Week in Review: Uriah St. Lewis Does It Again–His Way

Uriah St. Lewis has won only eight races this year and his winning rate is a paltry 7%. He's never going to win an Eclipse Award and no one is going to send him to the sales to buy six and seven-figure horses. But, when it comes to the bottom line, there may not be another trainer in the sport who does more with less.

In Saturday's $250,000 GIII Iselin S. at Monmouth, the competition included horses from the barns of Todd Pletcher, Jerry Hollendorfer and Chad Brown, two Hall of Famers and a future Hall of Famer. St. Lewis, who is based at Parx and has 27 horses in his stable, sent out Informative (Bodemeister), a 14-1 shot who had lost nine straight. On paper, Informative didn't look to have much of a shot and most trainers would have picked out an easier spot. But St. Lewis is not like other trainers. He'll run a 14-1 shot, he'll run a 140-1 shot, he'll run them in spots where it looks like they don't have a prayer of winning.

“If you're not in it, you don't have a chance,” he said.

That's what he does. He keeps throwing horses into what seems like impossible spots. But in this day and age where there are so many small fields in stakes races he, more often than not, walks away with a check. Case in point: Informative ran fifth and last in the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H., but St. Lewis walked away with a check for $40,000. And if you send out enough big longshots in big races sometimes you're going to win and cash even bigger checks.

St. Lewis started in the sport as a fan and a bettor. He got his first job in racing working at the NYRA tracks as a technician for AmTote. His wife encouraged him to give training a try and he took a job under a trainer named Robert Hayes. St. Lewis won his first race in 1987.

Along the way, he has figured out that you don't have to win 150 races a year and have a high winning percentage to make money. He says that his stable makes a profit every year and is his sole source of income. After making $150,000 with the Iselin win, St. Lewis's Trin-Brook Stable has banked $814,325 on the year.

St. Lewis's biggest win came in the 2018 GI Jockey Club Gold Cup, which he won with Discreet Lover (Repent). He was coming off a twelfth-place finish in the GI Woodward, but did not embarrass himself when finishing third in the GI Whitney S. and GII Suburban H. He was 45-1 in the Gold Cup, which he won by a neck, defeating horses trained by Pletcher, Brown, Aidan O'Brien and Saeed bin Suroor. Discreet Lover finished his career with $1,452,735 in earnings.

Informative is 4-for-35 lifetime with earnings of $527,040. His other graded stakes win came in last year's GIII Salvator Mile S. at Monmouth, which he won at odds of 79-1.

The other star in St. Lewis's barn this year has been Forewarned (Flat Out). He's 1-for-7 on the year, but won the Excelsior S. and has earned $147,500 in 2022 and $909,883 during his career.

St. Lewis is from Trinidad (Trin) and his wife, Amanda, is from Brooklyn (Brook). He has no outside owners and family members make up the bulk of his staff. That, he says, is a big reason why he has been successful, albeit in his own unique way.

“We are in it to make money,” he said. “If you do the right thing, treat the horses right and take some chances you can make money. We can take the chances because we own all the horses. A lot of trainers can't do that. It's been working for us. This would be hard for other trainers to do because they don't own their own horses. I used to train for other people. It's a real pain because they say 'don't go there, I don't like this spot, I don't want to get embarrassed.' I ran Discreet Lover in the Met Mile and he finished fourth. I made $80,000. I wasn't embarrassed to make $80,000. But a lot of trainers wouldn't have run him in that race.

For his system to work, he's got to do it with inexpensive horses. He paid $10,000 for Discreet Lover, $25,000 for Informative and $40,000 for Forewarned. He buys almost all of his horses as 2-year-olds at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale.

“We go to the sale in Timonium and we sit there for two days and look at every horse,” he said. “You have to take your time. I'll pay $3,000 for a horse, I'll go up to $60,000. It all depends on the horse and how much I like them.”

St. Lewis hasn't decided where Informative will run next, but he said that a Breeders' Cup race is definitely on his schedule. He's not sure whether he will go in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile or the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. In either race, Informative will probably be 50-1, maybe higher. A 50-1 shot in race where the horse looks completely overmatched, that's exactly where St. Lewis is most dangerous.

Nest Is Special

Now that the race is in the books, you can't fault the owners for running Nest (Curlin) in the GI Alabama S. instead of against the boys on the GI Runhappy Travers S. The Alabama had a fat purse of $600,000 and is among the most prestigious races on the calendar for 3-year-old fillies. It was a race she probably couldn't lose while, for her, the Travers would have been a tough spot.

With the win, they've already wrapped up an Eclipse Award for the sport's top 3-year-old filly. With wins in the Alabama, the GI Coaching Club American Oaks and the GI Ashland S. and a second-place finish in the GI Belmont S., she's done more than enough to earn year-end honors. With so many top males horses out there, Nest probably won't be named Horse of the Year, but you never know.

For her, the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff will no doubt now become the main goal for the rest of the season. After that, let's see what she can do as a 4-year-old and whether or not her team will take another crack at beating males. Let's hope that they do. With another big year, they can start thinking Hall of Fame.

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Forewarned: Uriah St. Lewis Planning Another Jockey Club Gold Cup Upset

Owner-trainer Uriah St. Lewis, who sprung a 45-1 upset with Discreet Lover in the 2018 Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park, said he's back with another live longshot in Forewarned for Saturday's 103rd renewal of the 10-furlong test for 3-year-olds and up at Saratoga Race Course.

In the 2018 edition, Discreet Lover, with Manny Franco up, settled off a sharp pace set by that year's Grade 1 Whitney-winner Diversify before angling six-wide for the stretch run and powering past the pacesetter and Mendelssohn to best Thunder Snow by a neck.

