Johnson finds Bizerk's calling after all

Marvin Johnson was running out of options last year with the 5-year-old gelding Bizerk. Bizerk, whom Johnson bred, owns, and trains, had talent that looked useful for an Indiana-bred early in his career, but last summer Johnson dropped him all the way down to $5,000 conditioned claimers, and Bizerk still required three tries to notch a win.

Bizerk had sprinted nearly his entire career, and Johnson had one more card to play. Bizerk had run well in a few turf-sprint tries, and it looked like he might coax something a little better out of the gelding this year at 6 if he could find some short grass races for him.

But in June, lacking such options, Johnson ran Bizerk in a $16,000 claimer going two turns on turf. Bizerk finished second by a nose, his Beyer Speed Figure rose 27 points, and suddenly it seemed like the gelding might have a path to at least marginally more success.

Turned out to be more than marginal. Bizerk won two turf-route allowance races earlier this summer, and on Tuesday captured the $107,000 A.J. Foyt Stakes for Indiana-breds.

“I thought all he wanted to do was sprint; didn’t think he’d go long,” said Johnson. “I was getting a little frustrated with him and just kind of stumbled into this. Two turns on the grass was a last resort.”

Johnson, a 63-year-old native Nebraskan, has been around a bit. The last horse he trained whom he remembers showing even comparable improvement was a claimer he got a hold of in 1990. Johnson popped around various Midwest venues before setting up at least semi-permanent shop in Indiana a half-decade ago. He now owns a dozen mares, makes a good living in the Indiana-bred divisions, and even used to own Bizerk’s sire, the Smart Strike stallion Drinkwiththedevil. The stud since has been sold and stands in Pennsylvania, but Johnson still has Bizerk in the barn.