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Claudio Gonzalez Wraps Up Another Leading Training Title At Laurel

Midwest Thoroughbred, Inc.'s Tayler's Chrome, a juvenile daughter of two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome, captured Sunday's opener at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md., to clinch the fall meet championship for trainer Claudio Gonzalez.

Ridden by Angel Cruz, Tayler's Chrome ($7.60) pressed the pace for a half-mile and took a 2 ½-length lead into the stretch before drawing off to win by five in 1:38.28 over a fast main track in the one-mile waiver maiden claimer for 2-year-olds. One of three horses in for a $40,000 tag, she was not claimed.

It was the 25th win of the fall meet for Gonzalez, putting the title out of reach for runner-up Brittany Russell, who would later win with impressive second-time starter Little Huntress, her 24th victory from just 49 starters. Gonzalez also won with 3-year-old filly Originaly From Dot ($3.80) in Race 7

Gonzalez, a 44-year-old cancer survivor, has now won 12 of the last 13 meets in Maryland dating back to Laurel's 2017 spring stand, and owns or shares 15 titles overall. With just New Year's Eve remaining on the live racing calendar in 2020, he will finish with the most wins in the state for a fourth consecutive year.

“When we win the title it's not only for me, it's for all the people working for me. It's a team; everyone is excited. No matter what, in the end we want to win. It's a good feeling,” Gonzalez said. “It's very special for everybody. My assistants, the grooms, everybody. There are very good trainers here and that's why to win the title is a special, special feeling.”

Gonzalez entered the Christmastide Stakes Day program Dec. 26 tied with Russell at 22 wins. Trying to become just the fourth female to lead the trainer standings in Maryland following Karen Patty (1992), Mary Eppler (2016) and Linda Rice (2017), Russell won the $100,000 Dave's Friend with Whereshetoldmetogo.

But Gonzalez captured the $100,000 Native Dancer with historic Pimlico Special (G3) winner Harpers First Ride and $100,000 Anne Arundel County with 2-year-old filly Miss Leslie – a horse he claimed for $25,000 two starts prior – to retake the lead.

Claimed by Gonzalez for $30,000 out of a Sept. 14, 2019, win at Churchill Downs, MCA Racing Stable's Harpers First Ride won for the seventh time in 11 starts in 2020, four of those wins coming in stakes – the Deputed Testamony, Richard W. Small and Native Dancer at Laurel and Pimlico Special at Pimlico Race Course.

A gelded 4-year-old son of Grade 1 winner Paynter, Harpers First Ride has earned $495,623 this year, growing his career bankroll to $573,055. He will figure in the conversation for Maryland-bred Horse of the Year along with Knicks Go, who went three-for-three in the Midwest this year topped by a victory in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1).

“The horse surprises me every race he runs. Every race he runs better and better. He walked today and he walked like he knows he won. It's really good when you see that,” Gonzalez said. “He won four stakes, he won the Pimlico Special, and all the stakes he won he won good. It's the first time I've had a horse like that. With Harpers, every day is special. From the day we claimed him, he started doing good.”

Among the early 2021 stakes for 4-year-olds and up going a route of ground at Laurel are the $75,000 Jennings for Maryland-bred/sired horses at one mile Jan. 16, the $100,000 John B. Campbell at about 1 1/16 miles Feb. 13 and $100,000 Harrison E. Johnson Memorial at 1 1/8 miles March 13. Gonzalez said the connections will keep all their options open for the soon-to-be 5-year-old.

“He proved that he won his races easy and maybe he has to take the next step and race with the big guys and see how he does,” he said. “It all depends on how he's doing after the race, day by day, and we'll make a decision what we're going to do.”

Gonzalez has 99 wins in Maryland this year heading into Thursday's fall meet-ending program, where he has five horses entered. Russell does not have any horses entered on Thursday. Gonzalez also finished first overall in 2017, 2018 and 2019 but said this year takes on added significance, especially since live racing was paused in the state for 2 ½ months from mid-March to late May due to the covid-19 pandemic.

Aside from Harpers First Ride, Gonzalez's other stakes winners this year were 3-year-old Lebda in the Miracle Wood and Private Terms, Princess Cadey in the Beyond the Wire and Completed Pass in the Laurel Dash.

“I don't pay attention to those things. It's not like I have just really good horses. A lot of the horses we have we claimed. They do a little bit better and they run. Like [Saturday], the filly we claimed [Miss Leslie] and she won the stake. You never know,” Gonzalez said.

