Winner's Circle: Oaklawn's Top Trainer to CD

The final few weeks of the 52-day Oaklawn Park meeting were again ruled by "Big Blue," but this time it wasn't the familiar wave of horses trained by Steve Asmussen.

Instead, it was the blue stable colors of trainer Chris Hartman, whose scintillating late-season surge allowed him to wrestle the top spot away from Oaklawn's perennial champion and secure his first training title at the Hot Springs, Ark., track.

"It means a lot more to me than the Sunland Park ones, for sure," Hartman said. "It's definitely a career highlight for me."

Hartman's Oaklawn training title is an exclamation point—at least in early 2015—on a career that includes more than 1,000 victories since he saddled his first winner in 1993.

Hartman, who was born and raised in Phoenix, hails from a family of trainers, including his father, Stan, and brothers Alex and Phil.

Asked if he ever considered doing anything else, Chris Hartman simply replied, "Nope."

Hartman, 42, had already built an impressive résumé, particularly in the Southwest, before saddling 34 winners—four more than Asmussen—at the Oaklawn meeting that ended April 11.

Hartman did have a small string at Oaklawn in 2007 (he was 2 for 21) but said he made only one or two trips to Hot Springs to check on his horses.

Hartman had won multiple training titles at Sunland Park in New Mexico before truly testing Oaklawn's deeper waters for the first time in 2013.

"I really loved Hot Springs the little time I spent there," Hartman said. "I loved the town. I loved how they treated their horsemen."

Hartman returned to Oaklawn in 2013 with approximately 30 horses, including Alsvid, a promising young sprinter who would help fuel a title run two years later.

Hartman won 16 races at the 2013 Oaklawn meeting to finish tied for sixth in the standings (Asmussen won the title with 37 victories). Hartman saddled 17 winners at the 2014 Oaklawn meeting to finish sixth, far behind Asmussen's runaway total of 35.

But the numbers added up differently in 2015.

Hartman's stable received a major boost when approximately 10 horses, including 2014 Smarty Jones Stakes winner Tanzanite Cat, were moved into his barn late last year by prominent Texas owners James and Ywachetta Driver.

Hartman then maneuvered a stable of about 40 throughout the Oaklawn meeting, hitting several home runs through claims and with Alsvid, a perennial bridesmaid in Hot Springs before scoring two consecutive victories, including the Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (gr. III) April 9.

Hartman said he normally kept around 30 horses on track, with some 10-12 more at a local farm under the care of his wife Hillary, who also works as his assistant.

"It's sort of mind-boggling to win the title, basically, with a core of 40 horses," Hartman said. "I'm very hands-on. I spend a lot of time at the barn, as does my wife. We're very focused on what we're doing."

Chris Hartman's best claims at the meet included Jack's the Won (two victories after being taken for $10,000 Feb. 15) and Storm Devil (two victories after being taken for $10,000 March 14).

Alsvid, runner-up in his first six career starts at Oaklawn, and Storm Devil are owned by the Black Hawk Stable of James Rogers, an Elk City, Okla., oil and gas businessman.

Hartman saddled eight consecutive winners for Black Hawk from March 27—the 42nd day of racing—until closing day. Black Hawk finished with 11 victories at the meet. The Drivers had six.

Hartman saddled two winners March 25 to snap an 18-18 tie with Asmussen and take the lead for good. Hartman went 16 for 45 (35.6%) during the final 13 days.

In what Hartman called a "David vs. Goliath" matchup, he saddled four winners March 28 and three winners closing day to hold off Asmussen, who was seeking his seventh Oaklawn training title since 2007.

"I was downplaying the chances because Steve's got the numbers," Hartman said. "We were trying to win the title, but I never really thought I had a chance until the last weekend."

Alsvid, a multiple stakes winner of $933,465, provided Hartman with his most lucrative career victory in the Count Fleet and headlines what the trainer calls his strongest stable to date.

Hartman's talent spike coincides with his move to Churchill Downs for the first time during its upcoming meet.

In previous years Hartman was based at Prairie Meadows after Oaklawn ended.

"Hopefully, this will open up some doors," Hartman said. "Maybe we can get better horses. That's the game plan."

The original edition of this article appeared in the April 25 issue of The Blood-Horse. Order here.