Owner Tim Cohen was jumping up and down, excited as could be, as he watched his determined Dr. Schivel and onrushing Aloha West flash past the finish line almost simultaneously in the Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint two years ago at Del Mar.

“We did it! We did it!” he shouted to Jed, his father, who sat somberly beside him.

“Nope,” Jed replied.

“We did!” Tim insisted.

“Nope.”

Jed Cohen, right, celebrating a 2018 win with jockey Tyler Baze. (BENOIT photo)

Jed was 87 at the time, a long-time owner who partnered with his son on many horses and a veteran racegoer who had witnessed his share of frantic finishes. His old eyes had not deceived him. Dr. Schivel had lost by what trainer Mark Glatt still refers to as a “dirty rotten head bob.”

A wave of sadness swept over Tim once the day was done. He felt the overwhelming sense that one of the tautest finishes in Breeders’ Cup history would represent his last big moment at the World Championships with his aging father.

The son was right. Jed, influential in the early acquisition of Dr. Schivel and many other smart private purchases, died last Nov. 27. He was the kind of strong-willed man who said “absolutely not” to retirement as an investment adviser even as an octogenarian.

Tim said he could sense his father’s presence during a phone interview for this article. He is convinced it will be that way when 5-year-old Dr. Schivel seeks redemption in the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita in his expected career finale.

“It will be very much all day for me, I know that,” he said of the feeling that Jed will be close by.

In a game that requires patience, Dr. Schivel is an extreme example of the need for that rare quality. The bay son of Violence produced an immediate big reward for Jed’s Red Baron’s Barn, Tim’s Rancho Temescal and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing after they joined breeder Bill Branch as owners. He captured the Runhappy Del Mar Futurity in his fourth career start and his first for them.

Dr. Schivel after 2021 Bing Crosby Stakes win. (BENOIT photo)

That Grade 1 contest is often a steppingstone to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, but that was not to be. New trainer Mark Glatt was convinced Dr. Schivel is not a two-turn horse and would be best served if he did not race again at 2. The youngster was away from competition for more than nine months.

After Dr. Schivel took third in a roughly run Dubai Golden Shaheen Sponsored by Atlantis Dubai in March 2022, the horse was not at all himself. Another extended layoff followed, this one lasting almost 15 months. According to Glatt, he relied on advanced diagnostics in the form of sophisticated scans to tell him when to back off and when it was safe to resume training.

Glatt praised the ownership group for its willingness to stay the course – twice.

“Those are conversations you never want to have,” he said. “Everyone is initially disappointed. Especially a good horse, they want to watch him run. That’s why they own these horses.

“They make that phone call easier because they always want to do what’s best for the horse.”

Not that inactivity is easy as bills mount with no possibility for income. “It is frustrating watching horses win important races that you feel confident you can beat,” Branch said.

Through it all, they kept faith in Dr. Schivel. “The thing that made it easier in his case was knowing that, ‘Hey, he’s got the right attitude. Today might not be our day, but some day will be.’ ”

The bay horse has swept half of his 14 starts with a pair of runner-up efforts and three third-place showings for earnings of $1,327,100. He returned from a layoff of almost 15 months to win a May 13 allowance race at Santa Anita by 4 1/4 lengths against capable C Z Rocket.

Jed Cohen, right, with sons Tim and Mark and jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. (BENOIT photo)

He was not up to the Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap in his next start, finishing fifth there. But he rebounded to be a solid third in the July 29 Bing Crosby Stakes and could have fared better if not for a wide trip in that Grade 1 race. He suggested he is in peak form when he dug in to repel Speed Boat Beach by a stubborn head in the Sept. 30 Santa Anita Sprint Championship presented by Estrella Jalisco.

He produced a bullet work one week ahead of the Sprint Championship, ripping through five furlongs in :58.50. He returned to the work tab on Oct. 14, covering three furlongs in 36.60 seconds.

Glatt knows Dr. Schivel will almost surely have to run the best race of his life to defeat the swiftest of the swift. He is optimistic.

“He seems to have come out of the race very well. He’s happy,” the trainer said. “I would expect a very good performance.”

Perhaps someday might arrive on the last day.