Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint: American Apple's young trainer Daniel Leitch off to fast start
LEXINGTON, Ky. – American Apple used a well-timed late run to score a $97 upset in the Grade 3 Matron Stakes on Oct. 8 at Aqueduct. She and 28-year-old trainer Daniel Leitch are again considered longshots in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on Friday at Keeneland.
California-born Leitch moved to Kentucky as a child with his mother, who worked as an exercise rider for, among others, trainer John Ward.
“I grew up on the track,” he said. “Any time I had off school, I’d go to the track and help her out.”
Leitch held various jobs in the Thoroughbred industry and eventually worked under trainers Ray Handal and Mark Hubley before going out on his own. He won with his first starter in September 2021 in Indiana.
“I was doing sales prep, foal watch, breaking the babies, and I slowly wanted to get on the track,” Leitch said. “I worked for Ray for a little bit, and then I started working for Mark for four years, and then I got my chance. I won my first start with a filly named Midway’s Angel and that got me off to a good start. Ever since that, we’ve just been rolling.”
The Matron was Leitch’s first stakes win. He’s had a strong year, with 8 wins, 5 seconds and 5 thirds from 44 starters into Wednesday. His horses have earned $404,211.
Leitch now has about a dozen horses in training at Keeneland, many for KatieRich Farm of Midway, Ky. KatieRich owns and bred American Apple, a homebred daughter of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. American Pharoah’s offspring have had success on both dirt and turf, which prompted Leitch to move the filly to the turf after her first two starts. She ran third going a mile on turf at Ellis Park in her first start on turf, then won sprinting on turf in a maiden race at Kentucky Downs and in the Matron.
“We started looking at what the Pharoah offspring were doing, and they were doing really well on the turf sprinting,” Leitch said. “We tried her long first time [on turf] and she got a little headstrong and didn’t really settle. She was right there at seven-eighths but just didn’t finish up that last eighth. That’s why we shortened her back up at Kentucky Downs, and she ran really well there.”
American Apple shortens up from the six furlongs of the Matron to 5 1/2 furlongs in the Breeders’ Cup.
“I’m still thinking this is a dream and I’m waking up from it,” Leitch said. “I always knew she had it in her. She’d been training really good and working really good, and I knew she was going to be a good horse. It was just her figuring it out and doing it in the afternoon.”
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