Pacers Weatherly and Frightful Watch had vastly different racing careers while they were stablemates in Julie Walker’s barn as one was an iron horse and the other barely started. One thing they do have in common is that they both were retired in 2021 and entrusted to the care of the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society.
In a unique coincidence, the buddies were reunited in retirement as Brooke Luke of Lynden, Ont. adopted Frightful Watch (now known as Kevin) in early 2021 and a few months later adopted Weatherly (now called Wes). She had no idea at the time they were former stablemates.
“My friend told me [they had both been in Julie’s barn] shortly after we got Wes,” explained Luke. “She saw Julie at the races and they were chatting, I guess the boys were turnout buddies and it was clear they remembered each other. Their introduction at my place was very uneventful and they almost immediately started grooming each other.”
“Weatherly and Frightful Watch had the same owner, they came to me together and they were buddies while in training,” explained Walker. “Both were totally different horses in sense of their career. Weatherly was a true war horse, tough as nails, and the owners were ready to retire him. Frightful Watch just never had the ability on the racetrack.”
Their talents on the track may have been vastly different, but their personalities are similar as both are gentle and kind, especially when they are with Luke's young children, five-year-old son Brayden and two-year-old daughter Makenna.
Weatherly and Frightful Watch with Brooke Luke's children Brayden and Makenna. (Photos courtesy Brooke Luke)
“They’ve truly surpassed any expectations I had when adopting them,” said Luke. “They just seem to know that Brayden and Makenna are ‘their kids’ and act so quietly around them.”
Earlier this year, Luke posted photos of her children aboard one of the geldings with the note: “Kevin (Frightful Watch) demonstrating what a true saint he is. There aren’t many five-year-old horses who are level headed enough to be pulled from the paddock after four weeks and tolerate 40 minutes of pony rides. Best horse ever.”
“I am not surprised by how good they are with kids because they were very kind horses,” said Walker, who was surprised and delighted when she found out the geldings were both adopted by the Luke family.
Walker was the third and final trainer for Weatherly, an 11-year-old gelding by Dali who made a total of 144 starts, with 15 wins while amassing $212,064 during his career. He started his career under the guidance of noted trainer Murray Brethour and remained in that Sunderland, Ont.-based barn from his two-year-old season in 2013 through his seven-year-old season in 2018.
He moved to Chad Milner’s stable for a year and Walker was his trainer for his last two seasons on the track. His final start was in September of last year. During his time in Walker's barn, in addition to being a consistent racehorse, Weatherly also served as a teacher for both humans and fellow equines.
“He taught so many young grooms that came into my barn how to train and jog. We always said he taught the young horses how to behave at the track. Weatherly lost his eye when he was three or four and adapted to everything he was asked to do,” added Walker.
Frightful Watch’s tenure at the track wasn’t nearly as long but the son of Hes Watching had a connection to OSAS long before he was entered into the program. His dam, the Artsplace daughter Dianes Place, started her career in the stable of Hall of Famer Bill O’Donnell, who sits on the OSAS board of directors.
Unlike his dam who enjoyed a long career (165 starts), Frightful Watch made a total of two official trips behind the starting gate before his shoes were pulled, but the five-year-old gelding is proving to be talented in other disciplines.
“They are super talented boys,” complimented Luke. “I ride primarily dressage but have started jumping Kevin also.”
She showed Kevin for the first time at the Standardbred Showcase on July 31 and he did exceptionally well.
“I am so proud of Kevin,” she noted afterwards. “He had his first show today at the Standardbred Showcase and he could not have been better. We had a very fun and successful day. Some of the highlights we achieved: high point English, high point overall and completing our first over fence class as a last minute add on.”
Weatherly has also been impressing his new owner. In early September, she reported: “I haven’t had time to ride him regularly but am looking forward to changing that for the fall. Despite the long stretches between rides, this guy tries so hard.
“Today when we rode he willingly stretched out and lowered his head both ways. This is a huge accomplishment especially going to the left, as he is missing his right eye so he prefers to hold his head up and looking around. When he relaxes and rounds up, it’s a great feeling knowing he has trust in me as his rider.”
The OSAS graduates aren’t Luke's first exposure to Standardbreds.
“My best friend, Natalie Graham, has been heavily involved in the racing industry her entire life. Her dad raced and they set me up with my first Standardbred about 10 years ago,” she remembered.
“I had always owned, ridden and shown other breeds and foolishly I fell into the category of having a bias against Standardbreds as riding horses thanks to some coaching influence. My first Standardbred changed all of that. I did everything with him and was never disappointed.
“When we started our family, I had to take a break from horses and riding but knew when it was time again my next horse would be a Standardbred. I applied to OSAS in early 2021 and by July it was my turn on the waitlist.”
Luke had fallen in love with Frightful Watch’s photo and went to meet him at Mac Stables, one of OSAS’s foster farms owned by Susan and Bert Mollica. After adopting Frightful Watch, she asked the Mollicas to keep an eye out for another horse who would also be quiet for the kids to work around “and Wes came along a few months later,” she concluded.
One of OSAS’s mandates is to highlight the versatility and kindness of the Standardbred breed. It would be accurate to report that Frightful Watch and Weatherly are certainly doing their part to spread that message.
(With files from OSAS)