Patience Pays Off For Alter With 'Apology'

Thoroughbred racing is an inherently regenerative sport. Every year, a new crop of 2-year-olds arrives on the scene and piques our collective interest about what the future holds. The stars of today quickly give way to the stars of tomorrow. The allure of the Triple Crown, in particular, is an intoxicating one for all of the game's stakeholders. Precociousness is an increasingly desirable trait, as breeding and training techniques shift more emphasis to horses who can win early and provide more immediate return on investment.

Every now and then, however, sticking it out with a horse whose brilliance has been bundled with physical issues can be greatly rewarding. One of these instances came to bear Mar. 11, when 5-year-old mare Apologynotaccepted (Fusaichi Pegasus) made her belated debut on an otherwise sleepy Friday at Gulfstream Park. The David Kassen trainee, breaking from the rail, blasted out of the blocks, widened at every call and cruised home to a staggering 16-length victory under Emisael Jaramillo in 1:09.89, becoming a very unique 'TDN Rising Star' in the process (video).

Happy Alter, Apologynotaccepted's breeder and owner, made his bones for several decades as a trainer, conditioning horses like star handicapper Jolies Halo (Halo) and longtime nine-furlong world record holder Frosty the Snowman (His Majesty). His deep roots in the game let him know when special talent reveals itself, and he had no problem exercising all the patience his runner required to get to a starting gate.

“I never tried to breed her,” Alter said. “She showed me unusual talent and I knew she just needed time to come around and show everyone what she was.”

With Apologynotaccepted consistently experiencing what he termed as overall body soreness while training as a young horse, Alter decided to take his filly off the track temporarily.

“I tried turning her out for a short time and [the soreness] was still evident,” he recalled. “I said, 'I don't want to go on with her, I don't want to hurt her anywhere.' I sent her to Bridlewood Farm, where I've had my horses for about 30 years. They did an excellent job, I brought her back and she was able to go on, never showed any injuries or having anything wrong with her whatsoever. All the body soreness and everything came out in the pasture, just walking around, taking it easy, like somebody that went on a long vacation to a special spa.”

Eventually it came time for Apologynotaccepted to return to training, with an eye on finally making it to the races. Around then, Alter encountered some skepticism, to say the least, when trying to decide what barn to send her to.

“I won't mention his name, but when I told another trainer that I had some nice horses coming in and one is going to be a 5-year-old maiden, he said: 'Happy, find another job for that horse. Not racing. Maybe a riding horse for your daughter to practice polo, but find another job for that horse.' I said: 'No, no, no, this horse has all kinds of talent.'”

Kassen, who Alter connected with because he noticed they had similar training styles, was a bit more receptive.

“I told Dave I have a maiden who's going to be five coming in,” Alter recalled. “Dave said to me: 'Happy, if you believe in the mare, then I'm going to believe in the mare. We're in.'”

Alter co-owns the successful traffic barrier purveyor Bob's Barricades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., but his passion has always been in racing. He brings to the sport a wellspring of knowledge gained not only from his own experiences, but from the teachings of some of the most legendary Hall of Fame mentors the game could provide. When queried to elaborate on his backstory, he eagerly credits many of these past tutors.

“I appreciate you asking, because I'm able to give honor to some people who aren't on this earth anymore,” Alter offered. “Frankie Merrill, the 24-year-in-a-row leading Canadian trainer and four-time American leading trainer, took me under his wing and trained me in every aspect of this wonderful sport that we have.”

Alter explained that Merrill would ask him to write down what his plans would be for, say, a horse stretching out in distance. Merrill would do the same, then they would pull out their notes and talk about the differences in tactics.

“When I got to the point where I could pull out of my pocket and match what he wrote,” Alter went on, “He said, 'Go get your own license.'”

From there, Merrill turned Alter over to two-time GI Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Horatio Luro.

“Horatio was so pleased with me,” Alter recalled, “that when he retired, he gave me a string of horses to train before his step-grandson took out his license.”

Last, but certainly not least, Alter reflects on his relationship with the great H. Allen Jerkens.

“He and I became real good friends,” Alter said, “He would drive all the way out to Weston, where I lived. We spent all kinds of hours together, talking about horses' training schedules, feed programs, the blacksmiths that we used. When you're with 'The Giant Killer,' you learn things and you appreciate things. I just enjoyed so many times with him. I have really looked back at things that I try to utilize now that I'm managing horses.”

Still speaking like a trainer, Alter has a plan mapped out for Apologynotaccepted that includes the GII Princess Rooney S. and, eventually, the Breeders' Cup. He also mentioned that his phone has been ringing off the hook since his mare's sparkling debut.

“I've had offers from probably every state where there's racing,” he revealed, adding that his ideal scenario would be to sell a 50% interest in the horse. “That would be my choice of doing it, continue to have some fun, hope everything goes well and be with a good partner in the Breeders' Cup.”

Apologynotaccepted's dam, Withmom'sapproval, named for Alter's now 100-year-old mother, has had three foals since her, all by Curlin, the second of which–Curlin's Approval–is in training with Marty Wolfson. She was also bred to Tapizar in 2015 and Morning Line this year.

As for the name, Apologynotaccepted? Well, that's another one Alter has a story for.

“I have a friend I grew up with since kindergarten,” Alter explained. “We had a falling out. Frank Stronach came to me and said, 'Happy, he's your friend and you're my friend. You guys have been friends for so long, come on and shake hands. He said he's sorry, shake hands.' I said, 'Frank, apology not accepted.' He came back to me about 10 days later and said, 'Come on, Happy, for me.' I said, 'OK, Frank.' So we're friends again, and that friend was in the winner's circle the other day.”