Vallelujah continues to create a special bond for a local partnership in perhaps the Cinderella story of this year’s Saratoga Race Course meet.
Horses can be therapeutic and people bring together, especially for those who experience personal challenges and setbacks. Vallelujah is one of those horses who has done that at Saratoga Race Course this year.
Since the formation of East Ave Stables with Sisu Racing Stables during the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Vallelujah has created a special bond among the 18-member partnership that includes Jeff Deet and breeder Carolyn Karlson.
That bond became more solidified when Vallelujah won her first career race on Mother’s Day at Belmont Park, followed by a more significant win three weeks ago. Not only was it the first Saratoga win for Deet and East Ave Stables, it was also the same milestone for Karlson as a breeder, Jacqueline Davis as a jockey, and Robbie Davis as a trainer since his last Saratoga Winner’s Circle appearance in 2013.
More importantly, those two victories from Vallelujah’s have helped the partners, as well as others, who have been coping and overcoming adversities. At the same time, friendships have emerged that go beyond the racetrack.
“If you look at the diversity within our group, this has far exceeded just the win at Saratoga,” Deet said. “It is forged and galvanized a friendship from a group of people. We have PTSD veterans, disabled veterans, and people who have lost spouses. There are things that have affected people in their recent lives.”
Deet, a father of a Navy Seal, has also been sharing his partnership experience with disabled veterans by providing tours around the track while visiting horses. Simultaneously, he has been encouraging other disabled veteran organizations to contact him to continue that experience.
“It’s a collective way to say, ‘Thank you,’” Deet said. “My son fought in a lot of battles and took a lot close calls. I know how hard it is on the families. I know how hard it is on the military men and women. If we can clear their heads for a day, that’s the least that we can do. We don’t do this for accolades. We do it be because it is such a wonderful opportunity to share.”
The East Ave Stable partnership started when a group of photographers gathered along the East Avenue fence that borders part of the Oklahoma Training Track. Their presence attracted trainer and former jockey Robbie Davis with a simple “Hello.” From there, their conversions developed into his suggestion of buying a horse.
Deet, a retired heavy machine operator for his hometown of Malta, had been in racing partnerships for nearly 30 years before he took a brief break when his grandchildren were born. This time, he was placed as the managing partner for the newly-formed stable.
Deet and Karlson already knew each other in the local Thoroughbred racing circle. Shortly after the stable was formed, Karlson met with Deet for a brief greeting on East Avenue. Coincidently, Karlson had been entertaining the idea of selling Vallelujah, born at Hickory Hill Farm in Fort Edward on Valentine’s Day, going into fall of 2021. However, there were a couple of important considerations for Deet.
First, it was important that Vallelujah had a good retirement once her racing career was over, especially since Deet’s prior horses have been placed in appropriate aftercare – Sweet Penny, Katskill Bay and Executive Search.
Karlson became the right person for aftercare with her involvement in the Retired Racehorse Project. Not only that, her retired horses have also found second careers: Ariesberg became a barrel racehorse in Florida; Noblesque is participating in horse shows, dressage and trail riding; Grayjavu is part of the Thoroughbred Retirement Program at the Lowell Correctional Facility in Ocala, Fla.
“We don’t put a horse on the track unless that horse has an established, rock-solid, etched-in-stone career and good life after racing,” Deet said. “This animal has given you everything it had. You owe this creature of God to take care of that on and after the track. We won’t let a horse go into obscurity. It’s just not going to happen.”
Second, Deet wanted Robbie Davis as the trainer. Along with Davis’s experience that includes winning 3,382 races as a jockey, Deet also liked his approach as a horseman.
“We weren’t going to settle for anyone else other than Robbie. It’s that simple,” Deet said. “His love is for the animal. His love is for the game. He is a gentleman who goes out and rides our horse every day. He takes 100 percent care of her. He feeds her; he grooms her; he trains her; he loves her. There is something special about Robbie Davis once you get to know him. We are very fortunate to get him.”
Davis knows that training a horse for a one-horse partnership can be challenging for everyone. Though, with the support of the partnership, Davis can take the same approach that Hall of Fame trainer H. Allen Jerkens had as a horseman.
“This business is really hard. If there is a novice equation into it, then it becomes really hard,” Davis said. “These people are understanding about every little thing. That’s so helpful for the horse. You have to take your time. I remember Allen Jerkens saying, ‘One step. Let the horse earn its way.’”
One of Vallelujah’s steps under consideration was the Fleet Indian Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on New York Showcase Day at Saratoga last week. However, both Deet and Davis believed that would have been a tough task for her by going 1 1/8 miles for the first time while challenging the unbeaten Fingal’s Cave. Instead, they are waiting for more ideal spots such as the remaining races in the New York Stallion Series.
“She hasn’t been tested going a mile and an eighth. You really don’t want to test her against an undefeated filly,” Davis said. “The Stallion Series is something that we can entertain going seven furlongs or even a mile. Right now, we are riding a wave. Let’s go ahead and enjoy this moment.”
As the Saratoga racing season comes to an end on Labor Day, Karlson, Deet and all of the other East Ave Stables partners certainly had their fairy tale story of the meet as they continue to reflect on their special moment.
“I call her the Cinderella of Saratoga. She got to go to the ball,” Karlson said. “I wake up every day really happy because she is in their lives. I’m glad this is a feel-good story because the world needs more of those.”
