythouet o1w2n0e/0r5s/.0T9 h1e2i:r0r7ePspMonPsaegew2as Greek, the hospitality (if one puts stock in Zeus, the
benefactor of the good host) was Greek,
all of which meant that her son could be
none other than two-time trainer of the
year, Dino Condilenious. “Yes,” I said.
“I know of him.” Mina smiled with pride
and waved goodbye.
“This was a very dif cult decision to make. The guys at Swift wanted me to train exclusively for them, which meant that I could no longer train for the owners that had been with me from the start. My loyalty was to them, and yet the offer that Swift made to me was excellent. I didn’t know what to do until I explained the
incredible. They told me to go for it, and with
Ontario-Breds
Run For More Money.
Something of this good-natured disposition has perhaps been passed
on from mother to son, for when I knocked on Dino’s tack room, the trainer, who appeared to have his hands full, welcomed me warmly. What struck me about the environment in which he works - from shed row to of ce - was how neat and well-organized it was. Dozens of polished bridles hung from a numbered and freshly-painted rack, feed tubs and wheel barrows stood in straight rows, and
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