From Modest Beginnings, Chindi Thrives in Pony Role

The first horse to have its picture taken in the new winner's circle at Oaklawn Park wasn't a ghost.

It was Chindi, who, after earning more than $1 million on the track as a late-running sprinter, is still active today as trainer Steve Hobby's ultra-popular, workaholic stable pony.

Now 24 and possessing a snow-white coat, Chindi's last victory came Feb. 5, 2005 at Oaklawn, when he charged home under regular rider Tim Doocy to capture an optional-claiming allowance by a length for Hobby's most treasured owner, Carol Ricks (Cresran LLC), whose family farm is about 35 miles north of Oklahoma City.

Insert Dec. 5, 2018, into the unlikely past performances, and it was Chindi reliving his glory days, Hobby said, recalling events in the Larry Snyder Winner's Circle. Hobby said Chindi was led into the enclosure on a loose shank, stood and, on cue, began hamming it up for the camera. 

"He loves to have his picture taken," Hobby said. "But when I walked out of there, oh my God! He was a handful. He pushed me way down to the inside. I couldn't hardly move. I almost had to stop and put a lip chain on him. I mean, he was jumping in the air, acting like he had just won a race. It was hilarious. I was laughing about it. But then I was thinking, 'Man, he's wearing me out trying to get him led back off the track.'"

Named for the Navajo word meaning ghost, Chindi's story—now approaching the length of "War and Peace"—has been compelling from the start.

Bloodstock agent Omar Trevino unearthed Chindi and his dam, Rousing, in 1994 while inspecting a piece of property in Paris, Ky.

Remembering that Rousing had been a $600,000 purchase from the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky April Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training in 1987, Trevino became interested in the foal, who was from the first crop of El Prado, and privately purchased him on behalf of Ran Ricks, the husband of Carol Ricks.

"Basically all we had to do was pay the stud fee to El Prado to get the horse," Hobby said. "It was like $12,500. We might have given him $15,000, so the guy got something out of it."

Hobby said Ran Ricks, who died in December 1996, roughly three months before Chindi's career debut, bought the colt "sight unseen."

"I had never heard of El Prado," Hobby said. "I thought he was a really neat-looking horse when I got him. Oh, he was ornery. That's why we gelded him at a young age, because, boy, he was a handful."

Hobby said Chindi showed so little in the mornings that he debuted for a $25,000 claiming price March 15, 1997 at Oaklawn. 

After an eight-length romp at the Hot Springs, Ark., track, Chindi never ran for a tag again. Racing from 1997-2005, he compiled an 18-13-23 record from 81 starts throughout the Midwest and earned $1,000,838. His five stakes victories included the $125,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) in 1998 at Oaklawn.

"He never showed anything in the mornings his whole life," said Hobby, who regularly galloped Chindi. "All his life, he would work slow and pull up fast—races, same thing. He would come from last, win, and be the first horse pulled up. I don't know how he could shut it down as fast as he could, but he could."

Hobby said Chindi still travels "as smooth as he did back then," adding he's the smartest horse he's ever trained. 

"He knows his name and that shocks everybody," Hobby said. "He'll turn his head and look at you. Very unusual."

As for transitioning to a second career, it was a breeze for Chindi, said Ran Leonard, Cresran's racing/breeding manager and the grandson of Carol Ricks, now 89. 

"He was always sound," Leonard said. "Really, Steve just kind of knew it. He was like, 'I think the day he doesn't want to be a racehorse anymore, I think he'll be a perfect stable pony.' And he was. It was literally one day racing saddle, next day pony saddle. He just loves it. Every trainer you can think of tried to buy him to be their pony, which is like, not a chance."

Chindi's normal schedule follows morning training hours during the Oaklawn meet (the live season is Jan. 25-May 4 in 2019) before he moves with Hobby to Churchill Downs, where the trainer is based the remainder of the year. 

Chindi did receive a break of about 30 days this fall at Hermitage Farm in Goshen, Ky., which has become part of the gelding's routine with advancing age.

"It's 10 to 11 months with Steve," Leonard said. "As he's getting older, he enjoys being turned out more than he used to. But he's always been a horse that didn't want to be turned out."

Hobby said Chindi rejoined him about a week before the Breeders' Cup Nov. 2-3 at Churchill Downs because "everybody would have driven me crazy asking where he was."

Asked to explain Chindi's rock-star status, Hobby cited the gelding's longevity, distinctive coat, personality, and intelligence. 

"I think Chindi is a horse version of Steve," Leonard said. "He loves to work. He loves to put in hours. I think he will do it until he's ready to leave us. With that being said, if Steve decides he wants to come to the farm, Chindi obviously has a paddock waiting on him. There's literally a paddock we call the 'Chindi Paddock.'"