Interview with Trainer Patrick Byrne

Trainer Patrick Byrne is a three time Breeders’ Cup winner and the trainer of the 2012 Florida Derby champ and fan favorite Take Charge Indy. Take Charge Indy placed third in the 2013 Donn Handicap last week where he lost by 7 ½ lengths but ran 33 feet further than the winner.

Trainer Patrick Byrne’s career highlights includes conditioning Favorite Trick into the 1997 Horse of The Year and the American Champion two-year-old colt. He also trained Countess Diana, who become the 1997 American Champion two-year-old filly. In 1998, trainer Patrick Byrne trained Awesome Again who won the Breeders’ Cup Classic after an undefeated year. Take Charge Indy is his latest accomplishment winning the 2012 Florida Derby.

Lady and The Track conducted an exclusive interview with Patrick Byrne the day before Take Charge Indy’s big race to find out why he prefers to keep a small barn, what he does for fun, and what his plans are for Take Charge Indy!

How many horses do you currently train? 
Patrick: Right now we currently have eight.

Are you superstitious before a big race? If so do you perform any strange rituals? 
Patrick: No particular ritual besides taking a shower once daily whether I need it or not. But I guess my biggest one, Maribeth and Chuck (Sandford) will tell you this too, when friends and relatives come to the races everyone wants to take a photograph before the race. I hate that on race day. I tend to think there should only be one picture. Hopefully it’s the winners circle picture. Then you can take all the pictures you want after the fact. I’m very superstitious taking pictures in the paddock. My biggest pet peeve is taking pictures of the horse. If you’re going to take a picture on race day you better sneak it! Don’t let me catch you taking a picture! Today you can take pictures. After 12:00 it’s all over!

You come from a family involved in racing back in England. What made you decide to pack up and move across the pond?
Patrick: My father was involved with horses at a young age. My grandfather was a jockey. My great grandfather was in the horse business too. They are from Ireland. I grew up in the east end of London. I didn’t have any horse experience until I was fifteen. I didn’t have a GED so I wanted to be a jockey. But that’s no excuse with all these online courses we can do now!

When I was young I loved to travel. I traveled most of Europe at a young age and I always wanted to come to the states. I came over to New York in 1978 and I really liked it. I ended up immigrating here got my green card a long time ago. I’ve been a citizen of the United States for about 15 years now.

You worked for many years under trainers like LeRoy Jolley, John Russell, Howard Tesher and David Whitely. Who taught you how to really become a great trainer?
Patrick: I’ve learned a lot from most of them. I tried to take the basic horsemanship from each different trainer. I think David Whitely stood out. He always had a small outfit of horses and he was always one on one with his horse. All the other trainers are equally as good and successful. At the end of the day it really just comes down to the horse. It’s all about the horse. It always has been and always will be. The horse has the talent and as trainers all we try to do is manage that talent. If they don’t have that talent there is nothing you can do. There is a great saying “water seeks it’s own level”, but I think good horseman take horses from scratch from day one and they can see if the horse is talented or not so talented. I think that’s a natural thing. Some guys have it some guys don’t. You tend to go with a gut type of feeling. I can do a lot of stuff off of my gut feeling. I take my horse on a daily basis. Some days I might want to do this with a horse and other days I want to change it up a little bit based on what I see that morning. There is a basic blueprint you can do with a horse and you kind of stick with that but I take the horse as an individual. 

Who do you admire the most out of current trainers?
Patrick: There are a lot of talented guys out there right now. Unfortunately this business has become a numbers game more than ever. The more numbers a trainer has the more exposure they are going to get. It’s that simple. If you have 100 or 200 horses you’re going to hope that at least 10% of that is going to be grade I or grade II. What I’ve been very fortunate is to just deal with a handful of horses. That way I always come up with good horses. I think that’s probably more the storyline. The guys with the big numbers do a great job at what they do. They receive a lot of exposure. There’s no two ways about it. But again, it is all down to the horse. I’m a big believer in the animal itself.

Even though you like a small barn, are you interested in training more horses?  
Patrick: I’d be interested if owners approached me with the opportunity. Obviously, I’ve never closed my door for business. Maribeth and Chuck are the greatest. They don’t put any pressure on me. I enjoy them. I do put pressure on myself. I’m very competitive so I don’t need the owner adding additional pressure. There are some owners like that unfortunately. Its understandable, its just the landscape. It doesn’t make anybody a bad person. I just don’t need that. I’m a little bit picky on who I take in. I try to enjoy life a little bit. Life is too short for the aggravation. I’m an individual that’s very competitive and a little bit anal about perfection. I have to turn a blind eye a little bit on certain things. Ten to fifteen years ago everything bothered me. Every little thing bothered me that wasn’t right. So I had to change my lifestyle a little bit. Part of that became me cutting back in what I do business wise. I’m all about trying to be around good horses. I mean, I like horses period, every one of them. Trying to make a living it only makes sense to deal with the higher, top hand. How do you get the top hand? You put your hands on every horse you can get a hold of, which is what most of these guys do. So it’s very hard to get that balance. It’s almost impossible to turn away 100 horses and try to deal with 10 horses and end up having one like Take Charge Indy. So that’s not contradictory in terms but I’m ok with that.

