Page 22 - The Game May 2006
P. 22

22 The Game, May 2006 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
This boat was spotted in Barbados and was bearing the name of 2005’s $500,000 Breeders’ Stakes Winner, Jambalaya, owned by Kingfield Farms and trained by Catherine Day Phillips. However I don’t think this boat was named after the horse in this case. Photo - Louis Cauz
Francesca’s Bad Boy
The Man behind the Poems
Writer Errol Farquharson with 5-year-old Imperial Alydeed, whom he has been grooming since he was a yearling.
Errol Farquharson has been writing stories, songs and poetry ever since he can remember. His active imagination was something that used to get him into trouble as a child however he has now harnessed his talent and has created a collection of pieces to be proud of.
Errol was born in England and lived in Jamaica for seven years before immigrating to Canada in 1972 at the age of nine along with his five brothers.
At a very young age, Errol would constantly rhyme words and get into trouble when a “bad word” would slip out in the rhyme. He can also recall praying to God for a calling in life, and he now knows that his writing is what he was destined to do.
Finding his calling was not easy though. Errol had tried many different trades before settling at the racetrack and writing at his computer after work.
Errol first ventured to Woodbine in 1980 and worked briefly on the backstretch for trainer Mort Hardy. He left the racetrack to complete his highschool grade eleven and also completed a trade course and earned a license as a plumber.
Over the next few years, he also got a license as a chef and did industrial and residential painting, which he continues to do over the winter months.
His life seemed to be scattered as he strived to find direction.
That direction came to him in the form of a dream which told him that “there was something for him with the horses.”
Errol quit all of his other jobs and returned to Mort Hardy’s barn in 2001 where he currently works as barn foreman and is going for his Assistant License in May.
After work Errol spends close to eight hours a night on his computer where he writes songs and poetry, most of which is just for his own personal enjoyment. “Sometimes I don’t know what I am writing about, I just write,” said the personable writer with a smile, “I do poetry and a lot of songs. I have about 75 songs that I have written. I am hoping someone will be interested in my songs.”
Trainer Francesca Armata and 9-year-old Chris’s Bad Boy
Women are powerful
More than they lead us to believe since Adam and Eve.
Trying to get my mind off you, Looking in the phone book, everywhere I
look.
Your face is printed on everything that I
see
Gentle and unique
Made me stumble could not speak. Know when to push when pull The stars in their eyes, don’t mistake it
for weak,
Men pretending they rule
Don’t you wish you could say, way back to modern day?
Let me hear Women are powerful
Written by Errol Farquharson March 25, 2006
Boats after Horses.....Horses after Boats
While in Palm Beach Florida we came across
Buckpasser, the boat that is. The impressive yacht was docked outside the home of Ogden Phipps, who bred and owned the talented Buckpasser, the horse. Described as a “powerhouse of pedigree” Buckpasser (Tom Fool-Busanda, by War Admiral) who was horse of the year in 1966, stood at Claiborne Farm in KY until
his death at age 15 in early 1978. Photo - Frank Hobbs
By Chris Lomon
Her first win as a conditioner came with a 'Bad Boy,' but Francesca Armata will tell you that it's all good.
It was perhaps fitting that Chris's Bad Boy, a nine-year-old gelding who has 22 wins over his distinguished career, gave Armata her initial victory on April 8 at Woodbine Racetrack.
"I suppose it was kind of ironic that it was him," said Armata, the daughter of John Armata, owner of Alpine Stable, who formerly had horses with his brother, Woodbine-based trainer Vito Armata. "He's definitely one-of-a-kind. He gives you everything he's got and he's so good to work with. He's a doll."
Chris's Bad Boy has developed quite the faithful following at Woodbine over the years, a fan favourite that rarely disappoints his supporters.
The speedy son of Marquetry holds the track record for six furlongs on the main track, a feat he accomplished in the Kennedy Road Stakes on November 29, 2003, crossing the wire in a time of 1:08.05.
The reason for his widespread popularity?
"He's such a striking horse to look at," offered Armata, of the Kentucky-bred, who is closing in on the $1-million mark in lifetime earnings. "He wants to please everybody.
"But it is funny on some days. Every now and then he just wants to be left alone. He wants his food and then he wants to go to sleep. (Laughing) I guess that's the old man in him coming out."
And while he was the senior starter in his 2006 debut, a race that attracted several noted speedsters, Chris's Bad Boy, under regular rider Jono Jones, showed he still has plenty of fight left in his game.
After going toe-to-toe with a tough rival in the early stages of the race, Chris's Bad Boy, along the inside, eventually got the upper hand and won the five-furlong race in dominant fashion.
"I looked after my horses this winter and I watched him and noticed something different about him," noted Armata, who had been working as an assistant with her uncle since 2000. "I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. When there is an attitude change, you never know how they'll run. But I think he showed that he's a very happy horse."
A few more wins like that would have Armata a very happy trainer.
"I was so overwhelmed at how he dominated out there," said Armata, who has been coming to Woodbine since she was 11, before becoming a groom at the age of 18. "Jono was so happy after the win. They really work well together. 'Chris' really likes him a lot. But it's all in 'Chris' to give it all he has."
A philosophy that Armata, who calls Mississauga home, will no doubt be using when it comes to her profession.
"I've been at the racetrack forever, but in any business, you have to be open to new things and want to get better at what you do. Even in my short time in this position, I've found out that you really do learn something new every day. In this sport, it's the only way to keep going forward."
Juggling the demands of busy times both on and off the racetrack, Armata has found some similarities between her personal and professional lives.
"On more than a few occasions I'm reminded that horses are just like kids," said the Toronto native. "They are like individual mazes you get to explore and find out more about."


































































































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