Stuart, Keene pile up wins at Remington

As someone who grew up in the sport, Shea Stuart has a respect for the commitment it takes to operate a racing stable, and as such, he waited for the right opportunity to launch his training career. That came last spring, when Stuart signed on as a private trainer for Danny Keene. The partnership has been a hit this year at Sam Houston Race Park, Lone Star Park, and now Remington Park.

Keene and Stuart have gone 12 for 59 with their starters this season at Remington, with Keene tied for third in the owners’ standings and Stuart fourth among trainers. The strong showing comes following a banner first half of the year in which Keene won the owners’ titles at Sam Houston and Lone Star and Stuart finished third in the trainers’ standings at both meets.

That he is fortunate to be a private trainer with the backing of one of the top owners from Texas is not lost on the 31-year-old Stuart.

“It’s been the most beneficial way to get a start,” Stuart said. “I didn’t have to come up with any overhead, and it’s worked out good for what Mr. Keene was looking for, and it’s what I’d been looking for. It’s really a beneficial deal for both of us, and it means a lot to me, Mr. Keene trusting me to do this. It’s a big job. It shows confidence in me.”

Stuart, an Albuquerque, N.M., native, was well prepared for the task. He is the son of Clinton Stuart, a trainer whose horses included War Thief, a six-time stakes winner who earned more than $600,000, and Raja’s Omega, a multiple stakes winner who fashioned an eight-race win streak in 1996.

“My dad’s been training since he was 17, close to 40 years,” said Shea Stuart. “I worked for my dad for a long time. I also agented some and had a little stint where I went to Gulfstream and Delaware. After that, I came back here and worked for my dad some more. I met Mr. Keene through agenting. I took a little string of horses to Louisiana Downs for him last year.”

It was at Louisiana Downs that Stuart won his first race on May 15, 2014. Stuart’s first stakes winner came this July at Lone Star Park, where Texas Chrome captured the $111,000 colts-and-geldings division of the Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales Futurity. Texas Chrome shipped to Arapahoe Park a month later and won the $100,000 Gold Rush Futurity, and on Monday he won the $55,000 Governor’s Cup at Zia Park. He is the barn’s leading candidate for the $250,000 Springboard Mile in December at Remington.

Other top horses for Keene and Stuart include Chuck, who on Friday at Remington will seek to win a second Oklahoma Classics Night Sprint; Steelman Run, second in the $100,000 Arapahoe Park Classic in August; Class President, a long-range candidate for the Grade 3, $200,000 Connally Turf Cup at Sam Houston; Valid Decision, a 2-year-old allowance winner at Remington; and Halfandtwoquarters, a stakes-placed 2-year-old filly bred in Louisiana.

Keene and Stuart have 40 horses in training at Remington. Following the close of Remington in December, they would like to branch out to Oaklawn, which opens in January. The men also are looking to race at Fair Grounds, which starts in November.

“We’re kind of throwing things around,” Stuart said.

As for the immediate future, Keene and Stuart have three horses entered Thursday night at Remington, including starters in the twin allowance features.