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Jockey Dylan Davis earned his second career Grade 1 victory when traveling to Woodbine to pilot West Point Thoroughbreds and Steven Bouchey's Carson's Run in the Summer Stakes for juveniles going one mile.

Carson's Run, a chestnut son of Cupid, was last-of-9 early on, gradually making up ground through each point of call en route to a 2 1/4-length score which produced an 80 Beyer Speed Figure. Piloted by Davis through all three of his lifetime starts, Carson's Run entered from a narrow runner-up effort in the With Anticipation (G3) on August 31 at Saratoga Race Course and was previously a debut winner on July 29 going 1 1/16 miles over the Spa inner turf.

The victory came nearly two years after Davis made the trek to Woodbine to pilot Mutamakina to a score in the E.P. Taylor (G1). Like Carson's Run, Mutamakina also was conditioned by Christophe Clement.

“Christophe Clement and his team have been very good to me, giving me opportunities to get it done, including both Grade 1 winners at Woodbine. I love Woodbine, they have a great course,” Davis said. “Carson ran great. He was able to sit back off the pack off a pretty moderate pace and save all the ground. Once I turned out, he kicked on impressively. With every start, he's been improving. He's learning his ways and learning what to do out there.”

Davis said he has been figuring the horse out through each start.

“Even for us, we're learning as we go because he's still a young horse,” Davis said. “When he gets next to horses or in between horses, he gets a little shy where he doesn't quite level off and use everything he has. We wanted to try to go to the outside and give him one nice run and he ran huge. I think he liked that the best. He was by himself and was able to keep focus all the way to the wire.”

The victory came two weeks after Davis piloted the Clement-trained Parnac to a wire-to-wire upset score in the Flower Bowl (G2) at Saratoga. One week before that, Davis and Clement teamed up to capture the  Yaddo for New York-breds with Robert Evans' homebred New Ginya.

“Christophe has been giving me a lot of opportunities on the big stage and I'm happy to be getting it done. We just keep building off of that,” Davis said.

Carson's Run is named in honor of Carson Jost, who was born with the rare genetic disorder Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. Carson is the son of Wade Jost, a former classmate of West Point Thoroughbreds' founder Terry Finley at the United States Military Academy.

Davis said he would like to meet Carson's Run's namesake, possibly when the horse contests the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1)on November 3 at Santa Anita. Carson's Run earned an automatic entry into the Juvenile Turf when conquering the Summer – a “Win And You're In” qualifier.

“Any Breeders' Cup mount is special, but I think we're coming in with a really good one,” Davis said. “It's very special to name a horse after Carson and what he has going on. It makes it more meaningful and special. Hopefully I can meet him at the Breeders' Cup and maybe get it done there.”

Clement's assistant trainer Christophe Lorieul saddled Carson's Run for Saturday's win and praised Davis for executing a quality ride.

“It was a very good race and a very good ride from Dylan,” Lorieul said. “They went a touch quick up front and he was at the back of the pack. The only instructions were not to go in between horses and try to make a clear run from the quarter pole to the wire, which he did. He ran really well.”

The post ‘Carson Ran Great’: Clement Supplies Davis Another Grade 1 Winner At Woodbine appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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More than 20 years ago, trainer Matt Shirer was hard at work on the court playing high school and AAU basketball in northern Ohio. Shirer moved on from his basketball career in the early 2000s and officially began his training career in 2015.

Churchill Downs' Median Office sat down with Shirer to get to know more about him–from playing in games against one of the greatest basketball players of all-time, LeBron James, to his start as a trainer

Q: How did you get started training horses?

A: I grew up around Cleveland and began going to Thistledown. I started walking hots while in college at Ohio Wesleyan and eventually took a job as a foreman to Kenny McPeek.

Q: What is one thing people at the racetrack don't know about you?

A: I grew up playing basketball in Ohio. I went to Medina High School, which is a bigger public high school. I played for my school but in the summers I would play in summer leagues and travel to different tournaments. I played quite a few times with LeBron James in games or at open gyms. My friend Tony Stockman, who was the 2000 Mr. Basketball, would invite me to play in open gyms with LeBron. I also played against Mike Gansey in high school. He was by far one of the best players I saw until LeBron. He's now the general manager for the Cavaliers. After high school I played college basketball for Ohio Wesleyan, which is a Division III school.

Q: What's your favorite part about training horses?

A: I love to watch a horse develop and be able to show their full potential. I don't have a lot of young horses in my barn but for the ones I have, I like seeing them at the beginning of their career and be able to work with them so they can show their best. Even the horses that we claim, a lot of them have already proven themselves on the racetrack but I like to see them be the best they can be under our care.

Q: Who's your favorite horse that you trained?

A: Strut the Ring. This was one of the horses I claimed when I began my career. He always showed up on race day. He'd lay it down every time. We only claimed him for $5,000, but he proved that horses can have heart at all levels. His name was fitting because when we'd lead him over to the paddock he would strut around the ring. Now he's retired and is a trail horse.

Q: Who was your mentor for training horses?

A: Kenny (McPeek) is someone I always strived to be like. His program is so successful and I learned a lot when I worked for him.

Q: It seems like one of the stars in your barn is your goat Tucker. When did Tucker join the Shirer team?

A: It's a pretty funny story how we got Tucker. About three years ago my assistant, Rene Cano, wanted to get a goat. We were at Fair Grounds and goats always get along well with horses. One day, trainer Kevin Williams came over to our barn with this baby white goat. He was never around people and told Rene his name was Tucker. I think he may have been joking because “Tucker” Alonzo was standing there. But, his name stuck and he's been with us ever since. He's pretty much a dog. He sits in my office like a dog and is very friendly.

Q: Who is one horse you wish you could've trained?

A: Zenyatta was such a cool horse. I feel like most of the horses in my care are speed horses but she would always come with such a huge run from dead last, even if the pace wasn't very fast.”

Q: When's the last time you took a vacation?

A: A long, long time ago. I took out my trainer's license in 2015 and I worked several years before that for Kenny. The last time I took some time off was before I worked for Kenny.

Q: What do you do in your free time?

A: I like to be outdoors. I enjoy running and getting outside as much as possible. I'm also a big fantasy football guy during NFL season. I'm in a league with several guys around the racetrack.

Q: What's on the playlist in your truck?

A: I like to listen to the music I grew up with. Old school rap and songs from the early 2000s are normally what I listen to. If there's anything new on my playlist it's Post Malone.

To learn more about Shirer, visit his website at www.mattshirerracing.com or follow him on X (@ShirerRacing).

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