Tribal Custom tops North American runners with 12 wins in 2015

A record was quietly established last weekend at Turfway Park in northern Kentucky when Tribal Custom won a starter allowance by eight lengths. The Dec. 27 victory was the 12th of the year for Tribal Custom, giving the mare the most wins for any horse in North America in 2015.

“I feel very fortunate to have her,” said 27-year-old trainer Elliot Sullivan. “I can’t say enough good things about her. She’s been pretty flawless.”

Sullivan, currently based at Mahoning Valley in northeastern Ohio with a 30-horse stable, claimed Tribal Custom for his main client, Gabes Stable LLC, for $7,500 from a winning race July 11 at Mountaineer Park in West Virginia. The July race was the seventh win for Tribal Custom in 2015 for previous owner and trainer John Capellini.

For Sullivan, the mare went 5 for 6 following the claim, giving her an overall record of 12 for 19 in 2015, with earnings of $89,203. Gabes Stable LLC is owned by retired Pennsylvania businessman Mike Angelo.

Tribal Custom, bred in Kentucky by Pam and Marty Wygod, began her career in California in August 2012 for trainer Marty Jones. The mare turned 6 on Friday.

“She was due for a break after this last win, but she came out of the race so well that we might run her again one more time [in January] before I send her out,” said Sullivan.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Tribal Custom being trained by Sullivan is that he also had the second-winningest horse to compete in the continental U.S. in 2015, a filly named Chella who won 10 of 12 starts. Two horses, Aranzadi and Limoncillo, each won 11 races in Puerto Rico in 2015.

Sullivan, whose family long has been involved in racing in Ohio, is the owner of Chella, an Ontario-bred who turned 5 on Friday. Sullivan claimed Chella in April and proceeded to win nine races with her, all in starter allowances. Chella was turned out this week for a break of about three months, he said.

“Those two horses won 22 races on the year between them,” said Sullivan. “It’s pretty hard to believe.”

Whereas Chella’s starter eligibility has expired, Tribal Custom has all of 2016 to take advantage of those conditions, Sullivan said.