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Hot Trainer Steve Asmussen Joins TDN Writer’s Room

On his drive from Saratoga to Kentucky Downs Tuesday, Steve Asmussen stopped in every state he drove through and bought lottery tickets. Shocking that he didn't win.

Coming off one of the greatest week-and-a-half stretches in racing history, during which he won five Grade I races in Saratoga over nine days, Asmussen was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week on the TDN Writer's Room, presented by Keeneland. If that wasn't enough, two of his wins, Gunite in the GI Hopeful S. and Echo Zulu in the GI Spinaway S., came from the first crop of Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}). Gun Runner, the 2017 Horse of the Year who was trained by Asmussen, is off to a sensational start at stud.

“Five Grade Is in nine calendar days, unbelievable,” said a jubilant Asmussen “We're blessed with the best horses in the world, but they just showed up when it mattered most. I was driving out of Saratoga yesterday, headed to Kentucky Downs for the races, and I could have got out and run around the car a couple of times. I was so excited. ”

While the horses have made Asmussen, sometimes Asmussen makes the horses. There's no better example of that than Max Player (Honor Code). An also-ran in May in the GIII Pimlico Special, he has since come back to win the GII Suburban S. and Saturday's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup. He is an example of a case when Asmussen went back to the drawing board, and it worked. He said there were two keys to the process, not letting Max Player fall behind early in his races and not shipping him to a track on top of a race.

“We felt he eliminated himself by not giving himself a chance getting away from the gate,” he said. “We took him back to the gate and pretty much started over.”

On the success of the Gun Runners, Asmussen said his offspring have the same mental attributes that the sire has, which goes a long way toward accounting for their success.

“It's the state of their minds, the acceptance of what their job is,” Asmussen said. “Gunite is the greatest example of what we want in a racehorse. Good level of talent, learns from his lessons and improves. [Assistant trainer] Scott [Blasi] and I were talking about him Tuesday morning. He ate up, and just stood there like he was saying 'when are we putting on the tack? When do we go to the track?' Unbelievable.”

When asked who he believed were his best prospects for next year's GI Kentucky Derby, Asmussen mentioned two horses, Saratoga maiden winner Stellar Tap (Tapit) and Gun Town (Gun Runner). Both are being pointed for the GIII Iroquois S. Sept. 18 at Churchill Downs. Stellar Tap is the horse who gave Asmussen his 9,446h career win, which pushed him past Dale Baird for No. 1 of all-time.

“Long term, we're very excited about both,” he said.

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, Woodford Thoroughbreds, Spendthrift Farm and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers reviewed the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup day card at Saratoga and the sensational performances from a pair of allowance horses who both earned 114 Beyer numbers over the weekend, Flightline (Tapit) and this year's greatest rags-to-riches story, Baby Yoda (Prospective).

The latest on the Jorge Navarro-Jason Servis case was a hot topic among the writers. The government released more wiretaps this week that caught the two miscreants discussing performance-enhancing drugs, oftentimes drugs they didn't know the name of and didn't know what they were for, yet still gave them indiscriminately to their horses.

Click here for the audio and here for the video link.

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Asmussen Record-Breaker a Rising Star

In an effort befitting the record-setting 9,446th training victory in the Hall of Fame career of Steve Asmussen, L & N Racing & Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC's Stellar Tap (Tapit) cruised through the Saratoga stretch to earn the 'TDN Rising Star' distinction on the GI Whitney S. undercard at Saratoga.

The 11-2 chance, wearing the silks of longtime Asmussen client Winchell Thoroughbreds and campaigned in partnership with another loyal owner, L & N Racing, jumped straight into the bridle and argued the pace outside of 6-5 chalk Brigadier General (Street Sense). Traveling the better of the two as they neared the stretch, the $250,000 Keeneland September acquisition, who previously RNAd for $385,000 at Keeneland November, responded when set down by Asmussen's go-to jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. and rocketed clear to take it by 5 1/4 impressive lengths. Keepcalmcarryon (Union Rags), a debut runner-up to 'Rising Star' and next-out GIII Sanford S. hero Wit (Practical Joke) closed off well to complete the exacta.

Stellar Tap is out of a half-sister to SW & GISP Sea Queen (Lemon Drop Kid) and to GISW Nereid (Rock Hard Ten), the dam of SW & GSP Figarella's Queen (Medaglia d'Oro). Gioia Stella is also the dam of a yearling filly by Speightstown, a filly foal by Curlin and most recently visited Speightstown once again. Stellar Tap is bred on the same cross over El Prado (Ire) that is responsible for GISW Laragh and GSW White Rose.

