Morey increasing his presence in Southern California

ARCADIA, Calif. – There was plenty of new activity at trainer Billy Morey’s stable at Santa Anita last weekend.

While Morey attended to the stakes-placed 3-year-old Midnight Ming, his wife, Elizabeth, unpacked boxes featuring stable emblems and other equipment needed for the 10 stalls that Morey’s runners will occupy.

Long a fixture in Northern California, Morey has had starters at Santa Anita in the past but is planning a more permanent presence this spring to diversify his stable on the state’s two circuits.

“It’s the first time I’ve had a small string at Santa Anita,” Morey said. “We’re in a transitional period.”

On Saturday, Morey can win the richest race of his career when Midnight Ming starts in the $200,000 Snow Chief Stakes for California-bred 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on turf. Midnight Ming races for owners and breeders Jack and Barbara Owens and has one win in seven starts, a maiden race at Golden Gate Fields last November.

Midnight Ming was third in his stakes debut in the Silky Sullivan Stakes for 3-year-old California-breds at a mile on turf at Golden Gate Fields on May 1, losing to the Southern California shippers Gold Rush Dancer and Tough It Out. Those three are expected to be part of a small field in the Snow Chief Stakes.

Morey is not concerned about the presence of those rivals. He thinks Midnight Ming deserves a chance even though the distance will be a test.

“If I’d written the race, I’d like it at a mile or a mile and a sixteenth,” he said. “He didn’t get beat far by the two horses that finished in front of him. I don’t know if any of them want a mile and an eighth.”

The prize money, though, justifies the attempt.

“We’ve got to take advantage of it,” he said.

Morey, 42, has been among the leading trainers at Golden Gate Fields in recent years, often finishing in the top five in the standings. Through Sunday, he had 1,464 career wins, including City by the Bay in the 2013 Barretts Debutante at Fairplex Park, his only stakes win in Southern California.

Morey is the son of the late trainer Bill Morey, who died in 2015. Bill Morey was a fixture in Northern California and became nationally prominent later in life. He trained Dixie Dot Com, who won the Grade 2 San Fernando Stakes in 1999 and the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes in 2000 at Santa Anita, and Bold Chieftain, who won the $500,000 Sunshine Millions Classic at Gulfstream Park and the San Francisco Mile at Golden Gate Fields in 2010.

Bill Morey often had runners throughout the state, and his son plans to emulate that pattern. In the next few months, Billy Morey will assess which of the more than 40 runners he has in Northern California are best suited to the tracks in Southern California.

At the least, Del Mar will be a familiar venue this summer. Morey has had at least one winner at Del Mar annually since 2011 with a limited number of runners. Last year, he won with three of nine runners at the summer meeting.

“I usually have eight or 10 at Del Mar,” he said.

For his new arrangement, Morey has hired Miguel Delgado, a former assistant to Julio Canani, to oversee the stable when Morey is in Northern California. Morey plans to split his time between the two circuits and said he is ready to dedicate the time needed to give the investment a chance to succeed.

“I’ve been coming down a couple of days a week,” he said. “You can run for more money. We might have more opportunities.”