“The horses tell me where I have to put them. Every race they go, they say ok I'm ready for the next step and we go,” he added. “It's special this year because for everybody it was a strange year with the coronavirus. It's extra special for everybody.”

Notes: Wonder Stables, Robert LaPenta and Madaket Stables' Little Huntress ($2.40) broke running and never looked back in rolling to a front-running 14-length maiden special weight romp over five rivals in Race 3. The winning time for seven furlongs was 1:23.94 over a fast main track … A gray or roan daughter of first-crop sire Frosted, record-setting winner of the 2016 Met Mile (G1), Little Huntress was the first of three winners on the card for jockey Jevian Toledo, followed by Introspection ($4) in Race 6 and Gimme's Goldengirl ($5.20) in Race 9. Toledo has tripled in back-to-back days and has 39 wins, three behind meet leader Sheldon Russell … There will be carryovers of $17,538.82 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 and $332.99 in the $1 Super Hi-5 for the Thursday, Dec. 31 closing day program. Tickets with five of six winners in Sunday's Rainbow 6 each paid $69.56.

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Breeders’ Cup Connections: At 91 Years Young, Blue-Collar Trainer Dancing His Way Into The Winner’s Circle

It's been a difficult year all around, but there are still a few bright spots out there in the world – you just have to know where to look.

This week, we found that feel-good story down in New Mexico. At the age of 91, trainer Rey Marquez saddled his first winner of 2020 at Zia Park on Dec. 3. It was his 13th starter of the year.

It was “just” a $10,000 maiden claiming race on a Thursday, but truly it was more than that. It was a rare moment of joy bursting forth from this challenging year, both for Marquez himself and all those who know him.

“I don't know how many 90-year-olds are still training,” Marquez admitted during a telephone interview, noting that he turns 92 on Dec. 22. “But me, I still danced three times a week 'til the place shut down due to COVID – I do a mean cha-cha, gal!”

The horse, Lincoln County Kid, won by a length, and Marquez danced his way into the winner's circle with his trademark grin. It was a good return on investment; Marquez had purchased the 2-year-old gelding for $1,500 just six weeks prior.

He'd taken a chance on Lincoln County Kid, sight unseen, to help out an old friend: a trainer forced to sell off his stock and leave the business. Marquez remembers telling his fellow horsemen that if things in New Mexico didn't start looking up, and soon, “there'd be a lot of tack for sale.”

It isn't just the pandemic that's dealing raw edges to the state's horse racing industry. Uncertainty about the future of racing at Sunland Park has sent some trainers and owners rushing for the border, and a recent lawsuit filed by the New Mexico Horsemen's Association against the state's commission alleges the latter has been improperly collecting over $8 million since 2004 to pay liability insurance for jockeys.

“We have a really plum relationship with casinos – we get 20 percent of their net – but right now casinos are closed,” Marquez explained. “On Thursday when I won it was an $8,000 purse, so $4,800 goes to the winner. Last year when I won a maiden race my share was $16,000.

“Everybody's having a hard time here. I just keep hoping for a miracle.”

Compounding the issue is the fact that account wagering is not legal in New Mexico. With COVID restrictions firmly established at Zia Park, no fans are allowed and thus there are also no mutuels clerks; that meant Marquez didn't have a bet down on Lincoln County Kid when the gelding paid $31.60 to win.

“It's not the best place in the world to be at right now,” Marquez said simply.

Still, New Mexico has been his home since he and his childhood sweetheart Josephine got married 69 years ago, and he doesn't plan to leave now. There are too many happy memories tucked in around every little corner.

He and Josephine were married for 35 years, and she passed away 34 years ago this month.

Rey Marquez (Bernadette Barrios photo)

“We had a great marriage, and everybody loved her,” Marquez said, emotion causing his voice to catch. “That woman never met a stranger, and she loved the horses.”

Marquez still lives in Albuquerque, where he cut his teeth working for the local Health Department. He always enjoyed attending the races with Josephine and their friends on the weekends, and one afternoon on the way home from Ruidoso Downs, one friend suggested they buy a horse together.

The idea was tempting, sure, but with two young children to support it just wasn't financially feasible.

A few weeks later, fate intervened.

“One morning, two blocks away from the office, a cabbie had a passenger who was in a real hurry trying to catch a flight,” Marquez remembered. “He T-boned me at a light, and I got a nice insurance payout. So I guess you could say I got into racing by accident, literally.”

It took three horses before Marquez saw his silks head out to the track in the afternoon – his first two suffered injuries before they made it to the races.

