Good trainer, but he insisted on driving, Another Matt Bax, I never understood these Trainers who insist on driving while the real drivers watch.
They knew that was part of the deal. He made them a lot of money and produced many good horses for them. If he was mine I might feel the same way about a top driver but I don't think I could ever pull the horse. Blair Burgess won the Hambo 2X and I think I remember people like John Campbell and others there.
As for Ronnie getting a percentage I believe that is untrue, they should give him a breeding share regardless of this article.
My guess is on Big Ranger is somebody gone in Madison Globals ear that if they won the Hambo he would be worth tons at a stallion and somehow that's how he got moved. But that's speculation.
The bottom line is Ronnie picked out and trained Sugar Instead, , Banana Beach,Big Ranger., plus OHSS 3 yo with Alagna My Boy Pank.
The people who moved Banana Beach did not even talk to him at all from what I have heard. It doesn't make a lot of sense because if you meet Ronnie he is as nice as can be. He trains horses very hard and those owners I believe are thoroughbred people and wanted their horses in a top looking farm looking great. So it makes sense they chose a first class operation like Pinske's.
Pinske, does a fine job and heard only good things about him but he has never developed anything like Sugar Instead, Banana Beach and Big Ranger if i'm not mistaken.And they spent way more money trying to do so.
Those 3 horses the owners spent 51K and have made 1.7 million in purses. ++++++ Big Ranger as stud? Banana Beach and Sugar Instead babies ? add probably 1-2 million to that number. And they are all still racing. Any owner would be happy to get one of them in a lifetime.
Big Ranger IMO is a freak. He will win the Hambo. People can do with their horses what they want. But the optics aren't the best.
