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Smart Admiral

Sex, Age: Gelding, 1996
Breed: Thoroughbred
Discipline: Racing
Stabled in: Laurel Racecourse, Laurel, Maryland
Owner: Virginia Run Stables
Trainer: Michelle Sperow Sharp
Veterinarian: Dr. Robert Vallance

When trainer Michelle Sharp stepped into the winner's circle on July 14, 2000 she felt the kind of pride that only comes from success after a long struggle. Reaching out to pat the sleek roan gelding, still puffing and hot from his effort, she thought back over the ups and downs of the past two years that had culminated in this elating moment.

In November 1998, Michelle had bought a small gray two-year-old for one of her owners. With the success of his first horse and with a growing enthusiasm for horses and the sport, he had been putting pressure on Michelle to find him another horse. As she prefers to buy privately rather than claim, she scouted a number of stables in Maryland and spotted a youngster with good conformation and decent breeding. To this day she is not sure whether it was the mounting pressure from her owner to find him a new horse or the horse himself, but soon the little gray, Smart Admiral, was stabled with her string at Laurel Racecourse.

But almost immediately the problems started. "Smarty" turned out to be a very difficult horse to train. Sometimes, when heading out to the track, he would wheel around, run into the barn and try to rub the rider off. He just didn't want to train.

He was no happier in his stall. He was a fretter. Instead of relaxing, he would "dig to China," pawing continuously. Visitors to his stall were greeted with his butt end. He was moody and irritable. He did eat well but was thin, almost gaunt.

Michelle saw early on that he wasn't coping well and would need individual attention. "Smarty" had come from a large stable where he was just a number, a kind of assembly-line horse. As part of Michelle's smaller string, he would get the special care he needed. With a background in horse showing, Michelle was conscious of how a horse should look, and "Smarty" just was not looking well. In his first race, a $50,000 claiming race in December 1998, he put in a dismal effort. Not only did he run poorly, but also he showed nothing.

His condition reminded Michelle of her experience with another horse about five years earlier. She had been training one of her parent's homebreds that was very thin and wouldn't put on any weight. Her father, a surgeon, suggested ulcers could be at the root of the problem, which jibed with the reading she had done on the subject. Taking advantage of her father's sample supply of ZANTAC® (ranitidine), they tried it on the horse and it seemed to help a lot, although it was not approved for use in horses.
Based on this experience, Michelle started "Smarty" on ZANTAC, and noticed some improvement in his disposition.

In his next race, in early January 1999, he was entered in a $14,500 claiming race. It was another poor effort. In subsequent outings, there was no improvement. Instead, things were getting worse. In March he was dropped down again, and entered in a $10,000 claiming race. He ran fourth, beaten badly. He raced again April 15 with a very poor effort. Michelle recalls he was washed out and very nervous. At this point, "Smarty's" owner told Michelle to sell him. "He has to go!" he said.

About this time, her veterinarian, Dr. Robert Vallance, had just laid in a large supply of the ulcer medication GASTROGARD® (omeprazole), which had just come on the market. He recommended she treat "Smarty" with the new product.

After much convincing by Michelle that "Smarty" was worth keeping, his owner agreed to give him a chance with GASTROGARD for a limited time. "Smarty" had shown some speed and talent at various times that made her think that if she could get him feeling better and overcome some of his problems, he would make a decent, serviceable racehorse.

In May 1999, after he had been on GASTROGARD for about a month, "Smarty" ran in a turf race at Atlantic City. With his poor form in the past, the odds were 70 to 1 against him. But the little roan surprised everyone and led all the way to finish a tough third. He was much improved and didn't wash out or get nervous. Then he ran at Pimlico, leading all the way to be beaten only by a length! The talent Michelle felt was buried under his physical problems was starting to show now that he was beginning to feel better. He continued to improve, showing some very fast times. He broke his maiden at Colonial Downs in September and is now a solid competitor in allowance ranks.

Since starting on GASTROGARD, Michelle feels he has become a new horse. "I've seen a lot of products come and go around the track, but nothing that has worked like GASTROGARD. It made a big difference for him. It really helped -- he's a happy horse now."

"Smarty" gradually gained weight and now is sleek and shiny. He is relaxed and friendly. When it came time for him to have several months of vacation at Michelle's farm in West Virginia, she kept him on GASTROGARD because he was doing "extremely well."

Back from his break in 2000, "Smarty" started four times, steadily improving from 9th to 4th to 2nd, until his wire-to-wire win on July 14. He won more money in that one race than in 12 starts in 1999.

As Michelle reached up to pat "Smarty" after the race, she smiled, remembering how he couldn't hit the board for $8,500 before GASTROGARD and now was winning a $28,000 allowance race on the turf at a mile and a sixteenth.

"I treat my horses as individuals, and they get what they need to be successful," said Michelle. "I don't think Smart Admiral would have made it in another barn where they don't get individual attention. I don't think he would have made it without GASTROGARD."