Earning Their Stripes: Tom Morley

Last year, we conducted a popular Q and A series called 'Smaller But Still Super,' where we featured veteran trainers who have built a competitive racing stable with relatively small numbers (click here to view the archive). This year, we will highlight trainers who have already cut their teeth as novice trainers, but now have a few years of experience under their belt and are looking to make a name for themselves as they grow their stable. We'll talk about the challenges that come with hanging out your single, advice for trainers setting out on their own, how the incoming class of young trainers differs from previous generations and more.

Tom Morley won his first race at Aqueduct in the spring of 2013 and has been a fixture on the New York circuit since.

Hailing from Yorkshire, the conditioner was born into a racing family. Not only was his father an owner and breeder, but his uncle David Morley was a Group I-winning trainer and his other uncle Christopher Spence was a senior steward at the Jockey Club in England. Among his cousins still involved in the sport, Henry Daly is a multiple Grade-I winning jump trainer.

Growing up, Morley spent his summer with David in Newmarket. Before graduating from Newcastle, he spent time as an assistant to Ed Dunlop at Gainsborough Stable and at the Lloyd Webber family's Watership Down Stud.

After graduating from the Godolphin Flying Start program, he worked as assistant to Jeremy Noseda for over four years. It was a busy time to be involved with Noseda's stable, with 14 Group I winners going through the barn while Morley was there including European champion sprinter Fleeting Spirit (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and Breeders' Cup champion Wilko (Awesome Again).

From there, Morley made the move to the States to work for Eddie Kenneally, where he eventually helped open and develop Kenneally's New York operation.

As his stable celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, Morley has surpassed $13.5 million in career earnings. Graduates of his operation include Grade I victors Haveyougoneaway (Congrats) and Carrick (Giant's Causeway). Morley and his wife, NYRA racing analyst and Team Morley assistant/exercise rider Maggie Wolfendale Morley, have two daughters.

Morley celebrated his first career Grade I win with Haveyougoneaway in the 2016 GI Ballerina S. | Brittlan Wall

When you came to America, was the plan always to stay in the States and eventually train here?

Steve Hillen and Jeremy Noseda both suggested I come to America to get experience. A lot of trainers in the UK like John Gosden and Jeremy himself spent time here before going home.

That was the original game plan, but when I got here I felt like the American industry gave me the opportunity not only to travel, but also I felt like young people were given more of an opportunity to get going here. It's quite hard to get going in the UK. You have to have a lot of capital behind you. You need to be able to rent property and then you need to be able to fill the stalls immediately. Whereas here, you can literally start with one horse, a saddle and a bridle.

So after 18 months of being here, I pretty much made my mind up that I was going to stay. Now I have a business, a house, a wife and two children, so I'm not going anywhere.

Q: How has your stable evolved since it first opened?

We started with the one horse, Treblemaker (Read The Footnotes). Anthony Grey was very kind to send us a homebred of his. He won his second start on the 13th of April in 2013. I groomed and hotwalked the horse, and my girlfriend at the time who is now my wife rode him every morning.

It's grown from there over the years. Now in the middle of the summer we get up to about 50 horses. We'd love more and we're always looking for better-quality horses. That's part of growing into the training ranks. It's tough to attract the top-quality horses. I've always said that as a trainer starting out, the model should be to survive the first 10 years, grow the second 10 years and hopefully by the time you're getting into the third part of it, you're getting some top-quality horses.

When I started training in New York in 2013, seven people took their license out that year. I'm the only one that is still in business. That shows how tough it is as a young trainer to survive on a circuit like New York.

What is the biggest thing you have learned since going out on your own?

I think the biggest thing I've learned–and I'm still learning it–is to be patient with these horses. In this industry in America, we ask an awful lot of our young horses. I see a lot of talented horses not fulfill their potential because of an over-eagerness to get them to the races at a young age. I think if you can train for people who are willing to give them the time to mature, the horses will reward you in the long run. There is nothing better than having a really good 2-year-old, but just because a horse shows that he has an above-average level of ability, it doesn't mean that the right thing to do is try to win a maiden at Saratoga with him.

What do you think makes your stable and your training style unique?

It's very individual. Every horse does something different than what they did the day before.

