Martin Savors First Breeders' Cup Experience

Becoming a trainer was the simple part for Carlos Martin.

You can freely say he was born to care for Thoroughbreds as the grandson of Hall Fame trainer Frank Martin and the son of Jose Martin, who trained three champions.

"I fell in love with horses at a young age, and being close to my father, becoming a trainer was the natural thing for me to do," Carlos said.

It was matching the success of his Cuban-born grandfather and father that became the challenge for the 50-year-old Martin, and it's one that continues to motivate him every day of his life.

Especially Nov. 2.

On Day 2 of the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park, Martin knows in his heart that his late father and grandfather will be watching from the heavens, keeping an eye on him as he tries to emulate them by becoming the trainer of a champion.

"I'd be remiss if I didn't say I think about them practically every day," he said. "We had such good times together, and I wish my father and grandfather were here to enjoy this with me. I'm sure they are looking down, and I hope they are proud."

Heading into the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), Martin has done the kind of superb training job with 5-year-old Come Dancing that would make any horseman proud.

Owned by Marc Holliday's Blue Devil Racing Stable, the homebred daughter of Malibu Moon  has started five times this year and earned four wins. Out of the Tiznow  mare Tizahit, the mare has eight wins in 13 starts and earnings of $1,054,950. Her lone 2019 loss was hardly a disgrace as it came at the hands of Horse of the Year candidate Midnight Bisou when the Kentucky-bred tried to stretch out to 1 1/16 miles in the Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park. 

Come Dancing was favored at odds of 4-5 in the Phipps, a sign she has emerged as one of the best females in training.

"Carlos has used all of his talents as a trainer to get the most out of her and keep her in form for so long. He's picked all the right spots and has done a great job of bringing her back from a fractured pastern at 2," said Holliday, chairman and CEO of SL Green Realty. "He strives to do right by his owners so that every start is a meaningful one."

Another sign was presented at the grand showcase of Saratoga Race Course when Come Dancing overcame a troubled start and a wide trip and surged to a 3 1/2-length victory in the Aug. 24 Ketel One Ballerina Stakes (G1) for her first grade 1 win, giving Martin his first top-level triumph since 1991.

"It says a great deal about her that she could have trouble like that and still win a grade 1 stakes," Martin said.

A victory Saturday would wrap up both a first Breeders' Cup victory—in his first try—and Eclipse Award for Martin in what will be the mare's last start before she will be bred to Quality Road  next year.

"She's proven to be a great filly, and now that's she's going to turn 6, it's time for her to head back home and become a great broodmare," he said about the 5-2 second choice behind the favored Covfefe who will break from post 4. "If she can win, it will be a great storybook ending. It doesn't get better than that. I think she has a chance to win the Eclipse Award even if she loses at the Breeders' Cup. No one has credentials like her."

Holliday has been racing with the New York-based Martin for approximately nine years and has several horses in training with him, but he has also relied on the third-generation horseman for sage advice on other ends of the business. In particular, Holliday might have sold Come Dancing before her first race if not for Martin.

"I give a lot of credit to Carlos. He eyed her on the farm at Ocala as a young 2-year-old and then told me he really, really wants to train her. At the time, I was considering selling her, but he convinced me to pull her from the sale and give him a chance to train her," Holliday said.

If Martin can win a Breeders' Cup race with Come Dancing, it would match the total of his grandfather, who won the second Breeders' Cup race in 1984 when Outstandingly was declared the winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) via disqualification. His father, who died in 2006, had two great chances to secure a Breeders' Cup win with 1987 sprint champion Groovy but fell short, teaching the younger Martin at an early age how difficult and rewarding a victory at the World Championships can be.

"To win the Breeders' Cup would be something I will hold dear to my heart. It will be the pinnacle for me," said Martin, who has 719 wins in his 30-year career and earnings of $28.7 million. "The Breeders' Cup is the elite of the elite."

His grandfather "Pancho" Martin, who died in 2012, was one of New York's most dominant trainers in the 1970s and early 1980s. Teaming with his primary owners, Sigmund and Viola Sommer, his barn was filled with top-quality runners, many of whom were claimers at one time or were discarded by some of the sport's most famous stables.

The 1981 Hall of Fame inductee won 3,241 races, and his champions included Outstandingly and Autobiography. But the most famous star was Sham, who chased Secretariat in the 1973 Triple Crown. 

"I got my determination from my grandfather and learned about the value of hard work from him," Martin said. "He was something of a throwback. He took it to another level with claiming horses."

Martin says he learned how to be patient—especially with fillies—from his dad, who won 1,139 races with $20.3 million in earnings and trained the champion fillies Lakeville Miss and Wayward Lass.

"Dad had great success with fillies over the years," he said. "When you look at his record with the type of horses my dad had, no one had a record like that. He was patient and tried to get inside a horse's head. There's no script with fillies, but he became in tune with his horses, and that's what I've tried to do with Come Dancing. We observe and let her tell us what she wants to do."

Though Martin and his wife, Diane, do not have any children, the stable's family ties remain as deep as ever. Diane handles publicity and social media for her husband, among other duties.

"Diane gives me moral support and keeps me sane," Martin said.

Martin's sister, Gloria, helps care for clients. His brother, Jose Jr., runs the barn whenever Carlos is not there. 

It's all part of the long history the Martin clan has with the sport, which just might become even more of a family affair if Come Dancing lives up to her potential and allows Carlos to join his father and grandfather as the trainer of a champion.