Veteran conditioner Warren Stute got a pleasant surprise when he strolled into his usual spot in the racetrack kitchen this week.He sat down at the table that has become a summer home to him, brother and fellow trainer Mel and a coterie of pals that usually take breakfast there each morning. Peering down on him from the wall facing the table was a pair of pictures of the 81-year-old trainer in celebration of his two victories in the Del Mar Debutante.One picture showed him at age 29 with the track's first Debutante winner, Tonga, in 1951. The other one pictured him last year with his 2002 winner, Miss Houdini.
"He was very proud," brother Mel Stute said. "He thought something was going on, because a lot of people told him to be sure and look at the wall."