Tag: baltimore bucko

2021 Full Of ‘The Stuff You Can’t Script’ For Trainer Keri Brion

Just two live race days remain in 2021 to complete a remarkable year of racing action on the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit. The NYRA Press Office checked in with a selection of New York-based racing personalities to get their reflections on the memorable year.

Though steeplechase trainer Keri Brion is based in Virginia when in the U.S. and is currently scouting new racing prospects in Ireland, the 30-year-old conditioner enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2021, sweeping all three of NYRA's Grade 1 jump races and winning all but one of America's Grade 1 steeplechase events.

Brion, who worked for 11 years as an assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard, has put together a quality stable in her first year on her own, becoming the first American-based trainer to win on the hurdle circuit in Ireland in April and conditioning Baltimore Bucko and The Mean Queen to Grade 1 wins in the second half of the year.

After picking up her first graded win with Galway Kid in the Grade 3 David Semmes Memorial in May, Brion won her first Grade 1 in the A.P. Smithwick Memorial at Saratoga Race Course in July, visiting the winner's circle with Baltimore Bucko.

Brion wrapped up 2021 with a record of 14-15-12 from 105 starts and earnings just shy of $800,000, thanks in part to a trio of Grade 1 wins by The Mean Queen in Saratoga's Jonathan Sheppard Memorial, Belmont Park's Lonesome Glory, and the Grand National at Far Hills.

How would you summarize your 2021 campaign?

Brion: “It's still hard to put into words even now. It was some year. It started when I was in Ireland this time last year and took over for Jonathan when he retired. I made history there this year as the first [American based] jumper and hurdle winner. Then I went back to America and won my first graded stakes in May. Things were going well and then Saratoga happened. You couldn't write that again and it will probably never happen again as long as I live. Being first and second in both Grade 1's is something I would have never dreamed of. It really helped my career and also to gain the support in the big races. It was important for me to have those horses win at Saratoga. It's mind blowing.”

How does steeplechase racing in New York compare to other prestigious meets?

Brion: “NYRA is where you dream of racing. Flat racing, jump racing, it doesn't matter. It's the best of the sport in America in my opinion. Obviously you're running for good money and that's always a big plus. NYRA does an amazing job of supporting steeplechase and we have really good purses for allowances and stakes races which is brilliant. This is my first year training, but going forward, you train for Saratoga. You start in the spring and you know you're prepping horses for Saratoga. That's the big stage and where you want to win. To have won both big races there and the Lonesome Glory at Belmont is amazing. There's not a better place to win a race than in New York.”

What does it take to reach the top level in steeplechase?

Brion: “It's finding horses of that caliber. I have been lucky enough to have a trainer in Ireland who helps me source horses. It's helped me get them young and to mold them and bring them along in my own way. Working for Jonathan Sheppard for all those years was the biggest thing. Happy horses really do run the best. The Mean Queen, for instance, ran every month from April to October and stayed sound, healthy, and happy. Listening to the horse as an individual is key. You also can't be the best if you don't have the best staff and best owners. Good horses are good horses, but there's a lot that goes into it as well.”

What advice can you give other women looking to build a career in horse racing?

Brion: “I feel like at this stage now I have gained the respect of a lot of people. I've worked very hard to get here and I hope that other women who want to be trainers, exercise riders, jockeys, or anything else in his industry can look to me as an example that women can do it. You can be successful if you work hard.”

Which win this year was the most meaningful to you?

Brion: “It's a toss-up between the Grand National and the Jonathan Sheppard, but winning the Jonathan Sheppard is the stuff you can't script. They had renamed that race after Jonathan and I had four runners in it. Three of them were first, second, and third. I was very proud of that and of my horses. It was a summer I will never forget.”

What do you hope to accomplish in 2022 and beyond?

Brion: “I won four of the five American Grade 1's this year so I really hope to win the Iroquois [at Percy Warner Park] too. I don't know if that will happen this coming year, but it's on my list. The biggest thing is to continue at this level. I'm not saying I'm going to keep sweeping four or five Grade 1's every year, but I just want to be successful at the higher levels. I don't want this year to be a fluke and I want to continue to prove that I can do it – not just with The Mean Queen, but with other horses.

