Lightning in a Bottle (Part II)
January 14th, 2004by Chad Summers
Galloping Grocer At Belmont Park
Adam Coglianese Photo
“Attention Shoppers! New York-bred on the Kentucky Derby shopping list.”
Remember the undefeated, two-year-old, New York-bred gelding, who won the Sleepy Hollow Stakes? He is owned by “the little guys and trained by a long-underrated trainer?
No, this is not an article about Funny Cide from the archives, but rather, “Lightning in a Bottle (Part II).”
Robert Rosenthal and Bernice Waldbaum’s gutsy gelding, Galloping Grocer, is a long way off from the accomplishments of Funny Cide, but a victory in Saturday’s Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct might just get that yellow school bus rolling again.
“You always dream,” Rosenthal says. “I’m a pretty practical guy, and a realist, but I always knew it could happen. You don’t have to spend millions of dollars to get a great horse. I always thought if I was in this game long enough, I could get lucky and have that horse you dream about. I think Galloping Grocer is that horse.”
If there ever were a person aware of the risks of Thoroughbred ownership, it would be Bob Rosenthal. As the co-owner of First Long Island Investors in Jericho, New York, Rosenthal manages people’s money and attempts to increase their wealth through his investments. That’s how he met partner Bernice Waldbaum.
Waldbaum, and her late husband Ira owned the food store chain that bears their last name. Rosenthal had met them when he was an executive for Entenmann’s (baked goods now found in grocery and convenience stores around the country) and had quickly befriended them.
“I had known Ira for a long time,” Rosenthal recollected. “About 15 years ago, he came into my office, saw the Daily Racing Form on my desk, and told me to either make him a partner in a horse in one week or I was fired. I hoped that he would forget but sure enough the next week he was back there in my office, asking if I had reached a decision.”
The horse that he made Waldbaum a partner in was Little Evie, a filly that Rosenthal purchased at a two-year-old in training sale.
“She was a vibrant, interesting horse, who did her best racing between 7/8ths and 1 1/8-miles,” Rosenthal said. “I liked her so much that when we retired her, I decided to keep her as a broodmare.”
Little Evie’s best son to date was Little General who won nine races and tried in every race he ran.
“When Ira passed away I was heartbroken,” Rosenthal shared. “He had been a great friend and when it came to the horses I owned with him, he was always so enthusiastic. I really feel that every time we won a race, he took more joy in that, than if I had told him he had just made a fortune in business. I asked Bernice and his family if there was anything I could do for them, and after they thought about it, she asked if I could name a horse after him.”
Enter Galloping Grocer.
At the time, the homebred son of A.P. Jet and Little Evie was just a precocious-looking yearling, but when he finally arrived at trainer Dominick Schettino’s barn, Rosenthal was convinced Galloping Grocer was going to be a good horse. He really didn’t know how good however, until Schettino informed him that Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero had worked Galloping Grocer, and had given him the commitment that John Velazquez would ride him in his debut.
Since then, Galloping Grocer and Velazquez have made an awesome connection. The gelding has won every start in his three-race career by open lengths, including a 7 1/2-length tally in the Sleepy Hollow Stakes, never having seen or felt a tap of the stick from Velazquez.
“We knew he was fast, but we didn’t know he was going to be this fast,” Rosenthal stated. “My nine-year-old son Gregory follows everything, everyday, and is dreaming of going to the Kentucky Derby. As a realist however, I’m still just dreaming of the Remsen and taking things slowly. Galloping Grocer has my whole family excited. I missed his first race, but I know I will never miss any of his races again. In fact, the phone won’t stop ringing. There’s going to be about 50 people I know come to Aqueduct for the Remsen.”
“I was a part-owner of the New York Islanders for six years,” Rosenthal said. “And I’ve had good success at my job, but nothing compares to the feeling of a horse you own, with a jockey wearing your silks, entering the starting gate with your heart pounding. There is nothing else like it.”
