Page 24 - The Game May 2006
P. 24

24 The Game, May 2006 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
Shelley McGirr - Fort Erie's 2005 AssistantTrainer of theYear
THE ONLY THING CONSTANT IS CHANGE
Get Tied On
with Chaplain Shawn
By Harlan Abbey
There's no secret to Shelley McGirr's being named "Assistant Trainer of the Year" at the conclusion of the 2005 racing season at Fort Erie.
"I don't expect anyone who works for me to work as hard as I do," she said while taking a break at Double A Appaloosas in Ridgeway, her winter training headquarters.
"Last year I'd ride three or four horses every morning, pony two or three more, groom three or four... and then do the paper work and be in contact with (head trainer) Mike De Paulo (at Woodbine) and the owners. But you don't get anywhere sitting in your office drinking coffee."
Admitting that riding the horses she trains remains the part of the routine she enjoys the most, McGirr asserted "Doing most of the galloping and breezing and taking them
to the gate is an advantage. One of my horses, My Survivor, is well-bred but he was very immature (in 2005) as a 3-year-old. When I ride him indoors, I don't just go around and around, I go past pylons, trot over poles on the ground and hack him out- side, too. I think as he learns to do more things, he'll gain confidence. He won his maiden race at a mile and a sixteenth, but I think he wants to shorten up."
Although her division
of De Paulo's stable wound
up in the top 15 at Fort Erie
in 2005 with 12 wins, 13
seconds and 17 thirds in
"55 or 60" starts, McGirr
said she never expected to be named "Assistant Trainer of the Year" because she has been training for such a short time (since 2003), although her experience with horses goes back to age 14:
"My sister Lilsa and I began going to a stable in Niagara Falls to trail ride; I'd help around the barn to pay for my rides. Because I was so involved in sports, primarily softball, in high school I never had the time for regular riding lessons.
"But I was kind of fearless and I sort of taught myself. Then, after graduation, I went to Pelham and worked for (Standardbred trainer) Teddy Jacobs, traveling the circuit with him for about six months. Then I went to Jokers Hill (a showing sta- ble) and learned a lot from Gail Greenough and Sally Moreland.
"A couple years later I worked for the Sifton family's polo stable and traveled the polo circuit all over North America. Then I wound up running a polo club in Saskatoon at age 21 -- 20 horses, driving the truck, dealing with clients and staff... learning the business aspects of the horse business.
"But I got homesick and went to Fort Erie, working for Ed Freeman and Herb McGirr Jr., and then worked at Woodbine. But after marriage (to Herb's brother Bill; the couple now are divorced) and two children (Megan, now 9, and Gavin, 6) I needed family support and we came back to Fort Erie."
Shelley McGirr's "claim to fame" began with a big 3-year-old maiden with hind suspensory
problems, bought for only $400. Aptly-named, Therapy, needed plenty of it to get him sound enough to race. But race he did -- up to a point. He rolled up 11 consecutive runner-up finishes, no matter who was his jockey, what the distance was, or how high the claiming level of the race.
Therapy finally broke his maiden "on his 15th or 16th try" but later developed cancer and had to be put down during the winter of 2004.
McGirr didn’t know Trainer Mike De Paulo however he had heard about her work with Therapy through mutual friends and sent some horses to her in 2004, including Lead The Jack, "a funny, 'special needs' horse who I spent a lot of time with." Last year her stable expanded to 8 to 12 horses and she expects to have 16 to 20 under her shed row for the 2006 season. Some will be from owners Marsha
Trainer Shelley McGirr with her 6-year-old stakes placed mare Dixie Soup, by Alphabet Soup.
Mitzak and Chris Blaney, who own Double A Appaloosas, and Shelley owns a couple herself.
One is Dixie Soup, "a professional maiden" who earned $65,000 with seconds and thirds at the Maiden Special Weight level at Woodbine but finally won two at a row at the $12,500 level at Fort Erie and was fourth in the Center Stage Anne ($25,000) Cup race.
Another '05 highlight was saddling entries in two maiden races and winning both of them. "Every maiden that Mike sent down eventually became a winner," she noted.
Last season started off on a low note as McGirr was making her own comeback
from three surgeries in ten months, including a knee operation four days before racing began at the Fort: "I was on my pony (Pepper Periwinkle, a 17-year- old Appaloosa) six days later and galloping three weeks later thanks to the world's best orthopedic surgeon, Dr. John Harrington."
