Learning From The Horses – Oliver Racing Stable

Vicki Oliver may have spent her entire life around horses, but that doesn’t mean she thinks she’s done learning from them.

Oliver, who runs a 40-horse stable based at Keeneland with husband Phil, grew up surrounded by horses as the daughter of owner/breeders G. Watts and Sally Humphrey. She also worked her way through a variety of roles in the business before settling on training.

“I did the show horse thing and thought racing was more interesting,” she said. “I kind of did all different aspects: I worked for the racing office, the publicity office, worked for Dr. [Mark] Cheney for a while, worked for a blacksmith. I was going to just break babies for people, but I found out I didn’t like letting horses go.”

That lifetime of experience was probably part of the reason why, when Oliver trainee Frivolous entered the gate of the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis Handicap as a 32-1 long shot on June 13, Oliver remained confident the 5-year-old mare belonged there.

After picking up her first graded stakes win in the Grade 2 Falls City last November, Frivolous was the heavy favorite in a Keeneland allowance race when she returned from winter vacation in April. The mare encountered early traffic and never found room to reach her naturally-high cruising speed, leaving her at the back of the field at the finish. Oliver wasn’t sure what happened to prompt the mare’s ninth-place effort in the G1 La Troienne on Kentucky Oaks day except that it was unusually warm that afternoon, and Frivolous had never handled sudden heat spells very well.

In the Fleur de Lis, Oliver’s faith in the horse was validated as jockey Jon Court took her on a stalking trip to beat favorite Sheer Drama by 1 ½ lengths. The race was a ‘Win and You’re In’ for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, which is especially exciting in a year that the race will be held in the trainer’s backyard.

The victory is also sweet since Oliver trains Frivolous for her parents, who bred the mare. Oliver conditioned Sixty Rocketts, another homebred for the Humphreys who became Frivolous’s dam. In some ways, Oliver said, she can see the family connection.

“I always thought the world of Sixty Rocketts,” said Oliver, who galloped both horses. “She used to kind of get out a little bit, and Frivolous does as well. Sixty Rocketts was tough to ride, and [Frivolous] is tough to ride. She always trains like a bear. She trains in draw reins, and she loves to train.”

In the barn though, Frivolous is incredibly gentle, taking treats and pats without any apparent notion of biting, and gently asks for Oliver to hug her face and rub her ears. She recently greeted a group of Make A Wish children who visited the barn with all the calm of an experienced school pony. Oliver said she has never seen the mare pin her ears in their three years together. It’s going to be hard, she admits, when this racing season is over and Frivolous leaves her spot in the revered first stall of the barn to begin a new career as a broodmare in Harrodsburg, Ky.

Frivolous victorious in the G2 Fleur de Lis.

The Humphreys sell their colts and keep their fillies for racing and breeding, so Oliver won’t have far to go to visit Frivolous when she retires to Shawnee Farm.

“I’d love to keep her another year, but it’ll be fun to have her foals, anyway,” she said. “She’s going to be a beautiful broodmare.”

The Olivers aren’t private trainers for the Humphreys—Vicki said many people think they are—but most of their stable still seems to be comprised of fillies at the moment.

“Colts are a little more straightforward, fillies are a little quirkier,” she said. “It’s like, I used to always have all male dogs, and then I got female dogs, and they’re completely different but I love them. They’re more loyal.”

Fillies are also incredible teachers, according to Oliver, and she’s nowhere near done learning from her horses.

“These horses teach you more than anything,” she said. “You never know everything, because one day you’ll walk in and say, ‘I’ve never seen that before.’ I think [my previous work] gave me a good background and I got to meet a lot of people, but I think these horses teach you more than any person can teach you.”

Look for Frivolous in the Delaware Park Handicap or the Shuvee Handicap at Saratoga, with sights on the G1 Spinster at Keeneland this fall.