When asked if he would care to indulge in a celebratory cocktail at the races one evening, Jeff Hochstetler politely declined the offer, explaining he did not imbibe alcohol. His companion was incredulous, for he believed the very nature of Hochstetler’s profession guaranteed he would be hitting the bottle on a daily basis.

“You train trotters,” said the gentleman. “How could you not need lots of drinks?”

Although Hochstetler genially concurred with the man’s assessment, his approach to work has yielded dividends, as is demonstrated by the 2016 success of Fashion Chocolate. The five-year-old gelded son of Chocolatier-Fun And Strokes amassed $124,386 from his debut season of competition and joins Kirty Dream (Cantab Hall, $421,113), Gale Force Hanover (Muscles Yankee, $69,808) and Rose Run Logan (Armbro Laser, $98,523) as horses whom Hochstetler has either revived their careers, or in the case of Fashion Chocolate, established them.

“When we first saw him (Fashion Chocolate) for sale I didn’t really pay attention to him,” Hochstetler said. “He was small and he never raced as a two-year-old, so I passed him over and was not interested. When I took the time to look him up I told the owner (Philip Hochstetler, who also owns Rose Run Logan) that we needed to buy this horse.”

What so radically altered Hochstetler’s perception of the gelding, whose record now stands at 32-15-2-2, was his pedigree. His sire is a world champion and Dan Patch winner, but the accomplishments of the Donerail mare Fun And Strokes, both on and off the track, is what did the trick.

In her two years of performing, Fun And Strokes earned $735,556. As a two-year-old she captured the Champlain and Oakville Stakes and as a three-year-old she was third in the Hambletonian Oaks, won the Buckette and was second in the American-National, the Kentucky Filly Futurity and the Breeders Crown.

She had a bit of a slow start as a broodmare, but Fun And Strokes has now produced three winners of more than $100,000 in Fashion Blizzard (Credit Winner, $309,255), Fashion Smile (Broadway Hall, $102,725) and Fashion Chocolate.

“I’m not sure why they were not able to get this horse to go,” Hochstetler said. “He was absolutely sound when I got him and he still is. I did not have to really do anything special with him and he was always good-gaited.

“There are a lot of people that watch me train and think I’m a little crazy. I usually just put aluminum shoes on horses and train them with lots of miles. People might think I’m too hard on them, but with a horse like Kirty Dream it is what works. That is probably why other people had such a hard time with him because he wants to do whatever he wants to do and fights tooth and nail for his way. He still has not given up on fighting with me and I don’t think he likes me one bit because I won’t let him get what he wants. His owner (Mario Caponi) comes to visit him all the time and he just puts his head outside the stall door to be rubbed on, but when I come around he won’t even look at me. He knows he can’t get away with anything when I’m around and holds it against me.”

Fashion Chocolate appeared at the Meadows and Northfield Park at the beginning and end of his season, but during the summer and fall he trotted at Yonkers Raceway on 12 occasions while under the care of Virgil Morgan Jr.

“I thought he did well at Yonkers,” Hochstetler said. “I sent him out there with Virgil because I have 12 horses in my stable and it is only my daughter and I that take care of them. That is why I stay right here in Ohio, because I can’t leave all that work for her to do even if I think I have a horse that could make some money somewhere else. I might do the same thing with Fashion Chocolate this year, but as of now we will just keep racing him here at home.”

After re-entering the business in 2010 from a nine-year hiatus, Hochstetler’s efforts to build his barn with horses that proved difficult to get to the races have been quite successful. Since 2014, his horses have collected just under one million dollars and his UTR has never dipped below .300.

Hochstetler has another addition to his barn that may bear watching in the upcoming year.

“I have the older half-brother (Elmo Blatch) to (2016 Dan Patch Award winner) Walner,” he said. “His owner (Mario Caponi) is the same guy that owns Kirty Dream and he decided to name him Elmo Blatch (he was originally named Randover, as he is by Andover Hall and was originally a $50,000 yearling purchase at the 2014 Lexington Selected Sale). He’s only started four times and he’s won two.

“He’s very sound, but he gets really hot at the starting gate and has trouble keeping it together. Once he settles down, I think he is going to be a very nice horse for us. It’s just a matter of working with him and being patient.”

(USTA)