This Kind of Fame Isn’t Fleeting for Mandella

Despite experiencing a lot of success in a career spanning four decades, trainer Richard Mandella hasn’t had an easy time enjoying what he has accomplished.

A winner of eight $1-million races, including two Breeders’ Cup victories with Phone Chatter and Kotashaan eight years ago, and countless other stakes since he began training on his own in 1974, Mandella has not always savored the memorable moments.

“For most of the big races we’ve won, we’ve been on cloud nine for an hour or so and by the time the hour’s up, you’re worrying about the problems you had that day,� he said. “I wish I could say I’ve enjoyed success more. Somewhere in life I missed the education on how to do that.�

Earlier this year, however, something happened that Mandella, 50, is relishing.

The son of a blacksmith, Mandella, a California native who has been around horses all his life, was elected to racing’s Hall of Fame. He will be inducted at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Aug. 6.

Before Mandella heads east later this month--he’ll take about 10 days off to attend a wedding and visit friends--Hollywood Park will honor his achievement Saturday in a winner’s circle ceremony between races.

The main event that afternoon is the $100,000 Bel Air Handicap, a race Mandella has won three times. On his day, the trainer will try to win it again with Out Of Mind.

“When I was told I’d made the Hall of Fame, I was shocked,� he said. “It’s not something that I grew up thinking about, but it is one of the things I’ve come across in my life that the longer it goes, the more I’m enjoying it.

“I was talking to [trainer] Bill Mott about how this is different. You can run 1-2-3 in the Santa Anita Handicap [as Mandella did in 1997], and three races later get your butt kicked in a maiden race and you’re a bum again.

“With this, you don’t have to run again. This is it. The race is over. It is such a satisfying feeling.�

At Saratoga, Mandella will be joined by his wife Randi, son Gary, daughter Andrea and numerous other relatives and friends.

Trainer Dan Hendricks, who worked for Mandella for nine years before going out on his own in 1987, said he’s going to do whatever he can to be there on Aug. 6.

“After working for him for a couple of months, I found out how honest he was and a man of his word,� Hendricks said. “He cares and knows about horses better than anyone.

“He’s like a father to me. I was a young kid when I went to work for him and he kept me on the straight and narrow and put me on the right path. I don’t believe there’s a more respected guy at the track.�

The Hall of Fame experience also will be very meaningful for Gary Mandella. An assistant to his father, he began working at the barn before he was a teenager.

“Obviously, it’s special for your father to be recognized as one of the greatest at what he does for a living,� Gary said.

“Nobody knows better than myself how hard he has worked his whole life and how deserving he is. A big secret to his success is his work ethic, his attention to detail and his patience. He treats all of his horses well, but not all of them the same.

“He does not have a training regimen that he makes every horse fit into. He’s open-minded and willing to try different things with different horses.�

In retrospect, Richard Mandella wishes he had altered some things in his life away from the track.

After working for 18 months as an assistant to Lefty Nickerson, who Mandella once said “taught me as much, if not more, about life than about training,� he went to work privately for Roger Braugh in 1974.

Two years later, he opened a public stable. Driven to succeed, Mandella had to make sacrifices.

“I think, like a lot of people at 50, I’m enjoying my family more than I did when I was 25 or 30,� he said. “Back then, I was so desperate not to fail at my job.

“You wish you could go back and have your boy when he was 8 or 9 and playing T-ball and do it with him. You wish you could take your little daughter on picnics and things like that.

“If I had the opportunity now, I would probably take a day off and do that. But, in those days, I didn’t take any time off. I don’t think I was any different than a lot of people in any business. When you’re young and you’re struggling and you’re afraid you’re going to fail, you don’t want to step away.�

His dedication has led to many unforgettable moments at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, Del Mar and other tracks around the country, including:

* Finishing 1-2-3 with Siphon, Sandpit and Gentlemen in the Big ‘Cap;

* Winning four races on the Breeders’ Cup program at Santa Anita in 1993;

* Ending Cigar’s 16-race winning streak when Dare And Go won the 1996 Pacific Classic at Del Mar;

* Winning the Hollywood Gold Cup with Siphon in 1996 and Gentlemen the next year;

* Training 1993 horse of the year Kotashaan, sprinter Phone Trick--a horse in which he held 20% ownership--and a personal favorite, a California-bred named Bad ‘N Big.

Owned by the late Dr. Buck Wynne Jr., Bad ‘N Big gave Mandella his first graded stakes victory, the 1977 Cinema Handicap at Hollywood Park.

“I was numb in the winner’s circle that day,� Mandella said. “Dr. Wynne was a very influential person in my life. He helped talk me into opening a public stable and was there to support me when I did. . . .

“I remember Dr. Wynne told me he had a colt by Hoist The Flag, some other fancy, Kentucky-bred yearlings and this one little Cal bred he wanted me to go see and then tell him what I thought.

“After I saw them, I told him that they were all nice, but that cheap little Cal bred [Bad ‘N Big] was worth that whole package and more.

“Bad ‘N Big ran until he was 8. I think he got beat by a nose in an allowance race and we retired him. He came along and got right up to the big leagues.

“When you’re young and starting out and don’t have a lot of horses, you owe a guy like Bad ‘N Big a lot, a real lot.�

Mandella continues to have a loyal group of owners, people he enjoys and who enjoy him, he says.

“As far as I’m concerned, he is the most dedicated and most honest trainer in the business,� said R.D. Hubbard, former Hollywood Park chief executive, longtime Mandella client and co-owner of Gentlemen, a multiple stakes winner. “I can’t think of anybody who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame more. He was extremely excited and he called me as soon as he got the news. It’s gratifying that the people who voted realized how good he is.