“It was just bad luck at first,” said Marquez. “I asked my wife, 'Do you think somebody's trying to tell us to stay out of this business?' And she said, 'Hell no, go get us another one!'”

At first, Marquez hired an experienced trainer to condition his horses, then spent weekends on the backstretch helping out and learning as much as he could. Eventually Marquez got his trainer's license, and began operating a “working man's stable.”

Ruben Garcia, a friend who owned several Mexican restaurants in the city, was the first to offer Marquez a chance to begin training full time. Marquez took him up on the opportunity after retiring from the health department at age 62.

It was a family operation from the start. Marquez' wife was his biggest fan, and their daughter Threse ran the shed row for 17 years until her eldest child was school-aged.

He had a few nice runners over the years, led by 1984 Santa Fe Futurity winner Dan's Diablo. More recently, Marquez said the stakes-placed Strike A Spider was one of his favorites.

“This sport has been good to me,” Marquez said. “I wouldn't say I'm prudent, but I got my first nickel in it, and I haven't lost it yet.”

Marquez has saddled 266 winners from 3,488 starters during his career, according to Equibase. He's had a winner nearly every year since 1976, and said he never spent more than $4,000 on a horse.

For Marquez, it's the thrill of watching his horses thundering down the stretch in front that keeps him rising early every morning to see to the needs of his small stable. The racing game also gives him a chance to stay close to the memory of his beloved late wife.

“Most of my friends have passed on now,” Marquez said thoughtfully, then deflected that grim reality with humor via a story about his doctor.

“I eat mostly fried chicken, fried chicken skin, pork … about two to three years ago my regular doctor retired, and the new doctor started talking to me and asked me what I ate. She was surprised, she said, 'There's the rule and there's the exception, and you're the exception!' I guess maybe she's right.”

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Hugh McMahon Gets Career Win No. 1,000: ‘Everything That We Have Is A Gift’

Larry Rabold's Polished Gal provided trainer Hugh McMahon with his 1,000th career victory in thrilling fashion, getting her nose down on the wire ahead of late-running Splendor Gal in Sunday's sixth race at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

Polished Gal ($8.60), a 4-year-old Maryland-bred filly ridden by Victor Rosales, ran six furlongs in 1:12.93 over a fast main track to earn her fourth lifetime win from 19 starts in the claiming event for fillies and mares 3 and older.

Rosales settled Polished Gal in third as Midnight Crossing led the way through splits of 24.86 and 47.92 seconds before being passed by 6-5 favorite Gottaflathaveher midway around the far turn. Once straightened for home, Polished Gal steadily reeled in Gottaflathaveher down the stretch and held off a furious late run to her outside by Splendor Gal for the milestone victory.

McMahon, a 52-year-old native of Doncaster, England, has won with four of his last nine starters, winning once on each of Laurel's four racing programs this week. Polished Gal – his only starter on Sunday's card – was preceded by Paynterbynumbers Nov. 19, He's Zippin On By Nov. 20 and Gary Doing Biz Nov. 21.

“I'm excited. It's a significant landmark,” McMahon said. “It's humbling as well. I was just speaking with one of our grooms and he congratulated me and I told him it's not really me, it's a team, But, we're more than a team, we're a family. My name is up there but it's not really me. There are a lot of people that are involved in this, but more than anything it's God's gift to us. Everything that we have is a gift.”

A steady presence among Maryland's leading trainers since first going out on his own in 2011, McMahon was the state's overall wins leader in 2013. This year, one abridged by the coronavirus pandemic, he has 33 wins from 206 starters with purse earnings of more than $930,000. McMahon has topped the $1 million mark in each of the past nine years, with highs of 166 wins and $3.981 million in 2013.

McMahon is currently tied for fourth with nine wins from 37 starters at Laurel's calendar year-ending fall meet, which began Oct. 8.

McMahon was introduced to the sport by watching the races on television with his father, a coal miner in northern England. He was encouraged to become a jockey and attended the riding academy there, winning 59 races after coming to the U.S. in the 1990s before hanging up his tack in 1998.

In 2005 McMahon became an assistant to trainer Scott Lake, at the time running one of the biggest operations in the country with a peak of 287 horses in 2008. McMahon worked for Lake, a winner of more than 6,100 career races, through 2010, having saddled 108 winners in his own name starting with Flying Retsina Run June 9, 2005, at Pimlico Race Course at odds of 35-1.

McMahon won 98 races the first year on his own and followed with seasons of 146, 166 and 108 wins from 2012-14. He won individual meet titles at Laurel's 2013 winter and fall stands and shared its 2014 winter crown, and has also been the leading trainer at Timonium and Colonial Downs.

