By Art Wilson, Pasadena Star News
ARCADIA, Calif. (Feb. 13, 2015) — Got about an hour? Maybe two? That’s how long it will take for Bruce Headley to tell you about all the standout California-bred horses he’s trained during his 56-year career.
The old-school Headley, who believes hay, oats and water are the only ingredients a horse needs to be successful, received the highest honor a local horseman can receive Monday night at the Pasadena Westin when he was inducted into the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association Hall of Fame.
According to his daughter, Karen, his acceptance speech brought down the house. Not surprising, since Headley can be as delightful off the track as he is lethal on it.
“There are a lot of great men in there, in that Hall of Fame, that I learned from, so to be in there with the guys I learned from is quite an honor,” said Headley, who discovered at a young age that if you’re good to the horses, they’ll be good to you.
Headley has won 123 stakes races since taking out his trainer’s license in 1959, more than 40 with Cal-bred runners. He trained Bertrando when that colt finished second in the 1991 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile behind a spectacular performance by Arazi.
The three best Cal-breds Headley has trained?
Silveyville, Variety Road and Stylish Winner, according to the master himself.
Silveyville was a multiple-stakes winner on turf, Variety Road pulled a major upset when he defeated Ferdinand, Snow Chief and Broad Brush in the 1987 San Fernando Stakes at Santa Anita, and Stylish Winner ran third in the 1989 Santa Anita Handicap when Martial Law pulled off a 50-1 shocker.
Headley, who turns 81 Saturday, has long been known for giving injured horses the necessary time to recuperate rather than rushing them back to the races. He was an outspoken critic of the synthetics, claiming they caused soft tissue and hind-end injuries that were never prevalent on natural dirt surfaces.
Naturally, he was delighted when Santa Anita returned to dirt in 2011, and he’ll return to Del Mar this summer after boycotting the past few years because of the Polytrack surface. Del Mar has ripped out its synthetic track in favor of a new dirt surface that will be ready in time for its July opening.
“I’m really, really happy about Mr. Harper (Del Mar president and CEO Joe Harper) and Mr. Robbins (VP of racing Tom Robbins) putting back dirt,” Headley said. “I’ll be back down there with flying colors.”
Most likely with a few top Cal-breds.