Tributes Pour In for Trainer Gary Sherlock

[Wandering Eyes]

Trainer Gary Sherlock passed away Sunday from lung cancer at the age of 73, and in what should be no surprise to any who knew him, the tributes that have poured his way all point to one unifying theme: a universal respect and admiration among his peers in California’s racing community.

Sherlock was born into the business–his father was a jockey, while his mother was a racing official. He was a mainstay of the industry since the 1950s, during which time he wore many hats. Trainer of both Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds. Assistant trainer. Pinhooker. Horsebreaker. Insurance salesman.

As a Quarter Horse trainer, Sherlock won scores of races at Los Alamitos, including the 1977 Los Alamitos Derby with Azure Three. “That was his big horse that everybody knew about,” said Sherlock’s long-time friend and barn patron, owner Terry Lovingier. “But he had lots of good Quarter Horses.”

As a conditioner of Thoroughbreds, Sherlock sent out 245 winners and accrued over $9 million in purses from two training stints that ran from 1979-1995, and from 2005-2019. The three-time Grade I-winning filly, Intangaroo, was his most illustrious protegee. The following remarks are edited for brevity.

Terry Lovingier, of Loveacres Ranch: I’m going to miss a dear friend. I sat at the FrontRunner Bar with him at the same spot for 15 years. I knew Gary from the Quarter Horses–from when I was in High School. He was about eight years older than I am. That’s how long I’ve known him. A lot of years together.

I still ride myself–I could talk with him about horses. It was horseman-to-horseman. The true story is, with a young horse, he would turn it out at the farm rather than go into the joint. That was just the kind of guy that he was. He was really good for the horses that way, and the horses stayed sounder, longer because of it.

The biggest thing for me is that end of the bar at the FrontRunner is just not going to be the same, not having him sitting in the same spot. I will tell you he hogged the channel changer at the end of the bar, though. We had to watch what Gary wanted to watch, whether it was professional football or whatever. He was in control of the channel changer!

It’s easy to celebrate somebody’s life whenever they were a good person. Gary was a good guy, and when you look back upon his life, people would be so lucky to have led the life that he led.

Gary Stevens, jockey: He was a great individual. Great father. He’s going to be missed on the backstretch. I looked forward to seeing his face out there every morning. Hard worker, and a consummate horseman.

I don’t think he had any enemies. He treated people the same as he treated his horses–with respect. I think that everybody respected him–all of his friends, obviously, and all of the horsemen. Thing about Gary, he didn’t mince his words. He was straight to the point, direct, with criticism and with compliments.

Everybody loved the guy–that’s very rare on the backstretch of any racetrack in the world.

Gary Stute, trainer: I just got to know him really well the last four to five years, and he was just a stand-up-straight guy. Good horsemen, and a nice guy to be around. He was always over at Los Alamitos when I was a kid and heard about him, and once I knew him, it was like, ‘No wonder everybody liked him.’ Been around the track his whole life. Good horseman. Sharp. Just a good guy.

Alonso Quionez, jockey of Intangaroo: I’m really thankful for him putting me on that filly, who won three Grade Is. He was very focused on the game, very professional. Very passionate. Always wanted to do the best for his horses. Everybody liked him–everybody got along with him. It’s very sad.

We’re like a family at the track–always trying to help each other. Gary helped me, especially with that filly. All I can say is I’m very thankful for what we did and had. We had great success together, great stories. When we won all those Grade Is together, we really enjoyed it a lot. Like a dream come true for the both of us, I think.

Huey Barnes, long-time assistant starter: He was a really good man, he was a very good trainer, and everybody really liked him. He was very likeable.

I knew him when I went over to the Quarter Horses [at Los Alamitos]. That’s where I first met him. Then he came over here [Santa Anita], started training here. He always treated me like a man, respected me. And I always respected him.

His was the old way of training–he doesn’t have the young methods of training now. He always lived on those old methods of training horses, and he was a good trainer. Not just because I work with his son [Mike, an assistant starter]. I knew him before he had any kids.

I never heard anybody talk bad about him–really. Nobody did. He’d been sick for quite a while, but I guess he kept it all to himself. He’s one person that’s going to be missed in the industry of training horses. He’s going to be missed by a lot of people at the track.

Kathy Walsh, trainer: I was fortunate enough to know his father [William], who was a good rider. Basically, [his father] was a good friend of my father’s–the older generation. They raced

around the Fairs, and Gary followed in his footsteps. He’d have been very proud of Gary–proud of his accomplishments.

Remember, Gary was very successful with Quarter Horses, and when he switched to Thoroughbreds, he was every bit as good. But most importantly, he was a good person, and he never forgot his friends, and he never forgot who he was. He raised a lovely family.

I guarantee, you won’t get many people to knock him. No. The trouble is, he had something [cancer] you just can’t beat, but he tried like hell, they said. The way everything is in racing right now, we do want to remember the good days and the good people. It brightens things up. But we had a major loss when we lost him.

Ray Bell, trainer: I’ve always thought of him as an astute judge of horse confirmation. I went to the sales with him quite often–we spent quite a bit of time together in Kentucky, critiquing individuals at the yearling sales, and I found that his judgement of horse flesh was very, very good. I know that he was a well-liked fellow–everyone seemed to enjoy his presence. And I know he had a wonderful wife and sons.

Mike Smith, jockey: Was not only a great horseman but a very kind and wonderful man. My condolences to his family.

The post Tributes Pour In for Trainer Gary Sherlock appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article