5th-Saratoga, $100,000, Msw, 8-7, 2yo, 7f, 1:23.82, ft, 5 1/4 lengths.
STELLAR TAP, c, 2, by Tapit
1st Dam: Gioia Stella, by Medaglia d'Oro
2nd Dam: Dowry, by Belong to Me
3rd Dam: Sea Jamie Win, by Dixieland Band
Sales history: $385,000 RNA Wlg '19 KEENOV; $250,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $55,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.
O-L & N Racing LLC & Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC; B-Moyglare Stud Farm Ltd (KY); T-Steven M Asmussen.

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With Win at Saratoga, Asmussen Moves Past Baird for Record

Steve Asmussen entered Saturday with 13 chances to pass Dale Baird to become the winningest North American trainer of all time. He needed just one.

With his first starter on the day, Asmussen moved into sole possession of first place with a win from first-time-starter Stellar Tap (Tapit) in the fifth race at Saratoga, a maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds. It was the 9,446th win in a career that began quietly in 1986 at Ruidoso Downs in a race worth $2,600.

The win came for Winchell Thoroughbreds, who owns the colt along with L and N Racing LLC. Perhaps no owners have had a greater impact on Asmussen's career than the Winchells, who break their babies at the Texas training center owned by Asmussen's parents, Keith and Marilyn, and have supplied Asmussen with a number of top horses, including Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}). Ricardo Santana, Jr. was the winning rider.

“I know how much this means to me and everyone in the family as well as the barn,” Asmussen said. “And it unfolded and happened on Whitney Day at Saratoga with a 2-year-old who came through Mom and Dad's program in Laredo that is owned by the Winchells. God is great and continues to bless us.”

“Congratulations to Steve on a well deserved accomplishment,” Ron Winchell said. “He has earned every bit of it. His attention to detail is remarkable and reflective in the results. The attention to detail, coupled with a near photographic memory, makes him a lethal competitor.”

Asmussen is the younger brother of Cash Asmussen, who enjoyed a standout career as a jockey, primarily in Europe, and grew up alongside his brother learning the business from their parents.

“To say congratulations does not sound like enough,” he said. “So I will live showing you my love and respect, as a brother, as a man, as a horseman. That is a start to saying how proud I am for you.”

Minutes after the race, Asmussen was still emotional, thanking not just his family but a sport that has given him so much.

“We are so blessed to be in horse racing,” he said. “Thanks to the amazing horses we have had and thanks for everything we have learned from every single one of them. They've made the Asmussen family possible. What an amazing sport to be in. I've said this before, it's amazing what a horse can do to make you feel good about yourself. What a blessing.”

Asmussen was born in Gettysburg, South Dakota, but grew up in Texas. His parents did a little bit of everything in racing but are best known for running a training center in Laredo, where they have prepared numerous top horses for the races. Growing up in a racing family and learning from top horsepeople in his parents, he was born to be a horse trainer. From an early age, he worked for his parents, who, Asmussen says, had a work ethic that is unmatched. Asmussen has always credited them with giving him the foundation he needed to be successful.

“They did things with a passion,” he said. “They always supported me and Cash and that made all of this possible. I've said it before and it's the truth, we are simply an extension of my mom and dad. I plan on continuing on doing things the way they taught us and with the same amount of passion and effort.

“Anybody who has ever been around my father knows he is the greatest horsemen there is. I was blessed to be in a position where I was able to witness this on a daily basis. They demanded work from me. You show up and you take care of what you are supposed to take care of. Don't do anything you can't sign your name to and always pay attention to every detail. None of it was easy but everyone was passionate and you did everything you did as hard as you could all the time and not some of the time. That's the way it ought to be.”

Asmussen started out as a jockey and rode 63 winners. In 1986, he went out on his own as a trainer and did not get off to a good start. He won just one race in 1986 and his stable earned all of $2,324. Asmussen didn't hit his stride until the late 90s. He won 120 races in 1999 and never looked back. His exploits include a single-season record 650 wins in 2009.

His operation, which has included Grade I winners, Horses of the Year and innumerable $5,000 claimers running at C-level tracks, became so potent over the years that it became apparent that Baird's record was well within his reach. Baird, who won the vast majority of his races at Waterford Park, now known as Mountaineer Park, died in 2007, the result of a car accident.

When asked what the Steve Asmussen of 1986 would say to the Asmussen of 2021, he replied: “I can't believe it took you so long. You can't imagine how much you want to do this and how much it is in you. Let's keep it up. We better not be done winning today. It's Whitney Day. We need to win.”

Considering that Asmussen is just 55 and that there are far fewer races available around the country now as there were only 10 years ago, he figures to put together a career win total that will never be matched. An upcoming goal might be 10,000 winners. He can also begin the chase to catch trainer Juan Suarez. Based in Peru, Suarez, as of Aug. 5, had 9,897 winners.

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