Many who know him probably aren't familiar with his registered name. Stephanie Pastore, who has owned him for 16 years, refers to him as "Halo." To The Jockey Club, he's Jerry Jillette, which sounds more like a South Florida car salesman than a Florida-bred racehorse. But it's the name given him by breeders North Star Equine when he was foaled in the Sunshine State in 2003.

 

Pastore, who dug deep into the now 22-year-old gelding's background, always wanted to know the significance of his name. She was never successful, leaving all to speculate about the elusive Jerry Jillette.

Pastore's story is a cautionary tale, with a twist. At 41, she found herself post-divorce and living with her widowed mother in Old Tappan, N.J. "Bored with my life and depressed," she started taking riding lessons in 2008 after riding and showing as a child.

"I was all happy again, and I was remembering something my father said to me: 'When you can afford it, you can get a horse,' " Pastore said. "So it popped into my head one day -- 'OhmyGod, you can get a horse. You can afford it.' "

Her search began online with websites like Dream Horse and Equine Now, where she found a nearly black gelding and kept returning to his listing.
Pastore arranged for a trial, accompanied by her instructor and the instructor's niece. When she saw him, Pastore was instantly in love.

"The looks alone had me," she said. "The seller rode him first, and I thought he was tremendous. She even jumped him, and I hadn't jumped for a long time. He over-cleared the fences like you wouldn't believe. Then I got on. I just walked around for a minute and as soon as I trotted, he had me. I had never felt anything like it in my life. He was calm and the perfect gentleman. I was like, 'I have to have this horse.' "

Her instructor urged her to continue her search and try other horses, but Pastore was convinced the 6-year-old was her perfect match. Within a few days, she contacted the seller to say she was interested in making an offer.

"At that time, I didn't know much about buying and selling horses," Pastore said.

What she did know was that the horse was listed on several websites at different prices. The advertisement she pursued, which listed him as an appendix-registered Quarter Horse/Thoroughbred, offered him at $7,500. A different website stated he was a Thoroughbred with an asking price of $12,500. Pastore offered $5,000; the offer was rebuked, but the seller finally agreed to accept $6,500. Pastore arranged a pre-purchase exam with a local veterinarian.

"The vet was very good and honest with me. She said, 'Heart's good, eyes are good, his feet need a little work,' but she had noticed a little something in the right front. Did I want to do a nerve block? When the vet went back a few days later, she said he was a totally different horse. Very up and animated, but did appear sound. So OK, I buy the horse, and this is one of those stories that makes people realize you really should know more before you go buy a horse."

As expected, there was excitement -- and growing pains -- after she brought her new mount to the boarding facility where she rode. Not long after his arrival, the calm, perfect gentleman began running off with her on a regular basis. With no turnout available, "Halo" was not adjusting well to so much time in a stall. It wasn't long before Pastore's instructor advised her to get rid of him.

Pastore had a simple answer, "No."

"Was he too much horse for me at the time? Probably yes. But I was searching for someone who could really teach me how to ride," she said. "I wanted someone to help me help him. I had made a commitment when I bought this horse, and he wasn't going anywhere, no matter what."

So began a quest to discover as much as she could about her horse. His Coggins test listed his previous owner as Cranbury Stables -- an auction lot in Cranbury, N.J. The date indicated it had been drawn just a few weeks prior to her finding the horse online.

His difficult-to-read tattoo revealed his true identity. Jerry Jillette was by the Storm Cat stallion Tiger Ridge, a half-brother to A.P. Indy out of the blue hen Secretariat mare Weekend Surprise. His dam was Shuga Cane, by Belek. He was purchased for $42,000 from the 2004 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky select yearling sale by agent Brian Morgan.

Jerry Jillette made his first start at Belmont Park Oct. 26, 2005, for trainer Carlos Martin and owners Philip and Marcia Cohen. He won and was claimed for $35,000 by Jimmy Ferraro for Sanford Goldfarb, and spent the next two years running in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, changing hands six times before ending up in the barn of Shaun Baker late in 2007. His last start came Oct. 31, 2007, at Penn National. He left racing with a statistical line of 34-5-8-4 and $113,200.

Determined to contact Baker, Pastore called racetracks where he had run horses. Not surprisingly, those offices wouldn't divulge any information. She noticed the name of a jockey who had recently ridden for Baker -- Vince Halliday -- and decided instead to reach out in that direction.
Through a Google search, she found Halliday via an Irish social-media account on Bebo and sent a message: "Hi, my name is Stephanie. I bought this ex-racehorse and I'm having some problems with him. I'm looking for the trainer who had him last, Shaun Baker. And I saw that you had ridden for him so I was wondering if there was any way you could put me in touch with him. I'd appreciate any help you could give me. If it's easier, this is my phone number."

Two days later, Halliday left her a voice mail: "Hiya, this is Vince Halliday calling. I received your email. Gimme a wee buzz when you get a chance."

At first, the brogue threw her.

"How am I going to understand this person on the phone?" she asked herself. She called, talked to Halliday, explained the situation and he asked a simple question. "Well, what are ya feedin' him? Maybe that's your problem."

Halliday gave Pastore Baker's contact information. She was a bit apprehensive, but Halliday assured her that Baker would be thrilled to know she was giving an ex-racehorse a good home. Before ending their conversation, Halliday told Pastore to, "Keep in touch and let me know how it's going."

Pastore appreciated Halliday's help, and reached out to Baker.
"Which horse do you have?" the trainer asked.

"Jerry Jillette."

"Black with a white stripe on his face, he's six years old?"
"Yes, that's him."

"I love that horse."

Paydirt. Pastore was overjoyed with the information Baker shared. He had Jerry Jillette's win photo on his mantle at home. The horse's favorite foods were Pringles -- "the spicy chips in the can" -- and pepperoni pizza. Baker referred to the gelding as, "a star who can do anything."

Baker was just as interested to hear what Pastore had to say. She filled him in, and explained the problem she was having with him running off with her.

"Well," Baker asked, "What are ya feedin' him?"

Pastore kept her promise to Halliday, giving him updates about her progress with Halo. Emails turned to texts, texts to phone calls, phone calls to weekend visits with Pastore making the drive from New Jersey to Landenburg, Pa., where Halliday was living while working mornings at Fair Hill Training Center and riding races in the afternoons.

"Things evolved from having a nice friendship to maybe there's a little more to this," Pastore said. "Then one day he called me his girlfriend."
Pastore and Halliday were married in 2012. She credits him, and her exposure to so many horsemen in the racing industry, with deepening her affection for Thoroughbreds and expanding her knowledge. As a jockey's wife, she traveled with him to different racetracks, "obviously learning a lot."

Halliday learned about horse shows and dressage as Pastore continued to progress with Jerry Jillette. Comments upon meeting the horse for the first time all those years ago proved prophetic. Watching Pastore beam and shower him with affection, Halliday announced, "That horse ain't goin' nowhere."
He didn't. Jerry Jillette lives on a farm in southern New Jersey, about 40 minutes from Pastore and Halliday's home in Newark, Del. Still studdish at 22, his constant companion is a pony gelding named Noddy.

"I was really just looking for a horse," Pastore laughed, "but I got a horse and an Irishman out of it."

Happily, she still has both. Must be what she's feeding them.

 

“Was he too much horse for me
at the time? Probably yes. But I was searching for someone who could really teach me how to ride. I wanted someone to help me help him.”

– Stephanie Pastore,
about early days with Jerry Jillette