We've certainly shown over the last few years that we can win races on both surfaces at every level. We've done very well getting older horses from other outfits and improving their careers. There are many facets to training horses and I think we're always trying to improve in every department as much as possible.

Tom and Maggie celebrate Dynadrive's win in the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Lure S. | Coglianese

Q: Do you think a trainer's success is defined more by their ability or by the quality of horses that they receive?

Without a doubt, it's about the quality of horses that they're receiving. There are plenty of very talented, capable horsemen out there. It's something that the American industry is really struggling with at the moment with super trainers. I take nothing away from these guys. It's not their fault that they train a vast number of horses. The reason they do is because they win the big races and they get the results. But I genuinely believe that there are plenty of trainers out there that could do just as good of a job with the number and quality of stock that those other trainers get. The industry needs to do more things, like this kind of series, to promote younger trainers.

If you aren't at the racetrack, what can you be found doing?

I have two daughters, Grace and Willow, who take up plenty of time. With Maggie doing her work for NYRA and Fox Sports, we're also both full-time parents as well. Between the children, our dogs and the retired racehorses, that seems to take up most of our free time but when we have the opportunity, we're a traveling family. The girls have plenty of stamps in their passports already.

With your hectic trainer's schedule and Maggie busy as one of the faces of America's Day at the Races, what is the juggling act like for you between your family and your stable?

It can be tough, especially in Saratoga when Maggie works enormously long hours. It can be tough on the girls as well because I have to be at the barn in the morning and the races in the afternoon. They go to Faith's House, which is an amazing Belmont Child Care Association school and playgroup. There's nothing I enjoy more than when I'm finished at the barn in the morning, to go pick them up and take them racing. They love going racing in Saratoga. I think it's mainly due to the popcorn and lemonade.

We try not to push horses on the girls at all because it would be very easy for them to be totally swamped with a father who trains and a mother who is incredibly active in the media. They do have a little pony called Snickers who they enjoy going to see, but it's nothing that we actively push upon them.

Obviously I'm enormously proud of my wife. She has become one of the very best around the world at what she does and she deserves all the applause that she gets because her results speak for themselves.

What is your favorite racetrack? I'm guessing Saratoga, but maybe not?

It's York, actually. I was born and raised in Yorkshire and the May and August meeting at York are two extremely special meetings for me. I really look forward to maybe one day having a horse run at York. It would be a homecoming for me.

I have a number of favorite tracks around the world. During the Flying Start program, I thought that Randwick was just the most spectacular place to go racing in Australia. There were always huge crowds of young, enthusiastic people.

I'm a huge jumps racing fan too. Maggie and I try to go to Cheltenham during the March festival whenever we can. There's no better racing atmosphere in my opinion anywhere on earth.

I do love going to Saratoga, but it's hard to call it my favorite because it is when we are under the most pressure. I don't think I can really enjoy it for what it is because it is such an important part of our year.

Who is your favorite horse that you've trained?

You never forget your first winner. I'll never forget the feeling of standing on the outside rail at Aqueduct as a field of maiden claiming $25,000 New York-breds were coming down the lane and Treblemaker cleared from the rest. He was in my barn for a while and then went on to Finger Lakes, but eventually came back to us as a pony for a while. He will always be special for us.

The first really good horse that I was lucky enough to train was Haveyougoneaway (Congrats). She seemed to really thrive in our program. She was my first stakes winner, my first graded stakes winner, my first Grade I winner and my first Breeders' Cup horse. At our house I have a photograph of her taken by Barbara Livingston from the day after the Ballerina. She was an extremely talented, very sweet filly. She will always hold a very special place in my heart.

Do you have any up-and-coming horses in your barn that we should know about?

I'm really looking forward to our group of 2-year-olds this year. We have an Arrogate colt that we bought at the Keeneland Sale for a lot of money coming to us. Steven Roco has bought an Upstart filly and an Into Mischief that are both training very well in Florida.

With the turf season coming up soon, it's going to be exciting to get some horses back like Dynadrive (Temple City), who won the Lure S. in Saratoga last year. His half-brother Tell Your Daddy (Scat Daddy), who won the GII Bernard Baruch H. in Saratoga the year before for us, is back breezing now in Florida. It's going to be fun having the brothers back here for turf season. I'm kind of dreading the idea that they might have to run against each other at some point. It would make an unbelievably cool story, but I'd like to try and keep them separate.

