Toronto ON.June14, 2015. STEALIN! .Jockey Justin Stein guides Bear Stable’s Academic to victory in the $500,000 dollar Woodbine Oaks.Academic is trained by Reade Baker. Michael Burns photo
HEADING HOME -JUSTIN STEIN retiring from riding
In the prime of his race-riding career, JUSTIN STEIN is going to hang up his riding tack.
He’s just 35-years-old so you know how it is with all of us who love the horse racing world – you can always come back. Gary Stevens is just one of many well known jockeys to come out of retirement past his 40th birthday and he did it twice.
And the friendly and generous guy who essentially stumbled into being a jockey 12 years ago is hoping to ride next weekend at Woodbine before saying goodbye.
Then, Justin and his wife Renee and four young boys plus a host of farm animals and two horses, are soon to be headed back home to British Columbia.
“We have been thinking about it for a while,” said Justin. “We bought a property in Kamloops a couple of years ago. I always said I would ride until I was forty but recently opportunities have come up.”
Those opportunities come in the form of 110 pregnant goats. Yes, a large herd of goats that will be the centre of attention for the family when they get to Kamloops.
“We had put our house and farm up for sale last fall to see what would happen and it sold quickly,’ said Justin. “Then we heard about a heard of pregnant goats for sale in Prince George, B.C. and we jumped at it: we’ve been paying for them for three months now.”
Justin, who emphasizes the outdoor life and resourcefulness to his children, is keen to return to his roots of living, essentially, the farm life.
“You can make soap from goat milk and cheese,” said Justin. It’s the perfect way to make a little money.
“I am looking to live a simpler life right now.I can walk away from race-riding without any regrets, I can say I am happy with what I have accomplished.”
Justin certainly is leaving as one of Woodbine’s top jockeys. In the last four years, Justin has won the Queen’s Plate, the Woodbine Oaks and 2 western Derbies.
The natural lightweight did a lot of amazing things on horseback and one of his talents was getting a horse to be comfortable on the early lead. That is how Canyon Farms’ Strait of Dover won the Plate in 2012. And last year, Justin was on 66 to 1 shot Academic and guided her to a front running shock of a win.
He then hit the road with that feisty bay filly and won the Canadian Derby and BC Derby on her in front of his home crowd.
Academic was named Champion Three-Year-Old Filly in Canada at the Sovereign Awards earlier this month.
He won his 1000th race on Battle Castle last September and has won 1,028 races in total from his 7,691 mounts. You can see his year-to-year stats below.
In total Stein has ridden the winners of 46 stakes races at Woodbine alone.
One of his most favourite horses,the retired millionaire Stormy Lord, lives with Justin and his family in Caledon at the farm they have recently sold. Justin adopted Stormy Lord after the Canadian-bred gelding was claimed and was racing in the US. Between him and trainer Ian Black, they got Stormy back and now the laid back chestnut is off to BC to discover the world of..well,, goat herding.
“He’s an amazing horse, so handy,” said Justin. “I got on him one day and started roping and he didn’t even need to be trained.”
Justin’s four sons and his wife are his foremost priority and his kids have all experienced some health issues in recent years. Gavin, who just turned three, was born with serious health problems and has already undergone surgery to remove a kidney tumour.
“Gavin is doing better and the doctors are comfortable with him being away from Sick Kids [Hospital]. Vancouver has a good hospital and Renee has lined up all the doctors out there. Plus, Renee’s parents live on the coast so she has somewhere to stay.”
For Justin, spending time with his family and watching his kids grow up trumps race-riding at this time.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. We are all pretty lucky to work at a racetrack. It’s going to be really hard not to ride races, see everyone, everyday on the backstretch. And I am not ruling out coming back, I am not selling my tack.
I have been supported my many great friends, and horsepeople and fans..it’s quite the ride…literally.”
Justin will still need his tack for this coming weekend as he hopes to ride a few races and give them all the same type of ride he gave Neil’s Diamond on Sunday when he saved ground, slipped through an opening off the turn and guided that 3-year-old to a big win for Franz Crean.
“We are very fortunate,” said Justin. “A lot of people have dreams but not everyone gets to follow them for various reason. We did this dream and now we are on to another one.”
Justin and Stormy Lord
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More biographical notes for Justin:
Won his first race at Hastings Park in 2004 notching his first win on August 28 aboard claimer Mayne Stating.
In 2005, his first full season of riding, Stein became an instant hit with west coast fans and bettors posting a meet-leading 148 wins, a Hastings Park record for an apprentice. The breakthrough campaign included victories in the Grade 3 British Columbia Breeders’ Cup Oaks and the Grade 3 Ballerina Breeders’ Cup Stakes with Monashee.
At the completion of the 2005 Hastings meet, Stein moved his tack to Woodbine where he made a strong impression on horsemen during the final weeks of the Toronto oval’s meet, winning 13 of his 97 tries.
Stein elected to ride full time at Woodbine in 2006, finishing fourth in the rider standings with 109 wins, and has been a fixture near the top of the table ever since.
In 2012, Stein won his first Canadian Classic, racing gate-to-wire with Canyon Farms’ homebred Strait of Dover to take the $1-million Queen’s Plate for trainer Dan Vella. He added a second classic score earlier this meet when filly Academic, trained by Reade Baker for Bear Stables Ltd., won the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks, presented by Budweiser, in track record time. Stein and Academic have since traveled to Northlands Park in Edmonton where they stormed home victorious in the Grade 3 Canadian Derby.
He won another classic, the Woodbine Oaks, last June on Bear Stables’ Academic with front running tactics, stunning the crowd at 30 to 1.
Academic and Stein then heade west where the pair won the |Canadian Derby at Northlands Park and the BC Derby at hastings. Academic was named the 2015 Champion Three-Year-Old Filly at the Sovereign Awards ceremony
The veteran rider is associated with a number of other notable horses include Alpha Bettor, Phil’s Dream and Stormy Lord.
Stein guided Alpha Bettor to victories in the Grade 2 Eclipse, Grade 3 Seagram Cup and Grade 2 Autumn Stakes in 2013, securing the Alphabet Soup chestnut, trained by Vella for Bulldog Racing, the title of Canada’s champion older horse of 2013.
An incredible 2013 campaign for Stein also included a score in the Grade 1 Nearctic Stakes with Paul Buttigieg’s homebred Phil’s Dream. Stein piloted Phil’s Dream to victories in seven of 10 starts that year as the Philanthropist gelding earned honours as Canada’s champion sprinter.
Stein will forever be associated with Stormy Lord as the jockey adopted the fan favourite last year and built a barn for the millionaire chestnut in the front yard of his Caledon home. Stein and Stormy Lord teamed up to win four races, including a pair of stakes wins in 2011 taking the $250,000 PTHA President’s Cup at Parx Racetrack in Philadelphia and the Labeeb Stakes at Woodbine.
Justin gave the 3-year-old NEIL’S DIAMOND lovely stalking ride on Sunday to win the 7th race – NORM FILES PHOTO
JUSTIN’S RECORD – Year Starts Firsts Seconds Thirds Earnings
2016 24 4 4 4 $138,478
2015 513 57 76 57 $2,811,722
2014 661 100 100 87 $5,143,536
2013 591 89 71 61 $4,917,482
2012 868 117 106 130 $6,579,948
2011 724 104 117 98 $5,171,361
2010 660 61 67 77 $2,911,148
2009 706 71 76 63 $2,695,916
2008 673 80 90 67 $3,287,296
2007 699 67 94 91 $3,570,913
2006 833 113 123 123 $4,938,676
2005 699 161 144 100 $2,538,597
2004 40 4 6 5 $49,841
