2000 and counting!
As I’m sure many of you are aware, the great man this week reached his 2000th individual winner as a trainer – a tremendous feat by any stretch of the imagination!
“Man, never when I first set out training all those years ago did I dream I would end up with so many wins to my name,” Mike said, once the news had had time to sink in. The horse in question? Owner Benjamin Trask’s Lem Me Tel Ya, who was given a finely-timed ride at Tampa Bay Downs by Pablo Morales. “I feel very proud and very grateful at the same time.
“There’s just so many people I need to thank for this,” he added. “From the great staff who have stuck by me all these years. Hilary, without whom none of this would have been possible. Great owners – probably the best set of owners in the world. And the support of my family and friends. I’ve been very lucky indeed, and a lot of blood sweat and tears has gone into this achievement, believe you me. Now for the next 2000!”
Indeed, the thing about horse racing is there’s never any time to rest on laurels, not when there’s more races to win!
And the Stidham stable has sent a couple interesting runners to California this weekend, the first being Alms, who lines up in the G3 Jimmy Durante Stakes at Del Mar today! Drawn 2 of 8 with Paco Lopez on board, Alms is a 9-2 shot in the $100,000 turf race over a mile.
On Sunday at Del Mar, the unbeaten Albert Park lines up in the G3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes, with Florent Geroux on board. The duo are a 12-1 shot in the $100,000 race over a mile on the turf.
And here are the rest of the weekend entries:
Saturday
Fair Grounds
Tackett – Race 3, Allowance Optional Claiming $40,000
Cask – Race 5, Maiden Special Weight
The Last Zip – Race 7, Allowance
Kizzy B – Race 8, Maiden Special Weight
Ursula – Race 8, Maiden Special Weight
Sunday
Fair Grounds
Gaelic Tales – Race 7, Maiden Special Weight
Skol Chant – Race 8, Maiden Special Weight
Pleasant Mo – Race 8, Maiden Special Weight
