The successful trainer Ignacio Correas, whose earliest equine lessons came in South America and Europe, will retire from American training at the end of this year and go back to his home country, Argentina. Correas, 65, leaves on his own terms – but then he has only ever done things on his own terms. Fiercely confident, constitutionally unable to suffer fools and foolishness, but loyal, generous, and an exceedingly capable horseman, Correas amassed 297 wins and more than $20 million in purses during an American training career that began in earnest in 2010. Correas, operating a mid-sized stable, with a pipeline to talented South American stock, won 23 graded stakes, including the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Distaff with Blue Prize. Correas is a fourth-generation Argentine horseman, though the three generations preceding him were breeders and owners. Correas attended Argentine jockeys’ school in 1973. He lasted one year. “They told me to cut my legs or leave. I was too tall,” Correas said. Correas, through family connections, moved to France. He worked first in the yard of legendary trainer Alec Head, then had an extended spell with trainer David Smaga. Correas, talking to Thoroughbred Daily News several years ago, recalled leaving Smaga’s employ. “He said, ‘I don’t know if you learned something about horses, but you learned how to work – and you’re going to do good wherever you go.’ And he gave me a hug and started crying. And I thought that he hated me!” Correas said. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Correas opened a successful stable back in Argentina, but his restless streak, the pleasure of accepting a challenge, pushed him to America in 2001. He found work in New York with trainer Billy Badgett, who one autumn sent Correas out on the road to oversee a string at Fair Grounds. Correas started driving west, no real idea where he was going, and eventually found New Orleans. Correas struggled. An old friend from Argentina saw him in New York and asked if he was eating enough. Not until Correas went to Southern California and became the assistant for trainer Bill Curran did he find a stable path. Out on his own in Kentucky, Correas got his first really good horse, Kasaqui, from the owner-breeder Diane Perkins, who had befriended him. Then came the mare Dona Bruja, who nearly won the Grade 1 Beverly D. at Arlington. Blue Prize, a rare dirt star for Correas, was followed by Didia, who won the Grade 1 New York last year. Nanda Dea looked like a rising star before she got hurt late this winter. She’s nearing a comeback, and her sister, Nanabush, is set to make her U.S. debut later this month at Colonial Downs. But by Dec. 1, Correas will wrap things up. He hopes to direct the horses he can to his friend, trainer Horacio De Paz. Correas owns a farm in Argentina with his brothers, but said he’ll settle down in Buenos Aires. He’ll do some bloodstock work, maybe work as a racing manager, if an Argentine owner wants him. “I have been very, very lucky,” Correas said. “I never dreamed to have the career I have. When I came to America, if you told me, ‘You’re going to work your ass off and end up with 20 horses and live off what you do,’ I’d have been happy with that.” ◗ Litigation required a drop into a $75,000 maiden claimer to win his first race, a sprint carded for turf, rained onto dirt. Six weeks later, on July 13, Litigation got his first chance on turf. He cruised to a 3 1/2-length win in a first-level turf sprint allowance and earned a strong 91 Beyer Speed Figure. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  If Litigation runs back to that, he wins the featured fourth race Monday at Ellis Park, an open turf sprint allowance restricted to 3-year-olds. “He’s bred up and down for grass and really took to it,” trainer Brian Lynch said. “I don’t know if he got behind a very fast pace that collapsed and closed over the top of it, but we always thought he was going to be a nice little horse.” The chief competition among six rivals comes from Troubleshooting, who with help from a great trip won the Dade Park Dash, an Ellis turf sprint, on July 4. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.