Meet the horse and trainer who have become a Kentucky Derby Cinderella story
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It’s hard to say who is getting more attention on the Churchill Downs backside — Fountain of Youth winner Gunnevera or his Venezuelan trainer Antonio Sano.
Both have overcome difficult pasts and accomplished tremendous feats to get to the Kentucky Derby and are building a following of admiring fans.
Gunnevera’s story begins at birth. Soon after he was foaled at Brandywine Farm in Paris, Kentucky, his 19-year-old mother, Unbridled Rage, began to hemorrhage. Despite the efforts of farm operators Jim and Pam Robinson, Unbridled Rage passed away three days later, orphaning her colt. They brought in a Paint mare to nurse the foal and he thrived under the extra attention he received around the barn.
When Gunnevera came up for auction at Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale in 2015, the young horse stood out to Sano. After studying Gunnevera’s pedigree on the advice of son and racing stable manager Alessandro, Sano liked what he saw on paper and liked the yearling even more when he saw him in person.
Sano planned to spend anywhere from $5,000 to $60,000 at the Keeneland sale and expected he’d have to pay $40,000 to $60,000 for Gunnevera alone. As one of the first few horses to go into the ring that day, Gunnevera may have caught potential buyers unaware. When the gavel came down Sano was the high bidder for owners Peacock Racing Stable at only $16,000.
“The sole impression for me was the style of his walk — his stride,” Sano told the Jeffersonville, Indiana News and Tribune. “I told my client, ‘Good price, good deal, good champion.’”
As Sano predicted, Gunnevera’s selling price was no indication of his value. Within nine career starts over less than a year in racing, Gunnevera has earned $1,170,200. He’s won three graded stakes races, including the Saratoga Special, the Delta Downs Jackpot and the Fountain of Youth; and he’s been in the money in two other stakes races — second in the Holy Bull and third in the Florida Derby.
But it’s not just what Gunnevera has done on the racetrack. He’s returned his trainer to the national stage.
Sano was a successful trainer in Venezuela before he left his home country seven years ago. Racing at Hipodromo de Valencia in Carabobo. his achievements earned him the nickname “Czar of the Hippodrome.” With 3,338 wins, he still holds the title as the winningest trainer in Venezuelan history, but he gave it all up after being kidnapped and held for ransom twice.
The first abduction lasted only a few hours, but the second endured for nearly six weeks. Not knowing whether he would live or die, his family drained their finances, sold belongings and called upon donations from friends and family to pay the ransom to bring Sano home.
One of those friends was Solomon Del-Valle, a partner in Peacock Racing Stable. Sano and his family left their home country and eventually began a new life in South Florida, where Sano started his career over with claiming horses at then-Calder Race Course in Miami Gardens.
“Never in my imagination, did I think I’d have this good moment in my life,” Sano said. “After my kidnapping in Venezuela, right now is a real difference. I am proud for my team, for my family. It’s very important for me, this moment.”
In addition to Sano, the connections of Gunnevera have strong ties to Venezuela. Two of the partners in Peacock Racing Stable are Venezuelan Del-Valle and his son-in-law Guillermo Guerra. Jamie Diaz Mengotti, originally from Spain, is the remaining partner of the stable and is responsible for the horse’s name. Gunnevera is a town in his home country of Spain. Jockey Javier Castellano, who will ride Gunnevera, is also from Venezuela.
Sano’s story of resilience has intrigued the horse racing community and filled the internet with stories of his tumultuous past and inspiring perseverance. The soft-spoken Sano has welcomed the attention and success he’s found in his new country. Despite the turmoil in Venezuela, it still holds a piece of his heart.
Winning the Kentucky Derby with Gunnevera would not only allow Sano to honor his birth country, it would allow his team to do the same.
“I pray to God to win the race for the big gift for Venezuela,” said Sano. “Right now, I’m 50 percent Venezuela, 50 percent USA. I love that the United States opens her arms for all people to come here. I thank God I am here in this moment.”
Oswald writes for the Jeffersonville, Indiana News and Tribune.