Page 20 - 22 February 2013

Debra Gotovac and her trainer Brad Bolen, who also manages her breeding operation, at Ruidoso Downs.
Gotovac’s breeding operation. “Then the next year she had two, then three, then five, and then 10. She’s cut back some now, but she used to have 50–60 in training all the time.”
HER SAVING GRACE
Gotovac’s breast cancer was diagnosed in 2005. She received her last treatment in March 2006 and her last radiation in May of that year.
The horses kept Gotovac going during her treatment and recovery. “I’d drive to San Angelo to watch my horses gallop in the morning,” she said. “They were an anchor and a saving grace. My oncologist kept asking if I was still doing the horses, making sure that I had something to look forward to—to reach and attain.”
Along with her “breast cancer awareness”
A breast cancer survivor, Gotovac calls Swingin Daddyo her breast cancer awareness horse.
horse Swingin Daddyo, her most well-known runner and her first stakes horse was Vital Winner, who began his race career the year Gotovac completed her cancer treatments. The 2004 gelding, by Easy Winning Jet and out
of Vital Sign daughter Vital Investment, won 21 of his 53 career starts—including 17 stakes races; placed in 12; and showed in five, earning $457,760 during a six-year career that saw him race in Texas, New Mexico, Idaho, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Florida. Among his notable achievements was winning back-to-back SLM Big Daddy Stakes at Remington Park.
As well as he did, Vital Winner tried Gotovac’s patience on the track. “He’d break dead last, and then he made you hold your breath, and then he’d win,” she said. “I told
Debra shows her jockey Cody Wainscott some affection for all of his hard work!
Brad he needed to break differently because he was giving me a heart attack!”
Her next big winner was Swingin Daddyo. The 2007 gelding by Agouti and out of Swingin Otoole, by Jody O Toole, tallied a 28-6-5-4 record with $718,108 in earnings in three
years. His achievements included qualifying
for the Ruidoso and the All American futuri- ties in 2009, winning his trial heat for the All American Derby, and qualifying for the Ruidoso Derby—which he finished second—and the Rainbow Derby—which he won—in 2010.
Gotovac celebrated Swingin Daddyo’s 2012 retirement at Ruidoso, where fittingly, he led the post parade for the Breast Cancer Pinkout awareness day in pink. “He couldn’t figure out why he went to the paddock and was never saddled, and why he didn’t go to the gate,” Gotovac said. “And when the bell went off, he wanted to run!”
Louanne Wainscott, wife of Gotovac’s jockey Cody Wainscott, added, “That was the hardest day because he’d been our baby for so long.”
PAYING IT BACK
According to her friends, Gotovac considers all of her horses to be her babies, making sure they have the best feed and the best care—and
a steady supply of peppermints. “She loves her horses,” said her friend LeAnn Burns, also one of Brad Bolen’s owners. “She has a true passion for the sport and she’s concerned about the horses’ well being. She wants to win, but not at all costs.”
Part of caring for her “babies” is finding new homes for them when their racing days are over. “She’ll keep a horse that couldn’t outrun my Yorkie until she finds a good home for it,” joked longtime friend Melinda Muldrow of Hawley, Texas.
And just as she provides the very best
care for her horses, she frequently helps those around her. Her friends related instances where she has quietly stepped in when someone she
Fran Cummins (center) in 2010 with Louanne Wainscott & Debra Gotovac, who are often found at the track wearing their breast cancer awareness t-shirts.
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SPEEDHORSE, February 22, 2013
courtesy Louanne Wainscott Speedhorse
courtesy Louanne Wainscott