Page 141 - January 2017

“WHAT HAPPENED FROM THEN ON JUST SNOWBALLED FOR ME.”
filly named Flying Fig. She was also a divisional champion and a tremendous filly.
“We had one that really spring-boarded our place in the racing industry, and that was Tolltac,” Ekins adds. “Tolltac was our first divisional champion. He was also the first horse that I ever had that won major stakes races here in California. He was a horse that made well over $1 million back when earning $1 million was a tremendous amount of money for any racehorse to earn. He set some track records, and he was just a great, great horse. He was really dear to our hearts. We were sure happy to have him.”
Ekins ranks winning the 2005 Champion of Champions-G1 with Ocean Runaway as a career highlight.
“Ocean Runaway’s win in the Champion of Champions here in California was a tremendous achievement on his part because of what it took for him to get there,” Ekins said. “He ran in the Super Derby, and we had hoped that he could win the Super Derby and get a berth for the Champion of Champions. He ran a really good race, but he ran second in the Super Derby and came up short.”
Ekins believed in the Champion, who was set to retire at the end of his 3-year-old campaign, and consulted with owners Gary and Cindy Muller on a plan that reaped the connections plenty of criticism.
“In order for him to run in the Champion of Champions, we had to figure out some way to make him eligible, and we had to come back a week after we ran in the derby and run him in the Z. Wayne Griffith trials,” Ekins said. “That was the end of his career, so we thought that we would just go forward with it.”
Prior to the Z. Wayne Griffith trials, Ekins instructed the jockey not to push Ocean Runaway because of his quick return after his runner-up finish in the Super Derby the week before.
“The gate opened, and he ran down there and set a track record,” Ekins said with a laugh. “So there goes that! Throw the easy part out
of the race. It just didn’t happen. We set a
new track and stakes record in the Z. Wayne Griffith trials.”
That record-setting win did come with a bonus – a coveted spot in the Champion of Champions, which would be contested about two weeks later.
“And he came back and won the Champion
of Champions,” Ekins added. “It was a gratifying experience to have a horse do something like that because of the challenges that we put him up to. When that happened, there were a lot of people that were unhappy with us because they thought we were running him back too soon, which so
did we. But, we knew that it was a one-time deal
- either it had to happen or it was never going to happen. It’s like all those big races, you only have one opportunity to be involved in them, and if you miss that opportunity then it’s gone forever. We got some negative comments and some derogatory things were said to us. However, after we won the Champion of Champions, they all came back and told us how smart we were.
“That was wonderful!” Ekins added. “We went from the dumbest people in the world to smartest people in the world in just a matter of a couple of weeks. It was an unbelievable experience
for the horse and for the Mullers and for
myself and my wife, Vandi. It was just an outstanding time in our lives and with a
very special horse.”
Ekins’ advice to anyone wanting to pursue a training career: Go for it!
EKINS’ ADVICE TO ANYONE WANTING TO PURSUE A TRAINING CAREER: GO FOR IT!
“It was a lifelong dream of mine when I got into it, but when you get into you are going to have a lot of accomplishments and a lot of wonderful experiences and a lot of heart-wrenching moments where things don’t go the way you want, so it’s
all good one day and it can be all bad the next day,” he said. “But if you stay with it, the good
will outweigh the bad. It’s a tremendous thing. I have had some – believe me – I have had the best owners in the world that I have trained for. I have had some of the greatest horses, and I cannot thank people enough for what they have done for me and for my family. It’s just been wonderful. My advice to anyone that wants to get in it is to jump in! It’s a great arena.”
Denny with 2011 World Champion Cold Cash 123
SPEEDHORSE, January 2017 139
Champion Flying Fig
Champion Sterling Sport
3-Time Champion Tolltac
3-time Champion Ocean Runaway