Ranked third overall in 2012, McMahon's 74 wins led all Maryland trainers in 2013. His first big horse was Don'tgetsuspicous, who he inherited from Lake and trained to 10 wins, three in stakes, and $324,817 in purse earnings from 28 starts from 2010-12.

Other top horses for McMahon include 2018 Dave's Friend winner Colonel Sharp, 2017 Jameela winner Daylight Ahead and 2017 Camptown winner Northern Eclipse. He trains a 5-year-old Maryland-bred gelding named Brooks Robinson for owner-breeder Mary Boskin and helped facilitate a meeting between the horse and its namesake, a Hall of Fame third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles from 1955-77, in mid-February.

“A lot of what gets lost is that we wouldn't be here if it weren't for the owners. I've been lucky to have a lot of great owners over the years that have carried us, especially through the dry spells,” McMahon said. “They've been very loyal to us, even through the losing streaks, and gotten us where we are.”

Notes: Jockey Sheldon Russell bookended card with wins in Sunday's opener aboard Bound for Broadway ($6.40) and the eighth-race finale with Champagne Toast ($29) … Live racing returns with a special Thanksgiving Day holiday program Thursday. Post time for the first of eight races is 11:25 a.m. … There will be carryovers of $9,593.05 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 and $5,237.62 in the $1 Super Hi-5 wagers. Tickets with four of six winners in Sunday's Rainbow 6 each returned $218.28.

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Glatt On 1,000-Win Milestone: ‘You’re Only As Good As Your Help And I’ve Been Very Fortunate”

Asked if the countdown days to his milestone win – from 990 to 1,000 – were nerve-wracking or business-as-usual, trainer Mark Glatt went with the latter.

“You do think about it when you're a few wins away and when you enter (horses) you have a pretty good idea of what your chances are,” Glatt said. “I knew we were getting close and I thought that maybe it would happen sooner than this because we've had a tremendous amount of seconds this year as it turns out.

“I knew it was going to happen and I was just looking forward to when it did.”

Win No. 1,000 happened for Glatt in Friday's third race at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, Calif., when Zestful ($6.40), with Edwin Maldonado in the irons, went wire-to-wire as the second choice in the betting and was 2 ½-lengths clear of favored Potantico at the wire in the 1 1/8-mile allowance/optional claimer.

“I thought this horse had a really good chance,” Glatt said of his only representative on the eight-race card. “On paper it looked like he could get a pretty easy lead, which he did, and luckily the other riders left him alone. When he gets that kind of trip he can be double tough.

“Also, it was his first start off a long layoff which is oftentimes a horse's best start.”

If, outwardly, Glatt took the milestone victory in stride, his responses in interviews afterward showed how he valued it inwardly.

“It is real important and a very nice accomplishment,” Glatt said. “We work extremely hard to train and race these horses and there are a lot of ups and downs. This is certainly an up, and we're going to enjoy it.

“The big ones (race wins) you remember more, but they all count and they all feel the same in that moment when your horse crosses the finish line first.”

Glatt, 47, grew up on a farm in Auburn, Wash., about 30 miles south of Seattle. His father, Ron, was a racehorse trainer throughout the Northwest. He served as an assistant to his father and others, took out his training license soon after graduation from Western Washington University at the age of 21, and has gone from the Pacific Northwest to Northern and then Southern California circuits, the last move coming in 2000.

“I grew up with horses and I knew at a very young age that there wasn't going to be anything else that I really wanted to do,” Glatt said. “This isn't going to a factory and doing the same thing day after day. A new challenge is almost a daily occurrence. It's the love of the horses that keeps us all going and to get to work with horses and be outdoors – how can you beat it?”

Glatt was dutiful in pointing out that it was not an individual accomplishment.

“You're only as good as your help and I've been very fortunate to have very good assistants and a heck of a crew,” Glatt said. “And I've been fortunate to have (owners) who have given me quality horses to train, have been loyal and have stuck with me through the good times and the bad.”

The beauty of recording No. 1,000 at Del Mar was that his entire family was able to be on hand to witness it.

“There are times when I've got to be away at a sale or something and the most important thing is I was able to be here and have my family here with me,” Glatt said.

But a family celebration was not in immediate plans.

“This is kind of a tough time of the year,” Glatt said. “I've got a lot of workers (this) morning at Santa Anita and then I've got to get back down here because I've got six entered here in the afternoon.

“So we'll be on the road a lot. Maybe Sunday evening we'll find time to celebrate.”

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