By Jennifer Morrison

AJAX, ONT—AUGUST 6, 2020—Cody Sabila was only 7-years-old when One Famous Glass was in the midst of his Horse of the Year campaign at Ajax Downs in 2013.

Owned by his grandparents Carol and Bryn Robertson, their daughter-in-law Jaime and Dr. Charles Hall, One Famous Glass dominated fellow 3-year-olds that year, winning six of eight races, including two stakes, all before Sabila had jumped on a friend's rogue pony and settled him down enough to be ridden.

Now, the soon-to-be 14-year-old Sabila is not only an accomplished young man on horseback and a farrier-in-training, but he has played a big role in the successful return to racing of the 10-year-old Quarter Horse One Famous Glass.

In fact, Sabila has ridden all of the horses in the current stable of the Robertsons who own Hillerin Farm in Hillsburgh, home not only to One Famous Glass, but the 2019 Horse of the Year Had to Be Ivory.

And when One Famous Glass returned to racing July 15 after an almost two-year absence and won, it was Sabila who received some of the credit for exercising the powerful horse since April.

“I watched the race with my grandma (Carol) on the big TV and there was a lot of screaming and excitement,” said Sabila. “And when he came back to the farm he was like a 2-year-old, bucking, rolling and kicking.”

One Famous Glass, a stocky, sorrel Texas-bred son of One Famous Eagle, was purchased by Bryn Robertson for $10,000 at an Oklahoma yearling sale (Heritage Place) in 2009.

As a 2-year-old, the gelding, nicknamed 'Eagle,' was a winner and stakes placed before he blossomed as a sophomore. In 2013 he won two Derbies at Ajax Downs leading to his Horse of the Year title presented by the Quarter Racing Owners of Ontario Inc.

That huge season came just in the nick of time for the Robertsons, who like many in the Ontario horse racing industry, had trimmed down their horse population when the slots-at-racetracks program partnership program was cancelled.

The Eagle continued to fly high for the family winning 11 more races from 2014 through 2018, including the 2016 Alex Picov Memorial Championship and the 2017 Bank of America Challenge, defeating a rising star at the time, Country Boy 123.

The Robertsons retired Eagle following the 2018 racing season, as his breathing was becoming problematic. Until the spring of 2020, the gelding hung out in one of farm's paddocks, occasionally babysitting foals who would escape their mothers to hang out with the famous gelding.

But in March, Cody began riding Eagle around the farm for fun and the gelding perked up.

“He was looking so good,” said Carol Robertson. “So we took him to Ajax for workouts and you could tell by his attitude that he was happy to be part of it again.”

One Famous Glass showed little sign of rust when he won his comeback race, crossing the finish line with his ears pricked looking for more.

“When I was first riding him around just as a regular horse, he hated it,” said Cody. “When I started to take him back out to the track at the farm he just loved it.”

One Famous Glass, at 1,200 pounds, is a gentle giant but also able to go from a standing start to 30-35 miles per hours in a couple of strides.

During this interview with Cody and his team members, Eagle powered through a gallop with Cody on board and after his exercise, rolled and sprinted around the arena like a young horse.

“It is so exciting to see a horse that you ride and help train on the farm go on to win a race,” said Cody.

Cody spends most of the summer at his grandparents’ farm, which is not far from his home in Elora where he lives with his mother and sister Autumn. He is heading to grade nine in the fall but it is fairly certain the young man already knows what he wants to do.

“Cody has always had a keen eye for horses even from a young age,” said his mother Kim. “At a friends place years ago, their daughter's pony was running off on her and bucking. Cody wasn't quite seven and he came up and whispered to me, 'ask if they will let me try that pony.' That little feisty pony had one eye and a mind of its own, and Cody jumped on and had it riding like a gem in short order. We came home that night with his first pony, Smarty.”

His uncle Mike, the Robertsons' son, who has been the exercise rider for the family's horses for years and is a successful farrier, has taken the young man under his wing.

Cody has been accompanying his uncle to work for about four years to learn and assist in shoeing. He already has a few clients of his own.

“Watching him develop his trimming and shoeing techniques with my brother amazes me on a daily basis,” said Kim. “There is a confidence and pride that emits from Cody when he is around horses. And then this spring when he started breezing the race horses like One Famous Glass for my dad and brother, he has gained self esteem, self confidence and pride, all the things we desire for our kids to have as they grow up.”

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Reposted Courtesy Ontario Racing