Desjarlais leads young trainers

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This article was published 04/06/2020 (1568 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was another noteworthy week at Assiniboia Downs.

The track set yet another new record for wagering, Alberta-based trainer Craig Smith won his second overnight stakes of the meet, trainer Jerry Gourneau turned loose a couple of winners that looked like they were shot out of a cannon, and trainer Ryan Desjarlais won his third race in six starts to lead an unprecedented youth movement early in the 2020 season.

Bettors poured $1,853,429 through the virtual wires on Wednesday evening to break the wagering record for the third time this year, eclipsing the mark of $1,786,264 set on the previous Wednesday. There will be more tracks coming online in the near future that will take a bite out of the high numbers, but for now things are rolling.

The same could be said for 34-year-old second-year trainer Desjarlais, who leads an up-and-coming group of young trainers at the Downs with a record of 3-0-1 from six starts. Desjarlais won his first two starts of the meet, both by a neck, with Peeper ($12.20) and Man of Blues ($19.00) and coaxed a game performance from Eaglebine ($5.40) on Monday night to win his third race of the meet, this time by a head.

Racing is a game of inches and the heart factor is often the difference. All three of Desjarlais’ horses found more when it counted, in a fashion similar to the horses trained by his mentor, Jack Robertson.

Now retired, Robertson was always known as one of the best old-school caretakers on the grounds during a career highlighted by numerous stakes winners and 684 wins. He had an excellent feeding program and treated his horses like professional athletes, using preventative medicine such as ice tubs, turbulators and cold-water hosing to make his charges feel good, not to mention having them mentally ready for action when it counted.

Desjarlais appears to be following suit.

Originally from Lundar, he spent more than 15 years learning from Robertson and it may just be starting to pay off now.

As a bonus, he owns all or part of every horse in his 10-horse stable and he’s also got his family involved.

“I’ve got a little better horses this year,” said Desjarlais, who works as a power line supervisor during the off-season.

“And training horses is not like a job for me. It’s fun. I like being here and spending time with the horses. My wife Kristi helps in the barn and my sister sets up a projector screen and plays the races for the family when the horses are running.”

Desjarlais, currently sits fifth in the standings behind veteran trainers Jerry Gourneau (six wins), and Tim Rycroft, Tom Gardipy, Jr. and Jared Brown, each with four wins.

Brown saddled Dune d’Oro to win the Shanghied Overnight Stakes Wednesday for Alberta-based trainer Craig Smith, who also won the Liz’s Pride Overnight Stakes with Music at Work on the second day of the meet with Brown saddling.

Also of note, Gourneau saddled More Than Stature ($2.70) to win the sixth race Wednesday night by 9½ lengths. The night before, Gourneau had turned loose Witt’s Gato ($2.50) to win by 3½ lengths. On both occasions the horses were heavily bet before making their rivals look like they were tied to a post.

Back to the young guns: 24-year-old trainer Courtney Ross is now 1-for-1 after winning the second race Monday night with The Fiddlers Green ($7.90). The former Saskatoon-based trainer from Rose Valley, Sask. won the Saskatchewan Derby in 2018 and has 18 horses here, with more coming.

Another young trainer from Saskatchewan to watch is 22-year-old Brittany Gourdeau, who has a few horses of her own while also looking after a string here for veteran trainer Colleen O’Hagan. Gourdeau conditioned top three-year-old filly Eyespymylittleeye at Marquis Downs last year.

Also among the younger set is 28-year-old Tiffany Husbands, who has two second-place finishes from three starts. Mentored by such trainers as Tanya Lindsay, Rob Atras, Rick Wise, Emile Corbel and Clayton Gray, Husbands gallops her own horses and should steadily improve as the years go by.

And finally we have 35-year-old second-year trainer Devon Gittens, whose results don’t tell the whole story. The talented horseman from Barbados has been in Canada for more than a decade and also exercises his own horses. He’s only had one third-place finish from six starts, but his horses have had some brutal trips, getting left in the gate, and then rushing up into contention only to flatten out in the stretch. If you’re looking for a long shot you might find one in this barn.