Holy Breeders' Cup, Batman—it's Dr. Schivel!

Only diehard fans of the 1960s Adam West "Batman" television series are likely to recognize the genesis of Dr. Schivel 's name. It is the "real" name of the arch-villain Mr. Freeze—but only in some Batman timelines—and now belongs to a talented entrant in the Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1).

William Branch, who lives in Marina del Rey, Calif., bred Dr. Schivel in partnership with Arnold Hill in Kentucky. Branch continues to own an interest in the 3-year-old colt, and he named the son of Violence  —Lil Nugget , by Mining for Money .

"He is by Violence, and that (name) kind of has negative connotations," said Branch. "I've always been a fan of the old 'Batman' series with Adam West and Burt Ward. So I thought I'd find one of the super villains and name him after that."

The television show was so kitschy that good actors clamored for the opportunity to chew the scenery as a Batman nemesis. Branch considered the more well-known: Burgess Meredith as the Penguin, Cesar Romero as the Joker, Frank Gorshin as the Riddler. He landed on Mr. Freeze, played first by George Sanders, then by Otto Preminger, and finally by Eli Wallach.

There was only one problem: The name Mr Freeze  was already taken, and by a very good horse. A 2015 son of To Honor and Serve —Heavenly Cat , by Tabasco Cat , Mr Freeze won four graded stakes and earned $1,595,600. Variations on the name also pop up for four others: a son of Alysheba , an Irish-bred by Frozen Power , and two Quarter Horses (one of the latter by Batt Man).

That's when Branch's deep dive began.

"I started futzing around with Mr. Freeze and reading all sorts of old stories," said Branch. "I saw in a couple of different articles what the name of Mr. Freeze was when he was a regular person before he became Mr. Freeze."

Though Mr. Freeze's origins have multiple stories, Adam West's Batman in one scene says: "Tell them yourself, Dr. Schivel—alias Mr. Freeze." West gives the definitive pronunciation too: SHIV-el, not SHY-vel and not Shi-VELL.

Thus, the equine Dr. Schivel received his name, and Branch hoped that the colt might emulate the equine Mr Freeze. Dr. Schivel has surpassed all of Branch's expectations, with five consecutive victories that include the 2020 Runhappy Del Mar Futurity (G1), 2021 Bing Crosby Stakes (G1), and 2021 Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G2).

When initially trained by Luis Mendez for Branch and Hill, Dr. Schivel crushed his maiden competition by 5 3/4 lengths in his third start. His workouts before he even started prompted a couple of calls to the owners about whether they would sell him.

Dr. Schivel's first two races resulted in losses after troubled trips, but he showed enough promise that Mark Glatt, who had trained for Branch in the past, contacted the owner.

Unbeknownst to Glatt, the trainer had a hand in Dr. Schivel's breeding. Lil Nugget had produced several useful runners by a variety of stallions, but none had reached six figures in earnings.

"I was talking to Mark and telling him that it's really tough breeding your own horses," Branch said.

Branch wondered aloud which stallion he might breed Lil Nugget to next, and Glatt said, "You know, I would go to Violence."

Violence intrigued Branch. The son of Medaglia d'Oro   only started four times, but he won the 2012 CashCall Futurity (G1) when it was still at Hollywood Park.

Though Glatt doesn't recall the conversation, which took place four or five years ago, that breeding coupled with Dr. Schivel's early promise sent the trainer looking to make a deal to purchase the colt. After Dr. Schivel broke his maiden so impressively, the Cohen family's Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal wanted to buy a majority interest, with Glatt taking over the training. Hill sold his share, while Branch stayed in and brought in his friend Dean Reeves, who had owned 2013 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Mucho Macho Man   in a partnership.

Hill and Branch go back many years, and in fact Hill is responsible for getting Branch into racehorse ownership.

"I've always been a horse racing fan," Branch said. "My favorite all-time horse was Cougar II , and my dad used to take me to Hollywood Park back in the '70s."

Years later Branch was working in an office and happened by the mailroom. He encountered Hill, who asked him if he wanted to buy part of a racehorse. Hill's partnership wanted to sell 10% of the unraced filly Concettina  for $2,000. 

After Branch bought in, Concettina got close to a race, but injured herself in her final work. She had to undergo surgery and was laid up at Ballena Vista Farm in Ramona, Calif., northeast of San Diego.

"That was the season that North San Diego County had those horrible fires," said Branch.

Just like what would happen years later when fires engulfed part of San Luis Rey Downs, horses had to be let loose in the hope they could survive. For several days, Branch didn't know Concettina's fate.

"It turned out that she was OK and made it back to the farm," said Branch. "We put her back in training, and she goes to her very first race at Santa Anita (in 2008). She breaks reasonably poorly and comes with a huge run. There's a wall of horses ahead of her. She squeezes in between two horses and wins by a nose."

Branch was delighted and, as with many newcomers, thought the sport was easy. So he bought an interest in several more runners.

"Some of them worked out; some of them didn't work out," he said. "But we've sort of been able to maintain having a decent number of horses in the industry ever since."

While Branch's first win came under somewhat unusual circumstances, Dr. Schivel's most recent victory is even more incredible. Early in the six furlongs of the Oct. 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship, the keeper holding Dr. Schivel's right rein came undone and jockey Flavien Prat had to guide the colt using only his left rein and his whip. 

Instead of coming from slightly off the pace as he had in his previous races, Dr. Schivel went to the lead. He ended up winning by 3 1/4 lengths.

"When the rein broke and the horse just sort of took off on his own, now it makes me wonder," said Branch. "All along he's been a finisher, not a sprinter. But maybe he always could do that. Maybe we do have more speed than I thought."

In the Breeders' Cup, the colt will take on such top speedsters as Jackie's Warrior  and Firenze Fire , the latter now notorious for his savaging incident in the Forego Stakes (G1). Will Dr. Schivel prevail? Tune in Nov. 6—same bat time, same bat channel.