All in the Family

Raul Rodriguez | Jonathan Murrietta

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California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) and Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro) share a unique commonality. Both have a Rodriguez in their care. Songbird's exercise rider is Edgar Rodriguez, the son of California Chrome's groom, Raul Rodriguez. After Edgar watched Songbird's triumph in the GI Alabama last week, he called his dad from Saratoga.

“Now it's your turn, daddy,” he said.

Back on the West Coast, the spotlight shifted to the GI TVG Pacific Classic. Raul, after watching Songbird advance to a perfect 10-for-10 record in the Alabama, couldn't wait to relay his jubilation for his son's horse. But then it was back to business. Raul said goodbye to Edgar on the phone and shortly after, led California Chrome to the Del Mar receiving barn for the Pacific Classic. It was there, that Raul had a flashback to when he first started grooming Thoroughbreds.

“I saw Richard Mandella in the test barn and told Dihigi Gladney, [California Chrome's exercise rider,] that I used to work for Mr. Mandella; I was his groom,” Raul said.

Gladney approached Mandella. “You see that guy over there?” Gladney said, pointing out Raul to Mandella. “He said he used to work for you.”

“But that was many years ago,” Raul said. “[Mandella] didn't remember me. He noticed that I was California Chrome's groom, and he just told me, 'Lucky for you.'”

Raul was Richard Mandella's groom for a few months in 1982. He had already come to the United States from his native Jalisco, Mexico. Raul grew up on his father's ranch in the small county of Canadas de Obregon. Raul was one of 12 kids in the family.

“I worked on my father's ranch,” Raul said. “He had quarter horses. I rode a lot of years, riding quarter horses in match races in Canadas.”

Now 59, Raul reflects on his younger days in Mexico, where his true passion for horses began. He sits on a bench outside of California Chrome's stall at the Sherman barn on the Los Alamitos backside. It's mid-afternoon and all is quiet. He feeds California Chrome a cookie. Chrome and Raul have an unspoken bond, like they've been friends for ages.

“I've had Chrome in my stall since he was a 2-year-old,” Raul said. “He was a small, little horse. I had a stall that was empty, so I got [Chrome] off the van at Hollywood Park and put him in my second stall closest to the office. He was tired [coming off the van] and he just went into his stall and went to sleep.”

Raul was far from realizing his new 2-year-old chestnut would be a superstar.

“When Chrome worked his first quarter mile, the exercise rider told me, 'Raul, you have a stakes horse.'”

But it wasn't until California Chrome worked a half-mile in :46 that Raul really began to take notice of his talent.

“He worked [the half mile] in-hand,” Raul said. “Well, ok, maybe I'll have a little luck with this horse,” Raul remembers thinking.

Understandably so, Raul said California Chrome's wins in the GI Kentucky Derby and G1 Dubai World Cup were the most emotional and special to him. Raul has traveled the world with California Chrome, including those two trips to the Dubai World Cup. The first trip to Dubai in 2015, Raul admits, was tough on both him and the horse.

“It is completely different over there in Dubai,” Raul said. “They don't have any Mexican food.”

Raul added that California Chrome needed that experience in Dubai the first time. He was “100%” for the 2016 Dubai World Cup. Then, Raul said, Chrome needed a race in the GII San Diego H. at Del Mar, where he narrowly defeated Dortmund.

For the Pacific Classic, Raul was confident California Chrome was doing better than ever.

“You know, I was never scared of those couple of horses [in the Pacific Classic]–never,” Raul said, talking about Classic challengers Beholder and Dortmund. “My boss [Art Sherman] might have been nervous before the race, but I knew he would win no problem.”

Raul has been the top groom in the Art Sherman barn for the last 12 years. After learning from his father on the ranch about taking care of horses, Raul bought his own ranch in Jalisco. He met and married Florentina, his wife now of 32 years, and started a family on that ranch. Raul has three sons–Raul Jr., Edgar, and Freddy. Raul Jr. is also a groom for the Sherman barn, while Freddy and Edgar are both exercise riders for Jerry Hollendorfer.

“Edgar and Freddy learned to ride quarter horses in Mexico,” Raul said. “They come back to the ranch for vacation sometimes to break the babies.”

Raul's Jalisco ranch has gotten bigger and better since he first bought the place 30 years ago, thanks to California Chrome's winning ways.

“Chrome helped me finish construction on the ranch,” Raul said. “He helped me build a garage, fix and paint the house.”

Though he is sitting comfortably financially now thanks to California Chrome, who has earnings of $13,252,650, for Raul, it was a long road to finding success as a groom.

When Raul first came to the United States in 1975, he took any odd-job he could find to support his wife and three sons. He first lived and worked in Washington, picking apples and cherries for six months. Then, Raul moved the family to Southern California, where he found work in construction and in restaurant kitchens–anything to pay the bills.

Meanwhile, one of Raul's brothers started working as a groom at the Pomona Fairgrounds. Raul began asking around and met Richard Mandella's then-assistant trainer Jedd Josephson, who hired him to be a groom in the Mandella barn. After that, Raul was the groom for trainer Jerry Fanning. He worked for Fanning for about 10 years before moving the family up to Northern California to groom horses for trainer Allen Severinsen. Raul's wife Florentina found work as a hotwalker for Jerry Hollendorfer.

“My sons [Edgar and Freddy] would go to visit their mom at Hollendorfer's barn every day after school,” Raul said. “Jerry would see the boys and say, 'Go help your mom,' and he would give them a dollar, maybe two dollars, for helping her roll bandages and clean the stalls. Jerry would also buy them ice cream.”

All these years later, Freddy and Edgar are staples at the Hollendorfer barn, working horses for the Hall of Famer at Del Mar and Santa Anita. Edgar, 29, has had the call on Songbird since she first came into the barn as a 2-year-old. Asked if Freddy is at all jealous of his older brother that he gets to ride the champion Songbird in the morning, Freddy simply smiles.

“I'm not the type of person to get jealous,” Freddy said. “I'm really happy for Edgar.”

When asked about what it is like being on Songbird's back in the morning, Edgar corroborates the deceptive nature of his filly's speed.

“You don't feel like she's going that fast,” Edgar said. “She goes very easy. She's very professional. When I breezed her for the first time, I noticed she could run. She's very, very smart. She's more relaxed and mature now as a 3-year-old and she's been doing great [since the Alabama].”

When Edgar left Saratoga two Saturdays ago after the Alabama, he watched the Pacific Classic on his phone. After California Chrome's triumph, Edgar had to call up his father again that night to congratulate him.

“[California Chrome] can really run,” Edgar said he told his father.

Raul, on the other end of the phone, never stops being the proud, yet concerned dad.

“When I talked to Edgar, I said, 'You're riding a good filly [in Songbird], you better be careful,'” Raul said. “Every day I tell him to be careful.”

Raul plans to retire from grooming horses in three more years and then he said he'll go back to his ranch in Mexico permanently. He plans to visit his sons a few times a year in Southern California and check in on California Chrome at Taylor Made once a year.

“We've been blessed to be surrounded by good horses,” Raul said. “Now, a lot of my brothers, sons and nephews are working with horses out here in California.”

Interesting to note, Armando Rodriguez, Raul's nephew, was the groom for the late Shared Belief. Armando shared the stage with his uncle when Shared Belief and California Chrome ran against each other in the GII San Antonio S. and GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita in 2015.

“The Rodriguez family likes horses,” Raul said. “From my grandpa all the way down, reaching to my sons–they are continuing the story.”

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