What do you do for fun when you aren’t at the track?
Patrick: When I’m not here at the barn I like messing around with real estate. It’s a hobby and an outlet for me. I also like to dine out. I like fine dining. I enjoy a nice glass of cabernet from Napa. I’m enjoying the beach right now with my daughter. She is from Colorado and a lot of fun. I work out, hit the gym, and I like to run. If you want to eat and drink you have to work out!

Any advice for your fans?
Patrick: Appreciate the horse for what he is. The horse is a magnificent animal. Go to the races and watch them on the track. Watch them in the paddock. You don’t have to get caught up so much in the gambling aspect of it. Just enjoy the thoroughbred as a physical specimen.

 

About Take Charge Indy:

Does Take Charge Indy reside at Gulfstream the majority of the year?
Patrick: For the wintertime. He’ll go back to Churchill Downs in April. We will spend the majority of the summer up there.

Does Take Charge Indy have a nickname around the barn?
Patrick: He’s just become “TCI”.

Besides peppermints, what are Take Charge Indy’s favorite treats?
Patrick: He loves bananas. He’s been known to eat a little sweet potato here and there. Sometimes he dips his hay in water before he eats it! Take Charge Indy loves his treats! 

What are Take Charge Indy’s “personality” traits? What is his demeanor typically like?
Patrick: He is a real sweetheart. He is simply a big puppy dog.

Take Charge Indy had a big performance in the Florida Derby last year after a two-month break. Are you expecting that sort of race for the Donn Handicap, or does he need to get a race under him to get back to top form?
Patrick: No, he’s ready to go. No excuses. He runs well fresh and he’s incredibly honest. He’ll run his heart out for us!

Can you tell us a little bit about jockey John Velazquez? 
Patrick: He’s a hall of fame rider, newly inducted last year. He’s a very smart heads up jockey. We are delighted to have him tomorrow for the Donn Handicap.

Now that WinStar Farms has an interest in the racing career of Take Charge Indy, how has that relationship been?
Patrick: Excellent. We look forward to a great partnership with them.

WinStar Farms allowed Take Charge Indy to run as a four year old. I would assume the Breeders’ Cup Classic has to be the goal at the end of the year. Are you pointing to any other races specifically for 2013?
Patrick: Yes! The met mile at Belmont is a possibility. I don’t think we are going to Dubai for the world cup. We haven’t even talked about that. It’s not on the table. Other races that are under strong considerations would be the Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs. I’d also like to race Oaks Day in the Alysheba, which is a grade II $300,000 race. We are still deciding our exact path for Take Charge Indy.

Do you have a favorite Take Charge Indy moment?
Patrick: You know every day is. I look forward to getting to the barn. I look forward seeing his groom getting him ready in the morning. I look forward to training him. He’s just an absolute sweetheart of a horse! 

Dale Romans had a meet and greet with Shackleford last year at Churchill Downs. According to all reports, it was a resounding success. Would you ever consider doing something similar with Take Charge Indy?
Patrick: Absolutely!

Do you have any up and comers at the barn that I should be taking note of?
Patrick: Our three-year-old colt Positively is a beautifully bred horse. We don’t think we will run him in the derby but you may see him in the Illinois Derby. He won’t make it in the Florida Derby but you’ll see him in a few others. Positively is going to be a fun horse!

We also have a filly Successful Luck. She is three-years-old 3 year old and is half sister to Blind Luck. She’s in partnership between Dr. Bill Baker and his wife Terry, with Maribeth and Chuck. They bred Successful Luck and Blind Luck. She has shown some talent! Successful Luck may make the end of Gulfstream. She will be ready to run for sure at Churchill. 

For more information, you can follow Take Charge Indy on facebook. You can also read more about WinStar Farm by visiting their website. Stay tuned for more exclusive footage from our interview with Patrick Byrne and Chuck and Maribeth Sandford.

Lady and The Track would like to thank Patrick Byrne, Maribeth Sandford, Chuck Sandford, Take Charge Indy’s social media manager, and my horse crush Take Charge Indy for helping me make this interview possible! Good Luck! Safe Run! ~Trixie