JOE GUERRIERI and Hampstead Heath after the grey gelding won the Halton Stakes in 2015. – WOODBINE PHOTO
JOEY G JUMPS IN
While uncertainty continues to hang over the Ontario Thoroughbred breeding industry, one Toronto man has jumped into the industry with verve in the last four months.
Joe Guerrieri, owner of Joey G Thoroughbreds, is realizing a lifelong dream as he has begun to welcome his first homebreds into his world. Guerrieri has 19 mares at nearby Mapleville Farms in Caledon East (the former Gardiner Farms) that have or are ready to foal; mares purchased in a whirlwind shopping spree that began in December at the CTHS Ontario sale at Woodbine.
“I have dived to the deep end,” said the soft-spoken, Italian entrepreneur. “I am a big fan of horse racing and I consider it a premier sport.”
The 59-year-old has gone from owning half a dozen horses in partnership a few years ago to 85 Thoroughbreds of various ages.
“I love the people in the business, the horses and I love the analytics of it. “I would rather err on the side of making my own decisions and breeding my own than with a well bred horse at auction.”
A love of horse racing as a youngster has led Guerrieri, now semi-retired, to this point, a “transition” year for his stable in which he wants to take a pre-planned, calculated approach to breeding, selling and racing horses.
Guerrieri came to Canada with his parents when he was four-years-old. He learned to ride at Double R Ranch in the Toronto area and worked for free cleaning stalls to do so. He followed the major horse races at every opportunity and worked one summer as a hotwalker for trainer Bob Bateman in the early 1970s.
Bateman trained the successful string of homebreds for Warren Beasley including the 1969 Queen’s Plate winner with the name Jumpin Joseph.
That is some foreshadowing.
In his adult years, his business career came first but in 2012, a close friend, Aldo Ventresca and trainer Pat Parente brought Guerrieri in as a partner in the Ontario-bred gelding Park Place.
“He wasn’t a great horse, but we had some fun with him,” said Guerrieri. “I had always wanted to own a horse and had semi- retired that year. I didn’t know where to start so Pat helped me.
In November of 2012, Guerrieri and Ventresca and Parente claimed the mare Extremist for $10,000. She has gone on to win $125,000 and now is owned wholly by Guerri who hopes to breed the daughter of Suave.
At about the same time as the Extremist claim, a young horse by the name of Black Hornet debuted for the partnership. The son of Pioneering, bought by Parente as a yearling the previous fall for $4,500, has been one of Woodbine’s top sprinters for three years with earnings of over $570,000.
Black Hornet won last year’s Grade 3 Vigil Stakes at Woodbine
Guerrieri decided to go solo in horse ownership in 2014 and splurged on one of his first claims. Hampstead Heath, a classy grey gelding coming off a win in the Halton Stakes for yearling sales stakes graduates, was entered for $62,500 claiming and Guerrieri filled out the claim slip. Hampstead Heath came back a year later to win the Halton again and he has earned some $100,000 since the claim.
Last year, Guerrieri met Beth Hancock, a breeder and sales consignor in Caledon who was looking to sell her breeding stock. Guerrieri bought two mares and two weanlings from Hancock and then hired her to act as a part-time adviser for his move into the breeding business.
The shopping spree began in December when Guerrieri purchased seven broodmares, continued to Kentucky at the January Keeneland sale where the pair picked out six more and then in Ocala, Florida in February, the owner bought another two mares.
“At the same time I have been buying horses born in 2015, for re-sale at this year’s CTHS sale or in the U.S.,” said Guerrieri. “I can’t keep all the horses so I want to see some so I don’t have to rely on winning races all the time and I want to support the local program.”
As for the racing stable, there are 32 Joey G runners set to race in 2016 in the black and gold colours of the owner but some changes have been made. Dan Vella has replaced Parente as the barn’s main trainer while Martin Drexler has half a dozen runners as well. Parente will continue to train Black Hornet.
Guerrieri has also set up a training centre for his horses at Mapleville and convinced the farm’s owner, Na Lui to purchase an Equicizer walking machine.
Ranine Sitser manages Mapleville Farms while Hancock will continue to guide the breeding business. Eventually, said Guerrieri,he would like to have his own farm where he can raise his horse “and retired the ones who can’t race anymore.”
Hancock reports that the better mares of Guerrieri are going to be foaling in April but there are already some goodies on the ground.
BEPPIN, a winning daughter of Forest Wildcat, is a half sister to probable 2-year-old Canadian champion colt Riker, and she had a “beautiful” Sidney’s Candy colt. The mare is going back to Hampton Court, a track record setting, Group 1 winner from Australia who will stand at Spendthrift Kentucky in 2016. Hampton Court is by Redoute’s Choice from the Canadian-bred stakes winning mare Roses ‘n Wine, by Broken Vow.
Beppin was a $9,500 purchase at Keeneland in January.
My Christini, a multiple winner by Flatter and half sister to 2015 stakes winning 2-year-old Cronanthebarbarian, just had a First Samurai foal and is headed to the court of Giant Gizmo.
Hancock said most of the Guerrieri mares will be bred back to Ontario sires such as Milwaukee Brew, Society’s Chairman, Conquest Curlinate, Old Forester, Wee Miss Artie, Giant Gizmo, Silver Max and Silent Name.
Guerrieri does not have stars in his eyes when it comes to predicting any instant success in what is a very tough business.
“Success to me in this business is breaking even, my life is enhanced just by being in it,” said Guerrieri, who is single and does not have any children. “I hope that I can be respected by the community and that I don’t end up a statistic as one of those owners who gets in and then out quickly.
I love the sport, I come to the races all the time, not just for my own horses. There is nothing better than meeting up with people at the track and talking horses.”
Hampstead Heath is led by ‘Joey G’ and Pat Parente (second from right) WOODBINE PHOTO