Click here for more from our 'Earning Their Stripes' series.

The post Earning Their Stripes: Tom Morley appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Mandate Pulls Upset In Artie Schiller At Aqueduct

Longshot Mandate with jockey Andrew Wolfsont went to the far outside to find running room and sealed the deal with a late move for the lead to win the Artie Schiller at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

The gelded son of Blame sat toward the back of the pack early in the one-mile turf stakes, content to wait for the far turn to make a move for position. Wolfsont took Mandate three-wide on the turn, with leader Rinaldi still on the front as they hit the stretch.

In the Aqueduct straight, though, Rinaldi could not hold on, with Tell Your Daddy gaining ground to bid for the lead as Mandate built up momentum on their outside. In late stretch, the longshot took over, pulling away to win by 1 3/4 lengths. Tell Your Daddy was second and Flavius got up at the end to take third.

The final time for the Artie Schiller was 1:39.07. Find this race's chart here.

Mandate paid $91.50, $30.40, and $10.00. Tell Your Daddy paid $4.50 and $2.60. Flavius paid $2.80.

“He made that outside move and in that same position as in his last race at Laurel. It just looked like a replay of his last race. When I saw those white blinkers making up ground on the outside, I got excited. I had faith in the horse, he was doing everything well,” trainer Robert Johnston said after the race. “His last race made him eligible for the Claiming Crown so we could still go there. Laurel still has grass, too. If we went to the Claiming Crown, we would go and come back. We're team players so if he needs to stay down there with someone else, so be it. Whatever is best for the horse.”

“I'm on cloud nine. This is the biggest stakes race I've won in my career. I won a few other state-bred stakes up in Pennsylvania, so this is pretty special for me, ” Wolfsont told the NYRA Press Office after the Artie Schiller.

Bred in Kentucky by International Equities Holding Inc., Mandate is out of the Empire Maker mare Bonnie's Empire. He is owned by Bruno Schickedanz. The 4-year-old gelding was consigned by Gainesway and sold to Michael C. Stinson for $200,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

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Former Claimer Tell Your Daddy Brings Solid Form Into Saturday’s Artie Schiller

Flying P Stable's Tell Your Daddy brings a solid run of form into Saturday's $150,000 Artie Schiller, a one-mile inner turf test for 3-year-olds and upward at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Tom Morley, Tell Your Daddy posted triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in each of his last three starts, including a runner-up effort in the Lure [100BSF] in August at Saratoga Race Couse; a gate-to-wire win in the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch [101] in September at the Spa; and a troubled second last out in the Grade 1 Keeneland Turf Mile [101].

The 5-year-old Scat Daddy gelding, who was claimed for $40,000 in January at the Fair Grounds, has made a steady progression with a record of 6-1-2-1 for his new connections.

Jay Provenzano [Flying P Stable] said a better trip in the Keeneland Turf Mile, a “Win and You're In” event could have sent the upwardly-mobile gelding to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile.

With Julien Leparoux up in the Keeneland Turf Mile, Tell Your Daddy tracked from fourth position but was impeded at the eighth pole and settled for second, 1 1/2-lengths back of In Love. The third-place finisher – Somelikeithotbrown – exited that event to win last Saturday's Mohawk at Belmont Park while Ivar, the fourth-place finisher, ran a credible third in the Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 6.

“I think we could have won the race if we had got a clean trip like the winner did down the lane. We got a little bumped here and there,” Provenzano said. “We thought we stood a chance to get into the Breeders' Cup but we ended up third on the list.

“Tom and I have always stuck to our plan with this horse and it's usually paid off,” Provenzano added. “We decided if we were first or second on the AE list we'd ship and if not we would stay for this spot and that's the plan.”

Provenzano said Tell Your Daddy's rallying sixth – defeated less than two lengths – in the 2020 Grade 2 Shakertown at 5 1/2-furlongs at Keeneland, caught his eye and prompted the eventual claim.

“We didn't think he was running the right distance,” Provenzano said. “He had just come up short in the Shakertown and when we started watching more replays he was always just coming up short but with a good run. We felt if we could get him to stretch to seven-eighths it would be very good for him.”

