Toni Rose is not shy when it comes to the affection she heaps upon 'her baby,' who is better known to the outside world as the champion sophomore pacer Well Said
. The 47-year-old North Dakota native has been the right-hand woman for trainer Steve Elliott’s operation for just over a decade, and combines professionalism with an absolute love for the horses in her care.
Well Said, the recent Little Brown Jug winner that has funneled $2,659,926 in earnings to his connections' coffers, is poised for his second Breeders Crown attempt Saturday night at Woodbine Racetrack. He captured the $700,000 Breeders Crown Two-Year-Old Colt Pace at the Meadowlands in 1:51 for driver Ron Pierce and the same connections one year ago.
“Well Said trained two light trips on Tuesday and walks today (Wednesday), and then he’ll jog the rest of the week,” Rose said.
The 2009 Little Brown Jug experience for her and Well Said was like nothing she had experienced in her 20-plus-year career in harness racing, she noted.
“My Jug experience was so fun, and especially when about 75 people from Europe, Australia and New Zealand came over to see him while I was putting him away and doing up his legs. It was great that so many people from other countries had an interest in him.”
Rose had been to the Jug with a pacer once before, in 2007, with a colt named Ruff Me Up, but that experience paled when compared with this year’s event.
“The Jug is a whole lot more fun when you have a horse that is competitive and can win it,” she noted. “The security is great at the Delaware Fairgrounds, so you never have to worry about your horse, and it’s great that the Jug people make the whole week an event, so that a lot of people and the community can get involved.
“When you have a horse in the Jug — especially one with the eight-hole — you hope that your dream comes true of winning, but you don’t expect it,” Rose revealed. “We had our doubts because of the post, but Ronnie (driver Pierce) drove him perfect in both heats, and it was absolutely a dream come true. I was just so proud of him.”
The first thing Toni did after Well Said won was to phone her parents, who live in Minnesota.
“I was so happy when he won, that when I was walking across the infield, the only people I wanted to call were my parents, which I did,” she said. “It was a very emotional afternoon.”
The multi-talented Rose does it all. She ships, grooms, jogs and trains Well Said, in addition to buying him carrots by the 10-pound sack. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the bay colt took in all of the attention garnered on him in the same fashion with which he wins races: very easily.
“He just soaked up the attention he got at the Jug,” recalled Rose. “And after he won, when we walked down in front of the crowd, he would stop and prick his ears up and let people take photos of him. We were wet and dirty that day but it was still a great experience.”
Prior to working for Elliott, Toni had worked with trainer Gordon Norris in Florida for 10 years.
“Gordon is one of the greatest horsemen around,” she said. “He’d pay $1,000 for a horse, turn them out for a year and let them get sound, then bring them back and they’d end up getting claimed for $10,000 or $15,000.”
“Steve (Elliott), on the other hand, can manage a horse better than anyone I’ve ever met,” she said. “It’s tough to set a year-long schedule for these horses and try to stick to it. For most of these horses, the kinds of miles they’re going are like two miles for most horses. Not to mention all the shipping around from track to track. It’s a lot of hard work.”
In that regard, Well Said is also one of the best, Rose admitted.
“He’s so adaptable to everything, and takes care of himself so well, which is why I think he’s achieved everything he has,” she explained.
“I cried when Donato (Donato Hanover) left and I’m really going to cry when this one leaves,” Rose said with emotion. “He’s definitely a horse that enjoys being loved on.”
(Hambletonian Society)