Gallant Stable
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Majestic Harbor’s dominating victory in the Gold Cup at Santa Anita, which was previously the Hollywood Gold Cup, gave Ron Beegle, who races in the name of Gallant Stable LLC, and his partners David Osborne and wife Loren Hebel-Osborne their first Grade 1 victory. It was also trainer Sean McCarthy’s first Grade 1.
Beegle, 51, is the co-founder and operating partner of Goode Partners LLC, a private equity firm established in 2005 that focuses on investments in small- to middle-market consumer product, retail, and restaurant companies, and he has been on the board of directors of Aeropostale, a mall-based, specialty retailer of casual apparel and accessories with 914 stores worldwide, since 2003.
He is also on the board of directors of Neiman Marcus Inc., an American luxury specialty department store.Beegle graduated from Allegheny College in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics. He earned an MBA in finance at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University in 1991. The following year, he founded and was president of Norray Management Company.
He joined Broadway Stores, Inc., in 1994 as the senior vice president of corporate finance and administration.In 1996, he began working for Gap Inc. as senior vice president of finance (CFO) for Banana Republic. Under his leadership, Banana Republic was established as one of America’s leading fashion apparel brands; Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy began a successful on-line business; and the Gap division executed a well-regarded business turnaround.
Beegle is a founding director of the USA Swimming Foundation, the national governing body of swimming with 400,000 members, and is a trustee at his alma mater.He hooked up with the Osbornes through a chance meeting. “My wife used to run the Visa Triple Crown promotion,” David Osborne said. “When Ron was at the Gap, he came in, and we struck up a friendship.” That led to a lasting partnership.
“I’ve been in horses my whole life,” Osborne, who is 50, said. “I showed Saddlebreds. Loren showed event horses.”
The Osbornes have 30 horses, some in partnership with Beegle, at their Deerfield Farm in Prospect, Kentucky. Their most successful horse before Majestic Harbor was Laura’s Pistolette, who won the 1995 Humana Distaff when it was a Grade 2 stakes.
The Osbornes have a strong reputation for taking care of their horses after their racing careers are over. “It’s something we feel strongly about,” David said. “If you make the decision to bring them into this world, you should take care of them.”
They were at Santa Anita to watch Majestic Harbor win the Gold Cup in a powerful performance. An hour before the Gold Cup, the Osbornes watched another horse they own finish next-to-last in a $5,000 claimer at Indiana Downs on a simulcast. “He beat one horse,” Osborne laughed.
Majestic Harbor beat all of them.