By Bloodhorse.com
PHOENIX, Ariz. (Jan. 5, 2022) — In the trials and tribulations of horse racing, a horse winning just four races in a row is an achievement to be lauded, but to win 10 in a row, and 12 for the entire year, is a rare phenomenon. Some of the greatest athletes in the history of the Sport of Kings have failed to accomplish such a feat, but a former $3,500 claimer named Shinny did it with bells on in 2021.
The now 5-year-old Cal-bred gelding, inconspicuous to the eye and slight of frame, was picked up by owner Robert Rosette and trainer Robertino Diodoro one Wednesday afternoon at Turf Paradise. At the time, Rosette’s stable had dwindled down to just one horse in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. When Rosette noticed Shinny in the program, he immediately contacted his trainer.
“I remember my first line to Robertino: ‘Look, I want to do something really degenerate,'” Rosette recalled. “He just laughed hard and said, ‘Well, what do you want to do?’ I told him how they have the $3,500 conditions race out here at Turf (Paradise) and I said, ‘There’s a horse that’s well-bred and if he’s no good we’ll put in him back in for the condition. But if he is good, maybe he just needs a fresh start and a new barn.’ And Robertino let me do it. I claimed him for $3,500.”
Shinny rallied nine wide into the stretch and cruised to the wire a 3 3/4-length winner that day.
“When he won that race and won nicely, I thought ‘OK, well, he’s not a bad horse.’ That win made me optimistic and excited about him,” said Rosette.
Four starts after that victory, Shinny kept on winning. Dirt, turf, slop, long, or short, the little horse with the strong late kick would always manage a way to find the wire first, primarily in starter optional claiming contests which allowed the son of Square Eddie to compete without running for a tag.
“Some of those races he won at Canterbury Park over the summer had $30,000 purses,” said Rosette. “Every time he’d run I’d look at the form and see horses that were a little bit better with a little bit better breeding and I keep thinking, ‘This can’t continue,’ but somehow he just pulls it off every time. He’s so tiny. You can literally lose sight of him watching his races. And it always looks like he’s going to lose, too, but he gets there right at the end.”
Once the diminutive gelding captured his ninth race of the year, Rosette admitted he checked the national standings for leading horses by wins—and was elated to see Shinny’s name in second place.
“It’s not something we shot for or anything, but (we are) definitely tickled pink that he has that distinction,” said Rosette. “It’s just one of many distinctions that he has now. He sure makes it fun for all of us.”
During the summer, Rosette flew out of his native Arizona to watch Shinny race at Canterbury Park. The little gelding found his way to the winner’s circle yet again, this time to the welcome of a cheering crowd.
“That was something,” recalled Rosette. “At the end of the race the announcer said to the crowd, ‘I don’t know if you bet this horse or didn’t bet this horse, but let’s have a standing ovation for Shinny.’ There must have been 10,000 or more people there just cheering for him after the race.”
Not only had Shinny’s exploits landed him in horse racing stardom, but his earnings for the year, $114,091, allowed Rosette to compete at a level of the game he never experienced before. Rosette journeyed to the 2-year-old sales for the first time and purchased a filly who is now in training with Diodoro at Oaklawn Park. He also claimed a horse for $50,000, something he joked was always “out of his league,” during the prestigious Del Mar summer meet. That horse, Tiger Dad , came back to triumph in the $60,000 Luke Kruythbosch Stakes at Turf Paradise in his first start for Rosette. It was also Rosette’s first black-type win as an owner.
“I owe it all to all to Shinny,” said Rosette. “He’s the claim of my lifetime, that’s for sure. I’ve owned racehorses pretty much my whole life. My dad owned racehorses, my family owned racehorses. I started buying my own Thoroughbreds around 2003 or so. I run a law firm so having the horses as a hobby just helps me to stay grounded and happy. Being involved in the game is just priceless for me.”
Shinny ended 2021 one win ahead of Greeley and Ben and Sevier , who each culminated their campaigns last year with 11 victories each. The gelding is also riding a 10-race streak into 2022, having capped his season with a facile two-length tally in a Dec. 17 starter optional claiming contest at Turf Paradise.
Rosette was quick to credit Diodoro’s team for Shinny’s success, and his regular jockey, Lindey Wade, who has flown around the country to pilot Shinny in nearly every one of his starts last year.
Off and running in the new year, Shinny makes his first start back Jan. 5 in a starter optional claimer at Turf Paradise, where he is listed as the even-money favorite on the morning line.
“I changed my flight to meet a client to be able to go see the race,” said Rosette. “I’ve missed a lot of his races before and now I’m building my schedule around Shinny because I just enjoy him so much. My whole office usually goes out there to see him run. If you look at the win photos, the number of people in the winner’s circle keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger.”
Rosette has modest goals for Shinny in 2022 coming off his stellar 2021 campaign, content with enjoying his rags-to-riches champion one day at a time.
“I just want to see Shinny run and stay healthy,” Rosette said. “He is eligible for his starter condition for another year. And maybe if after that condition is up we’ll have to figure out from there a proper spot where he can be competitive and run his little heart out.”