Page 24 - December 2008 The Game

24 The Game, December 2008
Cheatin Charlie - Continued from Page 18
Still, as that nickname became a mantra, the exploration continued with
Canada’s Thoroughbred Racing Newspaper
unrelenting curiosity.
As luck would have it, our main cameraman knew his daughter Donna, and I
rode for Cochlin and Lou Hammond until a knee injury forced him out of the saddle the remainder of that season. The next year, ready to ride, he met and married a former Navy radio operator Betty (whom he described in a 1969 Daily Racing Form article as “a tremendous gal and level-headed”) on September 6, 1955.
sought her out in step one of this quest.
Donna helped me navigate the life of her father, Charles Ulrich. Along with a
In Vancouver, Charlie Ulrich connected with good friend, and future B.C. Racing Hall of Fame trainer Bunny Johnson (brother of Canadian Thoroughbred Hall
lengthy family review from memory, she provided me with several personal contacts, and multiple years of yellowing newspaper articles and photos from the 50 plus years he was involved with the “family” of horse racing.
of Fame trainer Roy Johnson). “We broke yearlings together, exercised together and I was his valet for awhile.” The two friends would marry two sisters and graduated to being in-laws. Regarding being his valet, Johnson remembered: “I had to prepare his tack and since he could easily make 105 pounds we had to add lots of weight. He was one of the lucky ones never having to diet that much.”
A capable rider, with a lifetime record of 6805 starts 753-719-711, Charles Ulrich wore many “hats” during his 54 years at the races.
Born in Winnipeg into a large family, the teenaged Charles Ulrich began a two year stint galloping and looking after horses for trainer Tom Morrison, who later helped him take out his rider’s license. Beginning as an exercise rider, he booted home his rst winner
After several seasons of riding in Vancouver, his penchant for riding the front end was rst noted, and forever enshrined in his now famous nickname. This unique moniker, “Cheatin’ Charlie,” was bestowed on him by jockey Gerry Yeutter in describing his ability to go on with a front runner and deceive the opposition into thinking his mount was exhausted, only to surprise them near the nish by letting out a little before pulling away late. He was continually acknowledged by his peers as having an instinct for taking a horse to get the most out of him. He won virtually every major stakes that B.C. racing offers save one (in his own words: “The only stakes race that really escaped me was the dog gone futurity.”)
in Calgary, Cherry Crop, on June 7, 1946. He lost his 5 pound allowance in less than a year after riding his 40th winner. In short order, he became the leading apprentice on the prairies.
His riding took him to across Canada to many of the old courses
that are no longer with us, Polo Park in Winnipeg, Long Branch,
Dufferin and Connaught Parks in Ontario as well as Blue Bonnets in Montreal. In the late 40’s and early 50’s, he did his riding in Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and Ottawa. While on that circuit he met B.C.
Horse Racing Hall of Fame jockey John (Scottie) Craigmyle (whom
he described “as good a jockey who ever rode”) and trainer Bill Cochlin. They
“Cheatin’ Charlie” once even offered his own appraisal for the newspapers: “I think anyone would prefer to be out front. It is the best way to stay out of trouble,
13422_sJuogcgkeysCtleudbAtda:kLianygouhtis1ta9c/k11w/0e8st.1A1:r2ri3vAinMgPtoagen1joy Vancouver’s spring of 1954, he
if you can’t be out front, at least be in the rst ight.” This rider knew instinctively that the best place to be was ahead of the pack. Many years later, comprehensive computer factor analysis proved what Ulrich had discovered on his own. Thousands of races, from differing race tracks were analyzed to validate commonly held beliefs about racing. Dr. Quirin*,
a mathematics professor at Adelphi University in New York, studied hundreds of different factors in analyzing horse races and has been quoted as saying that “speed is the universal track variant.” Data backs up what Ulrich knew instinctively.
34th Annual
Sovereign Awards
Saluting Outstanding Achievement in Canadian Racing and Breeding
Cocktails: 6:30 p.m.
Dinner: 7:30 p.m.
Ceremony to follow
Cost: $300 per person (includes GST)
Friday, December 12th, 2008
at the Four Seasons Hotel Regency Ballroom
21 Avenue Road
Toronto, Ontario
To reserve your seats please contact: Bridget Bimm
The Jockey Club of Canada telephone: 416.675.7756
fax: 416.675.6378
email: jockeyclub@bellnet.ca www.jockeyclubcanada.com
Cheatin Charlie would set what is called a “false pace,” fooling the other riders into thinking his horse was exhausted when all the time he was simply playing possum. “No ones rides front enders better.” Dave Empry described it this way: “Put Charlie on a front runner and its like handing Dean Martin a glass of bourbon.” The Times Colonist reported on his style after his ‘stealing’ a race on the lead at Sandown: “Few trainers waste words on him. Why tell him to go to the front? He always does. Often as not, he stays there.” The Vancouver Sun’s Skip Rush described it this way: “He has the uncanny knack of getting the most out of a front running horse. He is the master of pace and has fooled even veteran hard boots by setting a false pace on various occasions.” As he told Daily Racing Form in 1969:” It’s a trick I learned many years ago riding the bull rings of the prairies. You had to learn pace or you’d get shuf ed back and it was game over.”
What’s the old saying? If it ain’t broke don’t x it? I questioned Bunny Johnson: “If all the riders knew this was his style, how did he get away with it?” “Well,” Johnson answered, “he didn’t do that all the time. He was just so good at his job that he fooled a lot of riders. He was as honest as they come and would give the same ride to a lowly claimer as he would
a stakes horse.” A typical Cheatin’ Charlie ride would appear something like this from chartman’s description of the 8th race at Exhibition Park August 18, 1969; “Royal Jazz was sent to the front at the break, set the pace all the way around and, when challenged, shook off his opposition and drew away to win in hand.”
Dave Diamond put Ulrich in the irons on many a good one, but it was his Black Balladeer (1958 Mr. Music -Three O Three), that this rider ranked as one of his favorites. A multiple stakes winner at 2, 3 and 4, this almost jet-black colt, was thought to have distance limitations. The pair’s front running style had just barely held on at 1 1/16th over Pay Load in the 1961 Derby Trial. Many doubted that the much longer (1 1⁄4 mile) B.C. Derby would work out the same way, but as sure as his patented style, they went to the front and won going away. He told Daily Racing Form: “Hardly anyone thought he could last going the B. C. Derby route, but he sure showed ‘em.” Tragedy ended their partnership the following season when this colt broke down trying for a repeat victory in the Randall Plate.
Lively personalities seem to come together like complimentary colors of the rainbow, so it was natural that one of this rider’s main mentors would be just eccentric enough
to warrant an association with an honest rider jokingly called
The Game December 2008.indd
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