By Jill Williams
Pop quiz: The $400,000 GII Man o' War S. is scheduled to run this weekend at Belmont at the Big A at 11 furlongs on the grass. What previous Man o' War winner still holds the course record at Belmont Park for the distance?
If you guessed Influent (Ascot Knight–Katerina Key, by Key to the Mint), you'd be right. Two months before he won the Man o' War in 1997, then a Grade I, he covered the same 1 3/8 miles on Belmont's Widener Turf Course in 2:11.06 in the GII Bowling Green S.
Remarkably, years after his owners have passed away, long after all seven jockeys who ever rode him in a race have retired, and even 16 months after the trainer who campaigned him to glory in five graded stakes died at age 87, Influent is still hale and hearty. Sure, his back has the customary sway of an elderly horse and he's got his share of gray around the face. But even Influent, who ran a hole in the wind while setting or equaling course records at three tracks, at the age of 33 has to begrudgingly allow Father Time a few concessions.
Gwen Hoffmann has been 'his person' since 2001.
“This knucklehead is my heart and soul,” she says with palpable affection. “He's got me wrapped around his finger.”
Hoffmann boards Influent at a farm owned by Jean Aker, daughter of late trainer John Mazza, about 20 minutes from Monmouth Park in Farmingdale, N.J. While Hoffmann is quick to credit Aker with Influent's longevity due to her knowledge of equine nutrition, it's clear Hoffmann plays a big role as well.
Influent and Gwen Hoffmann last month | Sarah Andrew
Hoffmann gets up at 4:30 every morning to check on Influent and give him his first meal of the day. He gets a second breakfast at 8:00, another meal at 3:00, and a night feed later on. Influent adores his food.
“Every day is like Christmas to that horse,” said Hoffmann. “Every time you feed him, he comes running. He's very chatty because he's so excited.
“He's a piece of work. He's one of the smartest horses I've ever known. I have to give him Cushing's medicine every morning. The medicine either doesn't taste good or doesn't make him feel so good. He thinks he's outsmarting me by not taking the carrot, where he thinks I hide it, but I really hide in the horse cookie. I have to keep switching it up because he's still trying to figure it out.
“Every day that I have with him I cherish and is a blessing,” continued Hoffmann. “I wake up, say my affirmations and my number one is that Influent's okay, he got his meds. Once I know he's okay, the rest of the day is downhill.”
Influent wins the 1997 GI Man o' War S. with Jerry Bailey up | Coglianese
Hoffmann didn't follow racing when the Ontario-bred won five of seven in 1997, including the GI Caesars International H. and GIII Maker's Mark Mile S., for co-owners Richard Kumble and Michael Becker and trainer Howie Tesher. She didn't know he also held Keeneland's mile course record for a number of years. Becker had been hit by an 18-wheeler and used part of his settlement from the accident to acquire Influent at the 1996 Fasig-Tipton New York Horses of Racing Age Sale for $54,000 and then donated part of the gelding's earnings to a charity for handicapped children. She didn't know this special horse and bonafide star, who twice ran for a tag of $6,500, had reached the highest echelon of the sport.
She did know she loved him very quickly after they met.
“I did not understand the level of racing that he was at or how respected his accomplishments were. I fell in love with Influent, the horse.”
Hoffmann had a Quarter Horse named Dreyfus at the time and really wasn't in the market for a second horse when she and Influent first got acquainted 23 years ago.
“My Quarter Horse got navicular, so I couldn't ride him anymore,” said Hoffmann.
“I'm not a great rider and Influent is a terrible riding horse because either he doesn't want to go or he wants to go full speed. He has two speeds–plugged or unplugged.”
It didn't matter. The two were a match made in heaven.
MGISW Influent, photographed last month at age 33 wearing his track halter from his racing days | Sarah Andrew
“I didn't know how I was going to afford another horse, but everyone I talked to said, 'You will never, ever have another opportunity to have a horse like this.' I've never regretted it. I'm the lucky one to have him.”
Hoffmann, who sells electrical supplies for a living and competed internationally on the U.S. karate team for a dozen years before being inducted into the USA Karate Federation Hall of Fame two years ago, explains how Influent came to be available.
“From what I understand, Mike [Becker] lost all his money when the dot coms crashed. He was paying just $25 a month toward Influent's care at Holly Crest [John Mazza's farm]. Mike didn't want to sell him, but after I leased him for a couple of months, he agreed. I paid all his back board and gave him money.
“What I owe to Mike Becker is my promise to put Influent first; his health and welfare are the most important thing to me. He's allowed to just be a horse. He's out 24/7 in a paddock with a stall that he can go in and out of. He's completely surrounded by paddocks and other horses.”
Influent plays in his paddock last month | Sarah Andrew
By her calculations, Hoffmann hasn't ridden Influent since 2016.
“I was born with a birth defect with my hip. It was painful to ride, but I've had a lot of fun riding him. Now I'm fixed, but he's old and so am I.”
Anyone who gets a glimpse into Hoffmann and Influent's partnership comes away with a profound sense of two soul mates who have found each other.
“He knows my moods like many horses do with their partners and knows when I need him most,” said Hoffmann. “He can erase the effects of the worst days with his enthusiastic nicker and nuzzling or just lay his head on my shoulder and stand with me for however long I need. He can be as stubborn as he is wonderful and if you try to make him do something you would be in for quite a battle of wills, but if you ask him, he will give you his heart and soul.”
It isn't remarkable to Hoffmann that Influent continues to thrive at 33. Her Quarter Horse died a few years back at 32. What is her secret?
“I've got to give the credit to Jean [Aker], who knows nutrition,” said Hoffmann. “That's her bag and she has taught me so much. Influent gets part senior, part low starch, timothy alfalfa cubes, and hay stretcher. He keeps his weight on. In fact, we have to watch that he doesn't gain weight. I truly don't believe I would have had either of my horses as long as I have without Jean's help and guidance.”
Influent and Hoffmann | Sarah Andrew
Hoffmann, modest to a fault, is uncomfortable talking about herself, but delights in talking about her horse. She shares a story that shines light on his sometimes-impish personality.
“Mazza's old track pony was here when Influent was in his late 20s. Somehow a soccer ball got in the paddock and Influent figured out he could push the soccer ball toward the pony and the others and it would freak them all out. He had such fun torturing them, but he doesn't bite or kick. He's just a doll.
“He can be a pain in the patootie, but he's so kind; there's not a mean bone in his body. We can put him next to old horses and he'll play gently, or we can put him next to young horses and he'll play roughly.”
Influent also enjoyed toying with his competition when he was a racehorse. During his biggest wins, he'd go straight to the front and dare the others to catch him. Hoffmann said Becker told her sometimes he'd get bored up there all by himself and wait for another horse to get close before he was willing to open up again.
After the 1997 Man o' War, Becker was emotional. Influent's co-owner and Becker's close friend Kumble had died during open-heart surgery four days earlier. He told Tom Hammond on live television after the race, “This is my and Dick's Kentucky Derby. No other race will ever mean to me as much as this will.”
There's little doubt Hoffmann would say something similar about Influent. No other horse will ever mean as much to her as Influent will. And while she appreciates his history and what he did in the sport, that's irrelevant to their relationship.
“Every day that I share with him is a true blessing,” said Hoffmann, “and I am grateful for each one because of who he is. He is so much more than his racing career.”
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