“When I set out training, I said I would be happy if I could win an Eclipse Award within 10 years of training. Now I'm probably going to be getting on a plane to California in February to get a trophy for the Eclipse Award.”

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‘I See Both Sides’: Trainer Keri Brion Talks Realities Of Steeplechase Racing

Trainer Keri Brion was a guest on Steve Byk's “At The Races” radio show last week, following her rollercoaster of an opening day at Belmont Park on Sept. 16.

In the first race, the William Entenmann Memorial Hurdle Stakes, the Brion-trained Grade 1 winner Baltimore Bucko fell at fence three and suffered a fatal injury. In the second race, she saddled The Mean Queen to win her second Grade 1 of the year in the Lonesome Glory.

Baltimore Bucko's fatality sparked significant social media discussion about jumps racing, and Brion took the opportunity on Byk's show to speak out.

“Whenever a horse falls in jump racing, our sport gets absolutely crucified,” Brion said. “I understand it looks horrible, and it was, it was heartbreaking for all of us to watch. Not just us close to the horse, but obviously everyone else. The one thing I just want to say about that is, you know, our sport is dangerous, but so is flat racing. You see these horses that suffer catastrophic injuries on the flat, and it happens more on the flat than it even does over jumps, to be honest with you. It's very, very rare that we have a fall like that where they don't actually get back up.

“I don't want to cast this off as 'just one of those things,' because we do need to do better, and the NSA is currently and always trying to find better options. I think we're gonna switch to a different type of a fence. I think by the time we are up there again next year, there's gonna be a safer model of hurdle up there that we'll be running over, which is something to look forward to.”

Brion carries a strong social media presence, and extended an offer to talk about the realities of her sport with anyone willing to listen.

“I see both sides and I understand how uneducated people right away are like, 'I hate watching these races and I hate seeing them,' but do you really think we're going to force a 1200-lb animal to go jump over fences if they don't want to?” she asked. “I mean, honest to God, do you think we're capable of doing that? No, we're not. I'd love to take a group of people that wanna say they're being forced and they don't like it, I'd love to take them to watch these horses school in the mornings. When they realize they're going to the schooling field, their whole demeanor changes. They get so excited that they get to go jumping.”

Baltimore Bucko is Brion's first Grade 1 winner, capturing the G1 A. P. Smithwick Memorial on July 22, 2021. She talked about what the horse meant to her personally.

“He was very, very special to me,” the trainer said. “Obviously I talked to you at some stage, maybe after his Smithwick win, and he was just kind of the gift that just kept on giving for his owners and for me. What he might have lacked a little bit in ability, he made up in heart. I can assure everyone he was 100 percent going out there, and it was unfortunately just, it was one of those things. We'll never have him back, and it's hard to see his stall here in the barn in the morning – we haven't filled it yet. It was tough, but he did go out doing what he loved to do. There was nothing more in the world that that horse loved to do than to run and jump.”

Listen to the entire interview with Byk here.

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Keri Brion Honors Mentor With Trifecta Finish In G1 Jonathan Sheppard

Trainer Keri Brion already notched a Grade 1 steeplechase win during the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course. She upped the ante in Wednesday's opener, saddling the trifecta as The Mean Queen, Baltimore Bucko and French Light crossed the wire 1-2-3 in a prestigious race named after her mentor in the Grade 1, $150,000 Jonathan Sheppard contested at 2 3/8 miles.

The 80th edition of the race formerly known as the New York Turf Writers Cup was contested as the Jonathan Sheppard for the first time, honoring the Hall of Fame trainer who won the race a record 15 times and trained at least one winner at Saratoga every year from 1969-2015. Brion, who was Sheppard's assistant before his retirement, saw The Mean Queen overtake stalemate and pacesetter Baltimore Bucko in the final, flat portion of the race, drawing away for a 4 3/4-length victory.

Buttonwood Farm's The Mean Queen already made history when the 5-year-old Irish-bred Doyen mare won in her native country in April at Wexford, making Brion the first U.S.-based conditioner to capture an Irish hurdle race.

She was set to win the Jonathan Kiser Novice in July at Saratoga before jockey Thomas Garner was unseated in the stretch. Returning to Saratoga's inner turf track, The Mean Queen and Garner had no such issues closing this time, completing the course in a final time of 4:40.14 to give Brion a sweep of the two Grade 1 steeplechase contests on the Saratoga slate after Baltimore Bucko won the A.P. Smithwick on July 22.

