Callaghan achieves childhood dream by reaching Derby

ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainer Simon Callaghan’s journey to Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs with Sunland Park Derby winner Firing Line has been almost 20 years in the making, a circuitous route that began in his hometown of Newmarket, England, with stops on the East Coast and California.

Callaghan, 32, was a curious teenager, and the son of a trainer, who watched the race on television late on Saturday nights in England in the 1990s. He was a seasonal employee for Todd Pletcher when he first saw the race from an American perspective in 2003. By 2010, Callaghan was in his first year of training in California.

“It’s a race I’ve always followed,” he said on a recent morning at Santa Anita.

In the last three years, Callaghan has been at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May, saddling horses for races such as the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic, Humana Distaff, and American Turf Stakes. Being on the periphery of the Kentucky Derby has given Callaghan an idea of what the scene will be like Saturday.

“We kind of know what to expect, all the buildup, the crowds, and everything that goes along with having a horse in the race,” he said.

But little can prepare a person for a first direct involvement in the Kentucky Derby – the famous prerace walk from the stables to the paddock, the massive and sometimes overenthusiastic crowd packing the grandstand, and the tension and electricity of a jammed saddling enclosure. All of that occurs long before the race itself.

Callaghan moved his racing stable from Newmarket to Southern California in late 2009, having taken over from his father, Neville, in the late 2000s. He had 33 wins in England in 2008 and 34 the following year but sought a change.

Callaghan was based in the United States for two years before he won a stakes on dirt, a time when the stable was led by turf runners such as Dubawi Heights, the winner of the Grade 1 Gamely at Hollywood Park in 2010 and the Grade 1 Yellow Ribbon Stakes in 2011.

In the last two years, a majority of Callaghan’s stakes winners have been on dirt or synthetic tracks. Firing Line’s win in the $800,000 Sunland Park Derby represents the trainer’s richest victory. The overall change from a predominance of turf stakes winners to success on dirt is part of the evolution of the stable, and its clientele.

“The majority of the horses are dirt horses with American clients,” Callaghan said. “We started with turf horses. As you get going here and get an understanding, you have to adapt your training.”

In a way, Firing Line represents a bridge between the two periods. The colt is owned by Arnold Zetcher, who was a partner with prominent European owner Michael Tabor on Fashion Plate, the winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks for Callaghan in 2014. Tabor invited Zetcher to be a partner on Fashion Plate when the filly was acquired in 2013. At the time, Zetcher and Callaghan had already discussed working together.

“It was in the back of my mind,” Zetcher said in mid-April. “We had talked for some time, and Fashion Plate came along. I’ve always watched him. He’s a good, young trainer and consistent.”

Firing Line, by the Lion Heart stallion Line of David, was purchased for $240,000 at the 2014 Keeneland April sale of 2-year-olds in-training. He was second in his debut last October and won his second start in a maiden race at 6 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar last November.

In his next two starts, Firing Line was second, by a head, to top Kentucky Derby contender Dortmund in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity in December and the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 7.

A start in the Santa Anita Derby on April 4 was considered, but Zetcher and Callaghan opted for the trip to Sunland. Firing Line won by 14 1/4 lengths under jockey Gary Stevens, who will have the mount in the Kentucky Derby.

“He seems to be progressing,” Callaghan said. “Dortmund is undefeated, and there’s American Pharoah and Carpe Diem. We’ll probably be an underdog against those horses. But you need a bit of racing luck in the 20-horse field. We’ve got to have a clean trip, sit back, and wait behind the first wave of horses.”

Years of dreaming about having success in American racing has turned into reality. This could be the start of more frequent trips to Churchill Downs in May for the Kentucky Derby, Callaghan said.

“It would be a big sense of accomplishment to win,” Callaghan said. “It’s what we’re trying to do. We’ve got a group of owners buying that type of horse. Hopefully, that will be a goal every year.”