St. Lewis said that both Discreet Lover and Forewarned had the advantage of being horses that want the classic distance.

“That day, I said if they run real, real fast then he has a chance to win – and they ran real fast in the beginning. Diversify and the next horse [Mendelssohn] hooked each other and that was good enough for me,” St. Lewis said. “This horse [Forewarned] can sit a little closer, but he can get the mile and a quarter. If he's within striking distance, he'll get the mile and a quarter. I hope we can win it again and enjoy it.”

Since joining the St. Lewis stable in December 2018, the Ohio-bred Forewarned has made four starts at 1 ¼-miles, posting a record of 2-1-1, including back-to-back scores in the Best of Ohio Endurance in 2019-20.

“This horse loves a mile and a quarter. Every time he runs a mile and a quarter, he's 1-2-3,” St. Lewis said. “The horse is doing fantastic right now. You have to make sure you have a good enough horse to compete with them. I think this horse is good enough. He can get the mile and a quarter and I don't think all of them in this race can get the distance.”

Forewarned ran a game second last out in the 10-furlong Ohio Governor's Cup, making a narrow lead late in the lane only to be turned back by resurgent pacesetter Magna Man, who prevailed by a head.

St. Lewis will charge returning rider Sonny Leon, a three-time winner aboard Forewarned, with keeping the 6-year-old Flat Out bay to task in the “Win and You're In” qualifier for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic in November at Del Mar.

“Last time he made the lead and stopped and finished short,” St. Lewis said. “In this trip, we know now when he makes the lead you have to keep going after him because when he gets to the front he thinks he's finished.”

Listed at 50-1 on the morning line, Forewarned is the longest shot in a field led by the improving Forza Di Oro [8-5] and last year's winner Happy Saver [9-5], but St. Lewis said he is prepared to swing for the fences.

“That's just opinion,” St. Lewis said of the morning-line assessment. “The horse can't read the odds board. I'm taking my chance. I think he can win. My jockey thinks he can win and this horse thinks he can win. That's a home run.”

Last Friday, St. Lewis sent out Informative to run seventh at odds of 63-1 in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Charles Town Classic won by Art Collector. That effort came two starts after Informative captured the Grade 3 Salvator Mile at 79-1 in June at Monmouth Park.

St. Lewis said Informative may have been confused in the three-turn race.

“He was picking them up on the backside and I thought he was going to win, but when he got up to within five lengths, he had to switch leads and he took a little break,” St. Lewis said.

St. Lewis said Informative could target the Grade 1, $500,000 Woodward, a nine-furlong test for 3-year-olds and up, on October 2 at Belmont.

“That might suit him better. It's a one-turn race. It's on the radar,” St. Lewis said.

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Grade 1 Winner Discreet Lover Retired To R Star Stallions In Indiana

Discreet Lover, a Grade 1 winner who earned nearly $1.5 million, has been retired from racing to stand at Kerry and Leigh Ann Hopper's R Star Stallions in Anderson, Ind. He will stand for a fee of $2,000, with special considerations for approved mares.

A son of four-time graded stakes winner Repent, Discreet Lover proved his talent and durability over a racing career spanning 49 starts. A winner and stakes-placed runner as a 2-year-old, Discreet Lover had a busy 3-year-old campaign while hitting the board in seven of 14 starts, including placings in the Parx Derby and Ohio Derby. Not slowing down at age four, he again faced the starter 14 times with a $100,000 stakes win at Penn National and three additional stakes placings.

At age five, he developed into one of the nation's top older horses while racing 10 times, including nine starts in graded stakes. In April of that year, he won the Grade 3, $150,000 Excelsior Stakes at Aqueduct and then ran third in both the G2 Suburban Stakes and G1 Whitney Stakes that summer.

The biggest of his seven career wins came in September of his 5-year-old season, when he won the G1, $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup going 1 1/4 miles at Belmont Park. Among the foes he defeated that day were Mendelssohn, Diversify, Gronkowski and the two-time Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow. All told, Discreet Lover compiled a record of 49-7-7-7 with earnings of $1,452,735.

Discreet Lover is out of the Discreet Cat mare Discreet Chat, who is a half sister to millionaire and Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Desert Code.

“Discreet Lover ran in 17 graded stakes and 17 other stakes during his career, so he went up against the best of the best and he proved himself to be a hard-trying and talented horse over his long career,” said Kerry Hopper. “He was precocious enough to win as a 2-year-old and even though most of his wins were going a route of ground, he also showed the ability to sprint when he had the chance, so we think he's going to be a versatile stallion and a good fit for the lucrative Indiana breeding program.”

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Discreet Lover Retired to Stand Stud in Indiana

Discreet Lover (Repent–Discreet Chat, by Discreet Cat), upset winner of the 2018 GI Jockey Club Gold Cup S. at Belmont Park and earner of nearly $1.5 million, has been retired from racing to stand at Kerry and Leigh Ann Hopper's R Star Stallions in Anderson, Indiana. The 8-year-old will stand for a fee of $2,000, with special considerations for approved mares.

Discreet Lover, campaigned by owner Trin-Brook Stables, Inc. and trainer Uriah St. Lewis, is out of an unraced half-sister to millionaire and Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Desert Code (E Dubai). He was bred in Florida by Woodford Thoroughbreds.

“Discreet Lover ran in 17 graded stakes and 17 other stakes during his career, so he went up against the best of the best and he proved himself to be a hard-trying and talented horse over his long career,” said Kerry Hopper. “He was precocious enough to win as a 2-year-old, and even though most of his wins were going a route of ground, he also showed the ability to sprint when he had the chance, so we think he's going to be a versatile stallion and a good fit for the lucrative Indiana breeding program.”

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