Riley Mott, 30-year-old son of Hall of Fame trainer William Mott, recorded his first career win from his third starter on Thursday at Churchill Downs, when the 2-year-old Union Rags filly Unifying scored a front-running victory under Florent Geroux.
Mott, who has worked as assistant to his father since 2014, announced in July that he was going out on his own with plans to set up a public stable at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark., this winter. The meet begins Dec. 9 and runs through May 6.
In the meantime, Mott has started three horses at Churchill Downs, beginning with American Tattoo, who finished sixth in a Nov. 2 claiming race. His second starter, Spunk, ran third in a maiden claiming race Nov. 6 as a 6-5 favorite.
Unifying ran once for the elder Mott, finishing second in a Sept. 15 maiden race at the Belmont at the Big A meet, before being transferred to Riley Mott. His victory on Thursday was for owners Sheri Greenberg, Staghawk Stables, Tom Reiman and Ronald Johnson. Unifying, who led at every call, covered six furlongs on a fast track in 1:11.17 and paid $4.90 as the favorite in the field of nine.
The race was restricted to 2-year-old fillies that sold or were bought back for $50,000 or less at their most recent public auction. Unifying was a $32,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase from Mill Ridge Sales and earned $52,320 for the win.
“I want to be as successful as my dad,” Mott told Tom Pedulla in a Paulick Report feature earlier this year. “I walk through his office at home and he's got a trophy case on every wall. I want that for myself and for my family. It's motivation for me to hold to the standard that he's held throughout his career.”
William Mott, a South Dakota native, saddled his first winner at a small track at his home state as a 15-year-old in 1968. He became the youngest trainer to be inducted in the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 1998. A three-time Eclipse Award winner who trained two-time Horse of the Year Cigar to 16 consecutive victories, Mott is coming off a Breeders' Cup where he saddled two winners – Cody's Wish in the Grade 1 Dirt Mile and Elite Power in the G1 Sprint – and Olympiad, who finished second to Flightline in the G1 Classic.
Riley Mott, born in Hollywood, Fla., will reside during the Oaklawn meet in Arkansas with wife Megan and their nearly one-year-old daughter Margot, then race on the Kentucky circuit the rest of the year.
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