Fate Brings Improbable Bucchero Team to Breeders’ Cup

The Life
Trainer Tim Glyshaw makes his Breeders' Cup debut on Saturday with Bucchero in the Turf Sprint. He also has Bullards Alley in the Turf. (Julie June Stewart photo)

What is your destiny in life? Is it where you started? Is it how you planned? How do you know what road to follow? For the team of folks involved with Indiana-bred Bucchero at the 2017 Breeders’ Cup, their journey has been astonishing. Trainer Tim Glyshaw was a school teacher. Owner Harlan Malter went to school at Columbia University in New York and played varsity baseball while taking quick trips to the local OTB parlor. Bucchero shouldn’t even have been born as his dam had fallen upon the worst of times and was merely skin and bones. 

That is the beauty of horse racing. It’s a place where dreamers can come from incredible odds and find themselves proudly in the winner’s circle. It’s even a better dream when one is invited to race at the historic Del Mar track. Now this team of dreamers is waking up amid the pageantry and thrill of racing in the Turf Sprint at the 2017 Breeders’ Cup. A million-dollar race for a horse that was purchased for $43,000 at the 2014 Ocala Breeders’ Sale (OBS) as a 2-year-old in training! Listening to their story opens the door to being in love with all the possibilities in horse racing.

Trainer Tim Glyshaw graduated from Indiana University and taught school for two and a half years. He taught sixth through eighth grade and coached basketball and soccer. Not only did he teach English and U.S. history; he also taught physical education, driver’s education, and sex education. 

Glyshaw gives Bucchero a peppermint.
Glyshaw gives Bucchero a peppermint. (Julie June Stewart photo)

Was he meant to be a teacher or did the universe have another road for him to take? He was watching the Kentucky Derby in 1995 and saw a commercial for the internship program at Taylor Made Farm. It was a call to his destiny. Glyshaw applied immediately and found his way to Nicholasville, Ky., where he interned at Taylor Made. It gave him a solid foundation for a career in horse racing. He had never been around horses before but was a dedicated worker and student for more than a year. Unlike many in the equine industry, he hadn’t grown up in a horse racing family. In fact, he had never been around horses before but he found a world where he knew he belonged. He was an astute student, and after the internship the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association set him up to work with trainer Bob Holthus.

Holthus was a second-generation horse trainer and was the all-time winning trainer at Oaklawn Park where he won numerous training titles. Glyshaw hot walked for nine months. Chuck Chambers (a groom with a wealth of knowledge) took Glyshaw under his wings and taught him how to groom. Chambers is well-known as the groom of Lawyer Ron and he was featured in the horse racing documentary “First Saturday.” Glyshaw was given four horses to groom. He quickly got his first win with a horse named Sooner Wish that paid $136.80. The numbers roll easily off of Glyshaw’s tongue as he relishes the memory and his eyes brighten. He continued to groom and was surprised when he was given the opportunity to go to Hoosier Park with 12 horses as an assistant. He was with Holtus for seven years. He went to work for Cole Norman in 2012 and followed the circuit in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. 

Glyshaw started his training career with four horses that he claimed. He smiles when he says that he worked his way up from the bottom. He also sheepishly admits that he does not ride. He rode a pony three times but wasn’t comfortable. He is proud of Breeders’ Cup entries Bucchero and Bullards Alley. Unlike other racing stables, he came to Del Mar with a lean crew. It’s just himself and his exercise rider Doug Morley. Glyshaw is handling the grooming responsibilities.

In the late afternoon, he and Morley tend to the horses who lean out of their stall to watch. The stalls are mucked and the hay balls are fluffed. He tends to the leg wraps and the feed. The men are tired. It’s a big responsibility to race at the Breeders’ Cup and they are being pulled in all directions with functions to attend, media requests, and the stress of racing in such a high-profile race. Meanwhile, the horses are waiting for their peppermints. After disappearing into the tack room, a familiar sound causes both horses to lift their heads alertly! The crackle of a peppermint wrapper! Glyshaw appears with an unwrapped peppermint. He leans his head forward on Bullards Alley and closes his eyes. It’s an intimate moment of caring and love shared between the trainer and horse. Bullards Alley allows it to happen long enough to enjoy his peppermint and then turns into a nippy, happy horse.   

Glyshaw handles all chores at Del Mar. (Julie June Stewart photo)

Bucchero is a little more mature in behavior. He takes his peppermint like a gentleman. There is the loud enjoyable crunch as he enjoys chewing on his treat. Glyshaw says that he is “all class and has matured a lot.” He is proud of is Breeders’ Cup duo. “I can’t ask for either of them to do better than they are right now.” Bucchero is “very professional on race day and all about business. He is as cool as a cucumber.” He will play with Glyshaw, Morley, and his grooms. Bucchero was previously trained by Mike Trombetta, but Ironhorse Racing Stable was looking for Indiana options for an Indiana-bred and trainer Mike Stidham recommended Glyshaw. Bucchero has been with Glyshaw nearly two years. 

