The four-year-old Argentinean colt Indy Point was a
happy horse Wednesday at Santa Anita as he galloped on the main track at 8 a.m.
(PDT) with trainer Richard Mandella looking on ahead of Saturday’s Turf.
Joining the conditioner was John
Fulton, racing manager for the four-year-old chestnut’s South American owners and an
international horseman with a rich background.
Fulton first came to the game as an assistant for the
legendary Argentinean horseman Horatio Luro before going out on his own between
1973 and 1988, initially for the late New York Yankees owner George
Steinbrenner.
During his training run he handled dozens of good horses,
including aces like Steve’s Friend and Mairzy Doates. During that time — first
in 1983 — he made trips to South America to buy horses. After hanging up his
training shingle, he found himself gravitating more and more to what has become
his adopted land, initially in Chile and now in Argentina, where he has
established a first-rate reputation as a bloodstock agent, breeder, racing
manager and executive.
“I found myself spending more and more time each year in
South America starting in the ’90s and then in 2005 I made the move there full
time,” he noted. “I was in Chile, then made the move to Buenos Aires. Recently,
though, I bought a place in a little town about an hour outside that city named
San Antonio Areco, which is right in the heart of Argentinian gaucho culture
with a lot of horse and breeding farms all around.
“I buy, sell and breed horses in Argentina, Brazil and
Chile. Along with three partners I had the champion two-year-old in Chile this
year, a horse named El Bromista, which translates to The Joker. We each own a
leg. And for the past three years I’ve been working for the Breeders’ Cup as
their Latin American representative. I’ve got a lot of territory, from Mexico
south all the way down to Argentina. I primarily get stallion nominations for
them, but also have gotten involved in their ‘Win and You’re In’ program down
there, helping horsemen who win those races get connected to come up here.”
Fulton’s command of Spanish, which was pretty good to start, has
become exceptional and he’s found himself pinch hitting as a translator on big
racing days.
Fulton first met Mandella in 1974 and has stayed in touch
over the years. He said he has always had great respect for his friend as a
horseman and when the owners of Indy Point were looking for a conditioner for
their colt for a North American campaign, Fulton helped steer them toward
Mandella.
“Richard is one of the best in my book and this colt
deserves someone like him,” Fulton said. “(Indy Point) is top class; just a
special kind of horse. He can run a mile or he can run a mile and a half and run
with anybody. He’s so versatile and he shows up every time. You just don’t see
that with most horses.”
Fulton was asked what might be next for Indy Point
following his run in the Turf.
“It’s hard to look past a race that has a $3 million
purse,” he grinned. “But the possibilities with a horse like this are limitless.
He’s a fresh horse; he’s versatile; he’ll run on any surface. We might think
about Dubai. We might think about a lot of things.”
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