Decisions about the horses she handles that are sent down from Woodbine are made after consultation with the Mike, but McGirr says she has more input when it comes to selecting jockeys, since she has more day-to-day exposure to the Fort's riding colony than her Woodbine-based boss:
"Different riders suit different horses. Dixie Soup, for instance, will not run for a male jockey. Tougher horses need tougher jockeys. I use Brian Bochinski, Chris Griffith, Regina Sealock, Happy Ando and David Piques, who was the only one who'd ride Clever Charlie when he was a 'crazy' 3-year old.
"Some horses, like Charlie, test your patience. You develop a sort of love-hate relationship with them. Charlie dropped a lot of jockeys and exercise riders, including me. But Therapy, of course, is my all-time favorite horse. He put me on the map, so to speak."
When asked about the future, Shelley McGirr said she hopes "to continue doing my job and trying not to make too many mistakes. Eventually, I'd like to be the leading trainer at Fort Erie. But -- more important -- I'd like to stay healthy and happy."
Change is tough. We like predictability. It's always fun to see the looks on people's faces, (because I'm facing them), when I announce a new song at our Chapel Service. Some are excited, some are horrified. New song means new words and new tunes. New means change and change is tough. It means risk, challenge and generally we prefer low-risk and the path of least resistance. I like to gallop the same horses because I know what to expect. A new horse means I have to be on my toes- let's face it, it's more work. After a while the same can mean boring and boring can lead to complacency.
Change is constant in horse racing. Few horses last more than a few years. Some, like John Henry and Forego entertain us for years and its fun to see them compete against the young bucks. Recently, a horse named Proven Cure ran second in a minor stake in Texas at the age of twelve!
Perfect Drift, (from the same farm as Proven Cure), will compete again this year at the age of seven, again at the highest level of competition.
Change is constant in jockeys. The last two years have seen the retirement of Hall of Fame jockeys that we just assumed would be around forever- Gary Stevens, Pat Day and Jerry Bailey were riders who always seemed to be around and rose to the occasion during the Triple Crown and Breeder's Cup races. Fortunately, waiting in the wings were riders like John Velazquez, Rafael Bejarano and Edgar Prado. Someday they will be replaced by the up and coming apprentice riders of today.
Change is constant in trainers. Although trainers tend to stick around a little longer, we do see a changing of the guard. For instance the pupil, Todd Pletcher has replaced the teacher, Wayne Lukas. The potential to fall from grace seems to threaten trainers more, as they must rely on their charges that can break down in a second. While a jockey can always find another horse, trainers must search hard to replace the "Big Horse".
Change is constant in Chaplains. At our recent conference in Houston, we prayed for the health of Salty Roberts, the man who founded the Race Track Chaplaincy of America over thirty years ago. Several Chaplains were honored for their years of service. We also welcomed many new Chaplains from countries all over the world- last year it was a thrill just to have a ministry in Canada! Change is happening in the race track ministry, perhaps faster than some would like. In the U.S., it's almost mandatory for a Chaplain to be bilingual- if not they need to find someone who is.
Change is constant in God. Throughout history, while God has remained the constant, the person he has chosen to do His work has never remained the same. In the Old Testament, liberator Moses gave way to leader Joshua, King David to his son King Solomon, Prophet Elijah to Prophet Elisha. In the New Testament, John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, Jesus transferred the keys of the Kingdom to Peter and Peter yielded to Paul.
Change for the sake of change is not good. But a change can be as good as a rest. It can invigorate, challenge and provoke excellence. The only thing constant is change.
Note: Our visit from Pat Day, originally scheduled for May 28-30, has been changed. We are looking at dates in August and September. We will still have a golf tournament at Royal Woodbine, backstretch visits at Woodbine and Fort Erie and a Bar-B-Que, banquet and auction. The Chaplaincy will notify everyone as soon as the dates have been finalized. We will also be opening a Clothing Depot in the trailer in May.
Did You Know....
That Fair Grounds Racecourse has been approved by the Louisiana State Racing Commission for an 81-day race meet in
2006-07. The season will open November 23, 2006 and run through to March 25, 2007.
The 2005-06 Fair Grounds meet was reduced to 37 days and moved to Louisiana Downs due to the damage from
Hurricane Katrina. Work on the roof of the grandstand and clubhouse were completed in March with power being restored to the racetrack in April.


































































































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