Tell Your Daddy ran a game fourth at odds of 60-1 at first asking for new connections in the Elusive Quality in April, missing by a half-length to the victorious Casa Creed when stretched out to seven furlongs over the Belmont turf off a three-month layoff.

Casa Creed exited the Elusive Quality to win the Grade 1 Jackpocket Jaipur at Belmont while third-place finisher Value Proposition has since won 3-of-5 starts including a pair of stakes scores.

Tell Your Daddy made his next two starts at one mile over the Belmont turf, finishing third in the Seek Again and seventh in the Grade 3 Poker. He then teamed up with Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez for a pair of starts at 1 1/16-miles at Saratoga, finishing second in the restricted Lure ahead of his Bernard Baruch coup.

Provenzano said the Poker effort was an anomaly.

“We just dismissed that race. We didn't like how the race unfolded for us in the Poker,” Provenzano said. “After his next race [in the Lure], Johnny came back and said the horse might like to go a little farther and get on the lead. We took a chance in the Bernard Baruch and Johnny put him on the engine and he ran spectacular that day.”

Provenzano said that while he is disappointed to have missed out on this year's Breeders' Cup with Tell Your Daddy, he'll look forward to blazing a trail to next year's event.

“I think we made the right choice staying here,” Provenzano said. “It's a good distance and next year we know that we have to campaign him a little differently and treat him like a real good horse now.”

Velazquez returns to the irons from post 6.

Multiple graded-stakes placed Bodecream will also look to go from claim to fame. The 4-year-old son of Bodemeister, trained by Jeffrey Englehart for Darryl Abramowitz, was claimed for $80,000 out of a winning effort in a 1 1/16-mile optional-claiming tilt last out on October 21 at Belmont Park, registering a career-best 94 Beyer.

“I thought he was in for the right price and that he'd be a good horse for us to have for next season,” Englehart said. “He ran a nice number last time so we nominated him to this race. He's been training good since, so we're going to take a shot. This spot makes sense for him.”

Bodecream launched a productive sophomore season with a rallying win in the Texas Turf Mile last January at Sam Houston. Purchased for $50,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton July Horses of Racing Age Sale, Bodecream was transferred to trainer Mike Maker for a summer campaign and finished a close third in the one-mile Grade 3 Saranac over soft turf last August at Saratoga Race Course.

After completing the trifecta in the one-mile Grade 2 Hill Prince over yielding Belmont turf last October, Bodecream ran a close second in his Big A debut when missing by a nose to City Man in the 1 1/16-mile Gio Ponti last November which was contested over good going.

The consistent Bodecream boasts a record of 7-2-2-0 this season, including a prominent score last out as the mutuel favorite.

“It looked like he liked to be in the open, on the lead and in the clear early,” Englehart said. “We learned that about him and it's something to keep in the back of our mind going forward.”

Jose Lezcano will have the call from post 5.

Three Diamonds Farm's multiple graded-stakes winner Field Pass, a 4-year-old Lemon Drop Kid colt, enters from a close second in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Knickerbocker where he finished a head in arrears of Sacred Life.

The versatile Maryland-bred won 5-of-10 starts last season for trainer Mike Maker, including graded wins in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks over the Turfway Park synthetic; the Grade 3 Transylvania over the Keeneland turf; and the Grade 3 Ontario Derby on Tapeta at Woodbine Racetrack.

Field Pass notched his lone win in six starts this season with a neck score in the one-mile Grade 3 Baltimore/Washington International Turf Cup in July at Pimlico Race Course.

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano will ride from post 11.

Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse will send out a pair of contenders who could benefit from the significant pace signed on for Saturday's test with multiple graded-stakes winner March to the Arch and Olympic Runner, who made the grade in the Grade 2 King Edward in August at Woodbine.

Live Oak Plantation homebred March to the Arch, a 6-year-old Arch gelding, closed to finish fourth last out after being steadied in the stretch run of the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile on September 18.

March to the Arch, a multiple graded-stakes winner, has made all four starts this season at Woodbine led by a dominant win in the nine-furlong Niagara in July ahead of a rallying third in the one-mile King Edward – both contested on the E. P. Taylor Turf Course.

March to the Arch will exit post 4 under Dylan Davis.

