Nafzger to fill in for Wilkes during vacation

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Ian Wilkes gave himself quite the send-off before he and his wife, Tracey, return to their native Australia for a few weeks. Wilkes saddled three winners on the Thanksgiving Day card at Churchill Downs, capped by Thatcher Street posting a hard-fought victory in the Grade 3 River City Handicap.

“It’ll put us in a good mood for the long plane ride Tuesday,” said Wilkes, who also won Thursday allowances with War Stroll and Bird Song. “We haven’t been home in six or seven years. We’re going to see family and enjoy some downtime.”

The Wilkeses first came to the United States in 1989 to work for Carl Nafzger and eventually settled in Louisville, raising their two children, Shelby and Brody, both now adults. Nafzger went on to earn election into the Racing Hall of Fame and trained two Kentucky Derby winners, Unbridled (1990) and Street Sense (2007).

As Nafzger phased himself out into semi-retirement starting in 2006, Wilkes gradually took control of the sizable stable, reaching a career high in 2012, when Fort Larned won the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita. After the Churchill fall meet ends Sunday, most of the Wilkes horses will go to Florida, split between the Palm Meadows training center and Tampa Bay Downs. Nafzger and his wife, Wanda, left several weeks ago for the Boynton Beach area where Palm Meadows is located and is ready to fill in while Wilkes is away.

“I’m pretty lucky to have a Hall of Fame assistant,” Wilkes, 51, said with a laugh.

Bird Song was perhaps the most impressive of the Wilkes winners Thursday, completing a mile in a swift 1:34.06 to earn a 99 Beyer Speed Figure. Bred and owned by the Marylou Whitney Stables, the gray 3-year-old colt might next compete in one of the bigger races at Gulfstream Park this winter – although he’s still not yet being confused with a 3-year-old of a very similar name, Songbird.

“We’re working on that,” Wilkes said with a grin.