Davis to Make Training Debut at Keeneland

Chris Davis, the son of Chicago-based trainer Liane Davis and Arlington assistant starter Hershell Davis, will launch his training career during Keeneland's fall meet, which begins Oct. 7. 

A 27-year-old former assistant to trainers Pat Byrne, Mike Stidham, and Phil D'Amato, Davis plans to claim a few horses at Keeneland and start Town and Country Racing's My Year Is a Day, a King's Best filly, in the $100,000 Buffalo Trace Franklin County (gr. IIIT) Oct. 14 while he develops his operation.

"I love Keeneland. This will be my 13th meet here," said Davis, who began walking hots at age 8 and galloping horses at 16. "I love racing here, the competition. Everyone wants to win a race at Keeneland because of the prestige and history."

For D'Amato, Davis sent out Obviously to win the Poker (gr. III) at Belmont Park in June. He said the support of D'Amato and Louise and Kiki Courtelis' Town and Country, whose Stopchargingmaria won the 2015 Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (gr. I) at Keeneland, encouraged him to go out on his own.

"(Town and Country) has given me a good opportunity," Davis said. "I had horses for them for Phil at Churchill. They all ran pretty well."

My Year Is a Day, a stakes winner in France in 2014, is coming off a seventh-place finish in the Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint Sept. 10.

"She's training well," Davis said. "We've got to give it a shot to get her some black type. She's missed getting black type in some nice stakes in California. Hopefully, we'll get a good post, and she can come running late."