**Please see attached photo of Benard Chatters. Credit NYRA.**
Friday, April 8, 2011
Contact: Jon Forbes
FROM THE BIG EASY TO THE BIG A
“Bold Forbes was just this big horse,” said Chatters. “And my brother [Maynard] and I just loved Cordero. Cordero was our man. That was the time. That was the awakening.”
Thirty-five years later, Chatters will saddle a pair of contenders on the Wood Memorial undercard in Smoke It Right, 6-1 on the morning line for the Grade 3 Bay Shore, and Mysterious Chimes, tabbed at 12-1 in the Grade 3 Comely.
In addition to their interest in Bold Forbes, the Chatters brothers’ zeal for racing was further fueled by their relatives’ involvement in the sport.
“We always loved horses all of our lives, and some of my mom’s family had been involved for a long time, but we grew up in the city,” said Chatters. “My mom didn’t want us dealing with racehorses, but growing up we’d do anything or go with anyone to get to the track.”
When Chatters was 19, he and his brother decided to become thoroughbred owners and bought a claimer named
“We bought our first project horse, and we never looked back,” said Chatters. “It was a real learning experience. My brother had his trainer’s license first, but we worked together the whole way.”
The brothers sought every resource available to learn about training thoroughbreds.
“[Trainer] Robert Adams was the first person who really helped us,” said Chatters. “We weren’t the typical horse-training people. We had to learn on the job. We bought a horse and started studying. We had some good people along the way who gave us advice, and we read everything we could get our hands on. We went to libraries and read everything they had.”
Chatters, who took out his own trainer’s license in 2000 and has won 97 races in his career through Thursday, said his exposure to music through his father’s career as a jazz musician helped form his training philosophy.
“I always like to think about horse racing as an art,” said Chatters. “Training is just like music: learn the fundamentals. In music, play your scales. It’s the same thing in this game: good horsemanship, clean stalls, good baths.”
Another person who left a lasting impact on Chatters was Stanley Scoffield, a recreational basketball coach from his childhood.
“The neighborhood we grew up in – this was a little before our time – didn’t have basketball goals,” recalled Chatters. “Scoffield’s philosophy was, ‘You don’t need a basketball goal! You can practice dribbling up and down. When you do have a goal, just get as close to the goal as you can and put the ball in the hoop. Pass. Put yourself in the right position. Learn the fundamentals of the game. Don’t worry about shooting the ball.’ It’s the same thing with this. Get your system in place, and the horses will come.”
Last year was Chatters’ best season to date as he won 17 races from 85 starts, with $436,813 in earnings. In addition, he picked up Drs. Kalarikkal and Vilasini Jayaraman, who campaigned 2009 Champion Three-Year-Old Male Summer Bird, as clients after meeting them at last year’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
For the Jayaramans, Chatters won the Martha Washington on February 12 and finished second in the Grade 3 Honeybee on March 12 at
Chatters, who trains Mysterious Chimes for the Jayaramans and Smoke It Right for himself and Rand Metoyer, will be saddling his first starters in
“I’m not too interested sightseeing,” said Chatters, who thanked the Cardenas and Esparza families for their assistance in his barn over the years. “For me, it’s just all about the horse. I’m back here at the barn. I’m hoping [Smoke It Right and Mysterious Chimes] can perform like they can. You want to show people what you can do if you get the opportunity.”
Regardless of the outcome of the
“Robert Adams taught me you have to give a horse every opportunity,” said Chatters. “You can be satisfied with victory or be satisfied in defeat if you’ve done the best you could do with the horse. You never have to second guess yourself.”
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