Mahorney's first win a memorable one

“You’ve never seen a happier group in the winner’s circle for a $4,000 claiming race,” said trainer Cinda Mahorney after Lucky Gotum’s half-length victory in the seventh race last Saturday.

The victory was Mahorney’s first as a trainer and came with the 16th runner she had saddled. It came with a 6-year-old gelding slated for retirement who had been sent to Mahorney at her Winning Start Race Farm to get over various issues. Owned by his breeder, Brent Kirk, along with Kevin Kirk and Greg McWilliams, Lucky Gotum paid $43.80 to win.

“The elation we felt had nothing to do with money,” Mahorney said.

Instead, Mahorney said, it was about the thrill of winning with a horse whose career had seemed over.

“He’s not the type that does well at the track, but he started thriving on the farm,” Mahorney said.

As Lucky Gotum improved, Mahorney began to train him for a comeback, keeping him at the farm and shipping him to Golden Gate Fields for what she called “speed workouts,” which included a three-furlong bullet work April 26.

Lucky Gotum tired late and ran sixth for a $5,000 tag in his first start for Mahorney on May 1. On Saturday, he rallied from eighth to win by a half-length.

Mahorney is the daughter of Bill Mahorney, a trainer and one of Northern California’s top riders in the 1970s. She trains horses at her layup facility and said things haven’t been easy since she saddled her first runner in 2012.

“The more I talked to people, the more confused I got,” she said. “I decided to do things myself, make my own mistakes, and learn from them. Horses have taught me more than any one piece of advice I ever got. I’m their groom, exercise rider, and trainer. When I started listening to the horses, things improved.”

Saturday turned out to be doubly special for Mahorney. Earlier on the card, a 2-year-old named Mahorney – after her father – made his debut and ran second. Mahorney is out of Marty’s Zee, a stakes-winning mare trained by Bill Mahorney and, Cinda Mahorney said, one of his favorite horses.