“I remember when they said that this race was going to be named after him, I was still in Ireland and I was thinking, 'I hope I just have one,”'Brion said. “Jonathan won the Turf Writers 15 or so times, so now that it's the Jonathan Sheppard, I hope I can win it 15 times.”

Baltimore Bucko, one of four Brion entrants in the eight-horse field, led through all nine jumps over a course labeled yielding. The British-bred Baltimore Bucko held that advantage under jockey Richard Condon before The Mean Queen overtook him from the outside at the top of the stretch. The field's lone mare, who carried 147 pounds, faced no late challenge, besting the boys to improve to 5-1-0 in seven career starts.

“I was just a passenger, really,” Garner said. “She was doing a little bit too much for the first mile and a half. She was running through the bridle a little bit and when I got her settled, she traveled so great and jumped so great. She's everything you want in a filly. I couldn't be happier.

“She's only 5 and realistically hasn't had a lot of racing,” he added. “This time last year, she hadn't even had a run. She was still getting prepped to run in a point-to-point in Ireland. To come here and run in a Grade 1 eight or nine months after her first race is a massive achievement.”

Garner also said he took the outcome of the A.P. Smithwick personally but was glad to earn redemption less than a month later.

“I know a lot of people would have had a lot of money on her at those odds, but there wouldn't have been anyone more gutted than I was,” Garner said. “I walked to the weighing room, got in the car and went straight home. I didn't want to speak to anyone. I didn't want to see anyone because this is what I love doing. I love riding winners and for that to happen, especially at a place like this which I love, it was actually heartbreaking. I know a lot of people on social media and close to the horse think I jumped off it, and that's probably an uneducated view of the race. I'm just glad that I made it better today. There was no one more gutted or upset about the last day than me.”

Off as the 4-5 favorite, The Mean Queen returned $3.60 on a $2 win bet.

“I guess this is how it was always supposed to be. She redeemed herself,” Brion said. “I had no doubt that she would run a huge race. Today, we learned a bit more about her. I think she's a very special animal.”

Baltimore Bucko and French Light, who finished 1-2 in the A.P. Smithwick, again dueled in the rematch, with the former edging his stablemate by a nose for second as the 156-pound highweight.

“He carried top weight. He's gone up a stone since he won here the last time and to go out there on the rain-softened ground and do what he did and stay on for second is a real performance,” Condon said. “The Mean Queen is quite a special mare and giving her nine pounds isn't easy. It was a great run from Baltimore Bucko.”

French Light was two-lengths clear of City Dreamer, trained by Hall of Famer Jack Fisher, for third.

“It's so exciting for two of the greatest people, Rod and Alice Moorhead [of Buttonwood Farm] and Irvin Naylor, who owns French Light, who was third. They've been so supportive and bought these horses off my recommendation,” Brion said.

Recent Revelations, Gibralfaro, Redicean and A Silent Player [also trained by Brion] completed the order of finish.

“All four of these horses came out of the same stable in Ireland [Baltimore Stable in Wexford, Ireland], which is pretty incredible,” Brion said.

Live racing resumes Thursday at Saratoga with a 10-race card featuring the $100,000 Union Avenue for New York-bred fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going 6 1/2 furlongs on the main track in Race 9 at 5:39 p.m. Eastern.

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Brion Saddles Four Starters For Race Named For Mentor Sheppard

Trainer Keri Brion will hold a strong hand in a prestigious stakes that bears the name of her long-time mentor, saddling half of the eight-horse field in Wednesday's $150,000 Grade 1 Jonathan Sheppard in a 2 3/8-mile steeplechase contest at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The 80th edition of the race formerly known as the New York Turf Writers Cup will be run for the first time under its new name, which honors the Hall of Fame trainer who won this race 15 times and trained at least one winner at Saratoga every consecutive year from 1969-2015. It will be the opener of Wednesday's 10-race card with a 1:05 p.m. Eastern post time.

Brion, a longtime assistant to Sheppard, took over the training responsibilities for many of his horses upon his retirement and has started to carve out her own reputation, saddling the top-two finishers of the Grade 1 A.P. Smithwick on July 22 at Saratoga when Baltimore Bucko and French Light ran 1-2 going 2 1/16 miles in the first Grade 1 hurdle race of the meet. In addition to that stellar pair, Brion will also send out The Mean Queen and A Silent Prayer.

