Jason Barkley ends dry spell

Finally, luck was on Jason Barkley’s side. The 29-year-old trainer ended a frustrating drought Sunday at Ellis when Shaun Bridgmohan guided Katie’s Reward to victory in a $16,000 claiming race over Jemrose, a late-running filly trained by Jeff Barkley, Jason’s father.

“If Jemrose doesn’t steady in the turn, Pops may have beat me,” Barkley said with a laugh.

Instead, Katie’s Reward produced the first win of the year for Barkley, who opened a public stable last fall after working closely with many top horses as an employee for Wesley Ward, Joe Sharp, and Larry Jones. Barkley had gone winless with his previous 50 starters, dating to last fall.

“I told one of my friends if I could handle that type of dry spell to start my career, I can probably handle a lot of the things to come,” Barkley said.