As Glyshaw reflects on his school teaching career he says that it still influences him today. “Different kids learn in different ways and horses are the same way. There is not one way you can train every horse. There are people out there who try to do that but you just can’t train all the horses the same way.”

Bucchero’s dam was a rescue. Her owner had been in a partnership which had broken up. She was sold in the 2008 OBS auction. It was thought she was safe and at a good home so it was a bit of a shock when the Florida ASPCA notified the owner that the mare and her foal had been found with 30 other horses starving in a dreadful situation. It was doubtful that the mare would survive. Her colt did not. She was rescued and nursed back to health. From a recent photo, it appears that she now lives a happy life at the farm of Karen and Greg Dodd. Bucchero is her third foal.

It’s easy to picture the managing partner of Ironhorse Racing Stable as the varsity baseball player he was in college.Tall and handsome, Harlan Malter is blessed with a rich, warm voice which draws you into his world when he starts talking about the development of Ironhorse Racing and his journey into horse racing. 

He grew up in Boston, lived in New York, and is now located in California as a financial planner. As a child, his family used to go to Saratoga. His Dad was a huge sports fan and passed his love of sports to his sons. Malter went to Columbia University. He remembers wistfully that this was in the day when New York had many Off Track Betting (OTB) parlors. Between baseball and studying, he had only a limited window in which he would dash to the local OTB. This is how he entered the world of horse racing through handicapping. He was a quick study.

Glyshaw (left) and Malter. (Julie June Stewart photo)

Malter readily describes the first two major horses in his life. The first was the legendary champion Cigar who captured not only the hearts of New Yorkers but horse racing fans throughout the world. His eyes shine as he describes Cigar’s retirement ceremony at Madison Square Garden. 

Malter’s next love was an extremely popular horse Lost in the Fog. He had watched a documentary about his career which featured how owners Karen and Greg Dodd had raised him on their farm in Florida. Through many complexities of life’s twists and turns, Malter met the Dodds and a friendship ensued. Greg encouraged Malter to purchase Bucchero when he was in the 2014 OBS sale.

Malter wanted to honor the past when he named his new horse. His sire’s name Kantharos is a reference to a type of Greek ceramics. He decided on Bucchero, which is a type of ancient Italian Etruscan pottery. It is highly distinguishable with a glossy black surface and is decorated with scenes of everyday life that often includes horses and riders.

Malter’s personal belief is that people love a horse’s personality. He loves creating partnership opportunities for fans to enter the world of owning a racehorse. With great sincerity, he cites his tagline that they offer “partnerships for the other 99 percent. Sheikhs and billionaires need not apply.”

Malter has only ridden a horse once, about a year ago. His wife bought him a trail ride at Temecula. In an ironic moment that Malter greatly appreciates, all the horses were normal size except for his. He was thrilled to ride a 17 ½ hand Belgian draft horse. Malter loves to embrace larger than life moments! He smiles as he says that his ride gave him a greater appreciation for how smart horses are.

Like a proud dad, he loves Bucchero. His blue eyes stare at the track as he says “We just needed that one race to show everybody. Because he is an Indiana-bred, we kept going back to Indiana winning races but that doesn’t give you much credibility. So we tried the Woodford last year. We thought we had a chance but he was sizzled in a speed duel. So then we won the Woodford at Keeneland at 26-1. That did it!” Indeed it did as their exuberant celebration was caught by the local horse racing network and is now on YouTube. The race wasn’t a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” race but it opened the door to their invitation. 

One of the most unusual aspects of Bucchero has turned out to be a photographer’s delight. He could be a registered paint horse. With four white legs, one of his stockings rises above his left front leg. There is also a white spot on his stomach. Malter looked into a variety of paint stakes races but for right now is thrilled with their Breeders’ Cup chances. He proudly states that Bucchero could be “one of the best paint horses in America.”

Can they win? Anything is possible. Malter explains that they are “running in a race where handicappers could throw a dart” to choose the winner. The competition is formidable with a field that includes the speedy North American record holder Disco Partner and the dauntingly elegant Lady Aurelia. European contenders are the horses who normally show great proclivity in winning Breeders’ Cup turf races. This year’s European challengers include Washington DC and Marsha. Defending champion Mongolian Saturday is also returning. 

Malter smiles and says “It’s one of those things where you get good at the right time. Bucchero was purchased for $43,000 and Bullards Alley was purchased for $11,000. Glyshaw has $54,000 horses running for $5 million.” In the eyes of a handicapper, there is always a chance for a long shot to come in the money. The beauty of the Breeders’ Cup is that there is a long rich history of dreams coming true.

Glyshaw and Malter are two people who long ago were watching TV and saw something about horse racing that changed their lives. As a result it also changed the lives of everyone around them. It just shows you that no matter where you are in life; when a different path appears, perhaps one should think about taking it. They both stepped into the world that they saw on TV. It’s exciting to be part of the world of horse racing where even if you don’t ride, a horse can carry your dreams. 

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