Gary Barber's Olympic Runner, a 5-year-old Gio Ponti gelding, finished a distant eighth in the Woodbine Mile but followed with a closing third in the six-furlong Grade 2 Nearctic on September 18 over yielding Woodbine turf.

Kendrick Carmouche will pilot Olympic Runner from post 2.

Bond Racing Stable's Rinaldi, bred in New York by Barry Ostrager, captured the one-mile Grade 3 Forbidden Apple in gate-to-wire fashion in July over firm Saratoga turf but faded to fifth in his follow-up effort last out in the restricted West Point on August 27.

The H. James Bond trainee, who boasts a record of 12-5-2-1, was scratched by his conditioner from last Saturday's 1 1/16-mile Mohawk against fellow state-breds at Belmont Park. He will look to get back to his winning ways from post 3 under Luis Saez.

Juddmonte Farms' homebred Flavius, a graded-stakes placed son of War Front, registered a 103 Beyer two starts back in winning the restricted 1 1/16-mile Lure gate-to-wire on August 7 at the Spa.

Trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown, the 6-year-old ridgling finished fifth last out in the one-mile Grade 3 Mint Million on September 6 at Kentucky Downs.

The consistent Flavius, who sports a ledger of 13-4-3-1 with purse earnings of $719,651, earned a career-best 105 Beyer last September with a rallying win in the Tourist Mile at Kentucky Downs.

Jose Ortiz has the call from the inside post.

Rounding out the field are En Wye Cee [post 7, Irad Ortiz, Jr.], Mandate [post 12, Andrew Wolfsont], and Breaking the Rules [post 8, Manny Franco]. Bal Harbour and Our Last Buck were entered for the main-track only.

The Artie Schiller is slated as Race 9 on Saturday's 10-race card. First post is 11:50 a.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

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In Love Finds Running Room Late To Take Keeneland Turf Mile, Earn BC Mile Spot

Of the two horses clad in the colors of Bonne Chance Farm and Stud Rio Dois Irmaos LLC, all eyes were on Ivar (BRZ), last year's winner of the Grade 1 Keeneland Turf Mile, but it was In Love (BRZ) who brought home the win in the 2021 edition at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., earning a guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the Breeders' Cup Mile along with his first graded stakes win.

Over a good Keeneland turf course, the 5-year-old gelded son of Agnes Gold with jockey Alex Achard broke cleanly, settling into seventh early in the one-mile stakes. As Brown Storm led the field around the first turn and into the backstretch, Achard and In Love bided their time in the middle of the field of 12, waiting until the far turn to move for a more advantageous position. On the rail, though, In Love was stymied by a wall of horses, Achard going wide in the stretch to find running room. That move was the winning one.

Clear of horses, In Love dug in late, passing Somelikeithotbrown and Tell Your Daddy to take the lead and drawing away to win by three lengths. The final time for the one-mile G1 stakes was 1:34.84.

In Love paid $26.40, $15.40, and $9.60. Tell Your Daddy paid $24.60 and $13.20. Somelikeithotbrown paid $8.20. Find this race's chart here.

The G1 Keeneland Turf Mile is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. Winners of Challenges Series races receive a fees-paid, guaranteed spot for the corresponding event at the Breeders' Cup World Championships Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

“I think the big key was we went to Arlington and tried an easier spot, and he won the race, and then we put blinkers on him and he improved a lot, and running the one-turn mile – they are very unfamiliar in South America with that – and I think the horse is improving. You know, Kentucky Downs horses get very fit. And also he loves it here (at Keeneland). Last year he won an allowance very easy here, and I think the giving ground helped him,” trainer Paulo Lobo said after the race.

“(Recording my first Grade 1 win) feels great. Especially at Keeneland—I love Keeneland—and it couldn't be any better,” jockey Alex Achard told the Keeneland Communications Office after the Turf Mile. “He's getting older but he's getting better. He's like a good wine. Every race he shows up and he's even better every time.”

Bred by Fazenda Mondesir and Stud Rio Dois Irmaos, In Love is out of the Know Heights mare Last Bet. With his win in the G1 Keeneland Turf Mile, the 5-year-old gelding has three wins in six starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of five wins in 13 starts and career earnings of $729,700.

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