Mike Trombetta - TRM Trainer of the Quarter

T’S hard to imagine any trainer beginning the new year with more success than Mike Trombetta. The 47-year-old native of Baltimore, Maryland, won back-toback $100,000 stakes at Laurel Park on January 25: the Miracle Wood for three-year-olds with Extrasexyhippzster, who had previously won the Don Rickles Stakes in New York; and the Native Dancer for older horses with Bold Curlin. Extrasexyhippzster, a homebred owned by Toni Kirwan and Ed Hipps, won the Miracle Wood by 3¾ lengths. Harry and Tom Meyerhoff’s Bold Curlin won his stakes by two lengths. The two horses helped Trombetta began the Laurel meet with six victories, one second, and three thirds from just 18 starts. He ranked 13th nationally in earnings through late January. His success isn’t surprising. Trombetta has finished in the top 30 nationally in earnings for four consecutive years. He ranked 22nd in 2011 and 25th in 2012, when his horses earned a career high $4,493,406. Last year, he after being rushed into contention, finished seventh under Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux. “Our day was basically done ten steps out of the gate,” Trombetta said. “He got squeezed back.” Sweetnorthernsaint rebounded to finish second to Bernardini in the Preakness. “He took us to another level,” Trombetta said. “It allowed was 30th with just under $4 million off 101 victories, 114 seconds, and 102 thirds from 683 starts. “It was a good year,” Trombetta said. “We broke 100 wins, and we had earnings in the high $3 millions. Our last four or five years have hovered around that.” Two of his most successful horses in the last two years are 2011 Charles Town Oaks winner Strike the Moon and 2012 Grade 1 Nearctic Stakes winner Next Question, who have combined lifetime earnings of just under $1.1 million. What is surprising is that Trombetta has only been training full-time for nine years. The son of a longtime owner, he worked for his brother’s contracting company for 15 years while training a small string of horses. When the number of horses increased, he went full time in 2005, 19 years after he saddled his first winner, Amant de Cour at Atlantic City. “It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. He did it well enough in his first year to be named the 2005 Maryland Trainer of the Year. The following year, he drew national attention with Sweetnorthernsaint, who won the Illinois Derby. He went off the favorite in the 2006 Kentucky Derby, but had a rough start and, people to see what we do.” New York handicappers are well aware that Trombetta has done very well when he ships horses in from his farm in Baldwin, Maryland. Trombetta’s current 75-horse stable will swell to nearly 100 by the summer. He’s hopeful that Extrasexyhippzster will continue his success. “This is a colt we’ve felt had plenty of ability from the start,” Trombetta said. “He’s really lightly raced and everything he’s been asked to do, he’s done so far.” When asked about the colt’s name, Trombetta laughed. “The owner always names her horses with wild names,” he said. “She uses the maximum number of characters.” Trombetta said he’s still working on a shorter barn nickname for Extrasexyhippzster. “We don’t know what to call him yet,” he said. Of Bold Curlin, Trombetta said, “He’s a yearling we bought with the Meyerhoffs. The last few months, he’s hit a new gear. His numbers jumped up.” Asked what he enjoys most about training, Trombetta said, “I like developing young talent. It’s exciting to me, to watch them develop. That’s very gratifying. We’re all in this because we hope to have good horses.” n

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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN - NORTH AMERICAN TRAINER - ISSUE 3

TRM AWARDSWebmaster13 February 2014Mike Trombetta, Bold Curlin, TRM Trainer of the Quarter