‘I definitely found a special horse’ – ‘Letty’ Hodge
The six-year-old racehorse came to the Virgin Islands as a young colt from Pennsylvania but was originally from California. His parents were also racehorses described as good in their own right.
“I definitely found a special horse,” Hodge expressed, “just like I had found Actspectation, the two of them are very special.”
When Really Uptown first came, the owner felt that he would have been a sprinter even though he had run at distance races before in the United States.
“We noticed that every time he ran a short distance, that he comes off of the race as if he didn’t do anything, so we decided to give him another little extra… and so far, all the extras we’ve been giving him, he’s just been blowing the field away,” she added.
Hodge credits the team that surrounds her for the successes of her horse on the track, “None of this could have been done without my team… only because of the team that I have.”
One of the things she is most grateful for is having what she termed a ‘three-in-one’ in Antonio Cordero who serves as a trainer, exercise jockey as well as farrier (horse shoe fitter). There are no farriers on island according to the horseowner, therefore other owners need to bring them to the island to fit their horses.
When the horse first arrived, Hodge was surprised at his appearance, noting that he looked shabby and nothing that she expected him to look like. According to Hodge, it took a while for the horse to become acclimatised to life on the island.
The horseowner said she has five horses and never breaks down the cost to take care of each of them. Really Uptown is fed a steady diet of hay, sweet feed and oats, according to Mrs Hodge and sees a veterinarian every 21 days.
Cordero’s grandfather was also a Triple Crown champion in Puerto Rico in 1966 and came from a good bloodline of trainers, “He knows the horses well and how to get them on their feet,” she said.
She also said that the jockey, Alberto Soto, is a very important part of the picture. “He is so important because they fell in love with one another right away… some people ride a horse just for money, they get out there and do what they want, but it was like a contact… a communication between the two of them,” she said.
Mrs Hodge added, “(the horse) knows the jockey and Alberto knows him… he knows exactly what he wants and what he doesn’t want… something that you and I wouldn’t even be able to begin to understand and they’re very close,”
She expressed that you had to love an animal to get the very best out of it and it has to love you too.
The horseowner felt that his most impressive race was the second leg of the Triple Crown where he not only broke the track record but also broke the record for each fraction of the race, which was something that was never done by any other horse in the Virgin Islands.
The team now sets its sights on the upcoming Governor’s Cup to be held in the USVI next month.
Meanwhile, in the fifth race of the six-race final leg card, there was a two-horse battle with local horse Bud White coming away victorious in the 6-furlong race in 1:12. Derby Nation, also a local horse, came in second by default. That race had a purse of $5,000.
The fourth race of the day, with a $4,600 prize, saw another St. Thomas horse emerge victorious. Miss Tequila finished the 7½-furlong race in 1:37. Rounding out the rest of the top three was Florida's Mae Ruler in second place followed by Tortola's Orithyia.
15 Responses to “‘I definitely found a special horse’ – ‘Letty’ Hodge”
Anyways kudus to letty for keeping it real and always doing your part to keep horse race a live
why doesnt lil johnny take his happy go lucky cricket playing a$$ back to where the hell he came from and play there.why would anyone bat a ball then runs with the bat anyways who does that $h1+. take a hike lil johnny.
Mrs. Hodge this is indeed a proud moment for all horse lovers and you have advanced the sports of kings