Trainer John Cooper postpones retirement at request of his owners

Hold off on the retirement cards for Quarter Horse trainer John Cooper.

Cooper, who turns 83 in January, won the 1,500th race of his career at Los Alamitos with Apollitical Pence in the $600,000 Champion of Champions last Saturday. The presence of that gelding in the stable and the insistence of longtime clients Jerryl and Dana Hartley that he continue training were the leading factors in the decision, Cooper said.

Cooper announced earlier this year that he would retire at the end of this month, a decision influenced by the death of Ron Hartley in January. The two raced the champions Moonist, one of Quarter Horse racing’s top older horses in the last 10 years, and Cartel Jess Rockin, who won the $1.9 million Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity in December 2019.

Ron Hartley had invested in yearlings and broodmares in recent years, and his daughter, Dana, and widow Jerryl, convinced Cooper to change his mind. Cooper discussed the decision after Apollitical Pence’s win.

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“This was going to be my last year, but [Dana] came to me and said, ‘John, you got dad to buy all them good mares and breed them to high-fire horses and now you’re just going to leave?’ ” Cooper said.

“I said, ‘There are things I want to do.’ They told me to just go do them and just train [the] horses. I’ll stick around for a little bit.”

When he announced his retirement, Cooper said that he and his wife Carol wanted to travel in 2021, with plans to visit friends in the Northwest, attend the Calgary Stampede and “go fishing.”

Apollitical Pence gave Cooper his second win in the Champion of Champions, the nation’s leading race for older Quarter Horse. Cooper won the 1979 running with Mr Doty Bars.

Jockeys suspended for whip use

Jockey Eduardo Nicasio, Mark Jasso, and Oscar Andrade Jr., were suspended or fined for excessive use of the whip in the Champion of Champions, Los Alamitos stewards Jim Dreyer, David Nuesch, and Richie Williams said on Sunday.

Nicasio, who finished third aboard Powerful Favorite, was fined $1,000 and suspended 10 racing days – from this Sunday through Jan. 15 – for using his whip more than six times in a race, more than twice in succession, and in an overhand position. Jockeys are permitted to use the whip only in an underhanded position, a policy that began in California on Oct. 1.

Andrade, who finished fourth on Chocolatito, was given a three-day fine for using the whip more than six times, while Jasso, who finished fifth on Eagle Coast, was fined $500 and given a three-day suspension for the same infractions cited in the Nicasio decision.

Andrade and Jasso will serve their suspensions on Sunday and Dec. 26-27.