Dean celebrates, mourns

The past weekend was the best of times and the worst of times for James “Friday” Dean as the Ontario-based trainer, who winters at Southern Oaks Training Center in central Florida, garnered O’Brien trophies for Doonbeg and Domitian Hanover Saturday night, one day after learning his friend and former blacksmith, Mike Sluss, and his wife, Melinda, were killed in the deadly tornado outbreak near Southern Oaks.

“Mike was my blacksmith for the last three or four years,” Dean told harnessracing.com Tuesday afternoon. “Most of his shoes were hand made. He was like an old-fashioned blacksmith.”

Dean was the only trainer to win two O’Brien Awards. He said both 3-year-old Domitian Hanover and 4-year-old Doonbeg are on schedule to return to the races this year.

“Domitian Hanover, we’re going to try and go the same schedule as Doonbeg last year,” he said. “Get up there, qualify, and hopefully get an overnight race for him before a start in the Burlington.”

Dean said Domitian Hanover, who won the Ontario Sire Stakes Super Final last year at two, has matured a bit over the winter. “He got a little thicker and maybe a little longer in the body. He’s a nice-sized horse.”

Dean said he wasn’t sure if Domitian Hanover would win the O’Brien over Artzina, who had victories in his Metro and Breeders Crown eliminations before finishing respectively fourth and third in the finals.

“It was kind of a toss-up,” he admitted. “If Doonbeg hadn’t won it I would have felt a little disappointed. Whereas if Domitian had got beat, I would have just said he didn’t get the votes. It wouldn’t have bothered me as much as if Doonie hadn’t had got it.”

Dean said Doonbeg, the diminutive-sized colt who won several stakes and became a fan favorite because of his stature, hasn’t grown from his 14 hands, but he has filled out some.

“Actually, I think he filled out more this year than he did between his 2 and 3 year old year,” said Dean. “He didn’t get taller, but his rear end is a lot bigger than it was.”

Dean says he is not sure if Doonbeg’s size will work against him this year while competing against older horses, but he has faith in his charge.

“It’s tough to say, but (his size) has never stopped him before,” he said. “After we race him a few times, we’ll find out then. But I’ll never, ever say he can’t do it, because he’s always been an overachiever, that’s for sure.”

Dean said he will ship north in early May and plans to race Doonbeg in a few overnights at Mohawk before shipping his charge to the Meadowlands for the Haughton Memorial elims June 30.

As for his weekend trip from the warmer weather to the frigid north, Dean said with a laugh, “Now I know why I go down south. Man, it’s cold up there. I don’t know how those people go outside to jog horses.”

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