“It's incredible that it shaped up the way it has with having half the field,” Brion said with a laugh. “When I heard the race was renamed, I was actually still in Ireland and I said to myself I was just hoping I would have a horse for that race. Now, I'm sitting here really hoping I win the race. It would mean a lot for me but I would love to win it for owners who were so supportive of Jonathan for so many years. Everything I know about steeplechase racing came from Jonathan, so it would obviously mean a lot to me to do it.”

Buttonwood Farm's Baltimore Bucko topped his stablemate by 5 3/4 lengths last out, building on his runner-up effort going 2 1/4 miles in the Green Pastures at the Nashville-based Percy Warner in June.

“It's amazing how fast he's come through the ranks,” Brion said. “I had both of these horses [French Light] in Ireland with me over the winter and they ran over there, so they have that added experience, which I think helped bring them along a lot quicker than maybe some others.”

Baltimore Bucko, a 5-year-old gelding, will now carry the high weight of 156 pounds with Richard Condon set to ride from post 3.

Irvin Naylor's French Light, carrying 152 pounds, will be looking to build on his stellar effort in his graded stakes debut, drawing post 4 with Jamie Bargary on the call.

“They went from being bottom weight end to being top weight and second top weight, so that changes things a little,” Brion said. “But the way they were first and second, you'd like to believe the weight shouldn't bother them too much.”

French Light raced five times for Brion in Ireland to start his 6-year-old campaign before making a statement in his return to North America. Brion said that race last month has only expediated his progress.

“His first race back in the states was the Smithwick, so I think he has a lot of improvement in him, just having that run in him,” Brion said.

The Mean Queen, also owned by Buttonwood Farm, appeared on her way to beating the boys before unseating rider Thomas Garner in deep stretch in the Jonathan Kiser Novice on July 28 at Saratoga.

The 5-year-old Doyen mare has already helped Brion accomplish something unprecedented when she captured the Slaney River Hurdle in April in Ireland, making her conditioner the first U.S. trainer to win a hurdle race in the country. She will re-team with Garner again, carrying 147 pounds from post 6.

“She made history for me,” Brion said. “She wasn't the winner of the novice stake, but she was by far the best in that race. There wasn't really anywhere else for her to run until September. She's doing really well. Her name fits her very well; she isn't easy to train, so it's easier just to run her. But she gets some weight off the boys and she's in a good spot. I think she's in with a shot as well.”

A Silent Player, also owned by Naylor, was fifth in the Jonathan Kiser last out in his stakes bow and will carry the co-field-low weight of 142 pounds with Barry Foley set to ride from post 5.

“He suffered an injury to his hind leg in his win in November, so his run back last time was his first time since his injury,” Brion said. “It's a lot harder to have a horse ready to go in Saratoga off an injury. He had to rehab off it, so I think he will be much improved this time around. He's pretty similar to Baltimore Bucko, to be honest. He's the bottom weight at 142, and I think that will really help. I think he'll run a lot better than he did in his last start.”

Hall of Famer Jack Fisher will send out two contenders in City Dreamer and Gibralfaro from posts 1 and 2, respectively.

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Riverdee Stable's City Dreamer ran second to Bodes Well in the Jonathan Kiser Novice and will step up to graded stakes company for the first time, carrying 146 pounds with Parker Hendriks in the irons.

His stablemate, the Riverdee-owned Gibralfaro was third last out in the A.P. Smithwick and will be competing in the Jonathan Sheppard for the third consecutive time, running fourth last year following a runner-up effort to Winston C in the 2019 edition. Gibralfaro will carry 148 pounds and have the services of rider Graham Watters.

Sharon Sheppard's Redicean, second in this stakes last year, two lengths back to winner Rashaan, returned off an 11-month layoff to run fourth in the A.P. Smithwick for trainer Leslie Young. After knocking off the rust, the 7-year-old British bred will break from post 8 carrying 150 pounds with Gerard Galligan aboard.

Half Married Syndicate's Recent Revelations made his first 23 starts in Europe and will look to make his mark in his North American debut, carrying 142 pounds in drawing post 7 with Harrison Beswick up.

Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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