Page 7 - The Game April 2006

Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper The Game, April 2006 7
Robin Platts:A new calling
By Chris Lomon
Six years after he called it a career, Hall of Fame jockey Robin Platts still can't resist a good challenge.
It was sometime in the fall of 2005 when Woodbine-based rider Jerry Baird made an intriguing offer to Platts, a winner of 3,245 lifetime races, and one of three jockeys (Sandy Hawley and Avelino Gomez are the other two) to win the Queen's Plate a record four times.
Turns out it was an offer the native of Leicester, England, couldn't refuse.
"Jerry came to me and threw out the idea of me becoming his agent," said Platts, whose Plate wins came on Victoria Song (1972), Amber Herod (1974), Sound Reason (1977) and Key To The Moon (1984). "Some people had asked me about being an agent in the past, but I never really gave it that much serious thought."
But this time was different for the man who recorded his first victory aboard Lilly in November of 1966 at Greenwood.
After hanging up his tack in May of 2000 - the issue of weight was one factor in his decision - Platts, a Sovereign Award winner as Canada's Outstanding Jockey of 1979, wasn't quite sure where he would land.
His passion for racing and enjoyment of being at the racetrack was as strong as ever, something one of Woodbine's most knowledgeable horsemen quickly acted upon.
"A few days after I had quit, (trainer) Mike Keogh was running a horse and asked me what I was going to do," recalled Platts, of his conversation with the respected conditioner. "I said, 'I really have no idea.' That's when he asked me to work for him, working horses. A few days later, I started."
It turned out to be a perfect partnership.
In 2003, the Keogh trainee Wando wowed the racing world when the son of Langfuhr became just the seventh horse to win the Triple Crown.
While Keogh, jockey Patrick Husbands and owner Gus Schickedanz were the most prominent figures throughout Wando's decorated career, Platts can certainly take his share of credit in the development of the colt.
"I didn't really work Wando until one day in Florida in Palm
Meadows," remembered Platts, of the now retired champion. "I also got to work Mobil (Keogh's other retired superstar), too. He was one of my favourites. Mobil was a rough, tough guy - a real special horse. I think he'll go on to be one of the great Ontario sires.
"But just to be able to experience all those thrills, to be in the winner's circle and to watch them perform - it was a great feeling."
Platts, who won close to 250 stakes races, including the Canadian International Championship on Frenetico for Gardiner Farms in 1968, now finds himself in a much different role than he's ever been used to.
And even though he won't be one the calling the shots during the race, the winner of the coveted Avelino Gomez Memorial Award in 1992, is still as competitive as he was during his days in the irons.
"I've always loved coming out to Woodbine and watching the races," said Platts, who represented Canada at racing events in South Africa, Bahrain, Japan and Europe. "I'll still enjoy watching the races, but now I get to watch my rider ride."
One, who as Platts puts it, "is definitely getting better with age."
Jerry Baird, closing in on 550 career wins, has had an interesting career in the saddle, to say the very least.
Blessed with an abundance of ability, injuries and
personal issues
wreaked havoc on
his career.
But the native
Newfoundlander is back on track, coming off a 2005 campaign that saw him win his first
stakes race in nearly 10 years.
Baird also reeled off five wins at Gulfstream Park in Florida over the winter, giving both rider and agent ample reason to be optimistic when talk turns to the 2006 Woodbine meet.
"He's a very happy
guy," said Platts, of Baird,
who teamed with Bright
N Golden to win the
Silver Deputy Stakes last
year. "I always thought he
was a strong rider who
can really pick a horse up. He's a good rider."
Baird is equally complimentary of the man who'll be handling his book.
"The one thing Robin has going for him is that everybody likes him, he's a very popular guy," said Baird. "Hopefully, it will work out well for the both of us."
And if it doesn't happen to pan out, Platts, who won two Woodbine riding tiles and five Greenwood Spring titles, won't be losing any sleep over it.
"I told Jerry that if I'm not doing a good job then we'll just say enough is enough," offered Platts, who'll still get on horses in the mornings. "The one thing I'll be hoping for Jerry is that he finds one good horse.
That's what (fellow Hall of Fame jockey Avelino Gomez used to always say. If yo can find that one good horse, you'll be o your way.
"I was lucky. I was able to find mor than one good horse in my career. I wa spoiled when it came to riding the goo ones."
Platts, whose stakes winners include Overskate, Glorious Song, Play The King Izvestia, Charlie Barley, Frost King Norcliffe and Carotene, will be workin hard on the Woodbine backstretch to fin those types for Baird.
"To be honest, I'm not too worried abou how this will all work out," admitted Platts "All I can do is give it my best shot. That' what I intend to do."
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Jockey Jerry Baird (left) with his new agent at Woodbine, Robin Platts.
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