Longtime Ontario horseman Paul Buttigieg dies

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Longtime Ontario horseman Paul Buttigieg, a winner of 672 races as a trainer, died May 27 after a long illness at the age of 78.

Buttigieg owned and trained eight stakes winners, most notably Canadian champion male sprinter Phil’s Dream, who won the Grade 1 Nearctic and was the runner-up in 2013 Canadian Horse of the Year voting.

Buttigieg also won the 1998 Nearctic with Rushiscomingup when it was ungraded. His other stakes winners were Grade 2 victor Artie’s Storm, Too Many Egbert’s, Royal Egbert, Gypsy Ring, Officeinthevalley, and Jim’s Hope. He also trained Grade 2 winner Strait From Texas for an outside client.

Buttigieg won 23 stakes and his runners earned nearly $20 million (U.S.).

In addition to his work at the track, Buttigieg operated his own training center in Egbert, Ontario, where he developed his horses and provided many of Woodbine’s top trainers with an exceptional facility to winter their horses and prepare them for the next season.

Owner-breeder Frank Di Giulio Jr. said his Canadian champions Pink Lloyd and Patches O’Houlihan were both broken at Buttigieg Training Center and wintered there as well.

“It’s a big loss to the industry, for sure,” Di Giulio said. “He runs and breeds a lot of horses and he bred to Ontario sires. It’s so sad.”

Buttigieg’s longtime assistant, Rick Hayashi, said the operation will continue for the foreseeable future.

“The family is going to continue on,” Hayashi said. “His stepson, Jimmy Goodwin, wants to keep going. He’s got a lot of interest in the horses. He was partners with Paul on a few. He has a few decent horses [at Woodbine].”

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