Trainer Davis Looks Forward to More Success

Racing loves the next big thing.

Whether in horseflesh or horsemen, the excitement surrounding whether the "new kid on the block" has "the right stuff" is arguably the ultimate intimation of the Thoroughbred industry's ever-present optimism. It's a sport where it is common to toss around the term "potential" nearly as often as such is unfulfilled. Still, to prospect in racing is to be a part of its beating heart—and when a young, talented and well-prepared trainer like Chris Davis wins his first race as a head conditioner, the veins of the racing world begin to dilate. 

Davis, 27, saddled his fifth starter Nov. 27 in Town and Country Racing's Uncork the York. The Irish-bred gave him his first win with a rousing victory at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in a maiden special weight going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. Davis got off the duck in a big way when the 12-1 sophomore closed from dead-last in a field of nine and defeated his elders by a widening 3 1/4 lengths under James Graham.

Just 44 days prior, Davis started his first runner after going out on his own with the support of Town and Country Racing with its My Year Is a Day in the Buffalo Trace Franklin County Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Keeneland, where she finished 11th. 

"I felt like the world was lifted off my shoulders. It was like static," Davis said of Uncork the York. "It's stressful to win that first one when you only have a couple horses, and you don't have a lot of shots at it. Every race you run means the world and it was especially great to win for Town and Country, who have been so kind to me. I currently have five horses in training here at Fair Grounds and (Uncork the York) is a nice one. He really improved and is still learning. I'll look at an allowance next for him and maybe nominate to the Woodchopper, but I won't throw him to the wolves. He has talent and I'd like to develop him."

Developing horses has been engrained since childhood for the Oklahoma-born, Chicago-raised prodigy. The son of well-respected Midwest conditioner Liane Davis and assistant starter Hershell Davis, a former galloper for Wally Dollase, Davis had been on the backside virtually from birth.

"Working for mom was key," Davis said. "She never had a lot of horses, maybe 10 to 20 at a time, and it was all hands-on hard work and dedication. I really learned from her how to make sure they're happy, sound, healthy and looking good. In her 35 years training, she only has had one catastrophe on the track. That is unheard of.

"Then I started galloping horses for Richard Hazelton, who is a legend and won thousands of races. He was an old school, hard-knocking trainer. I got some more great experience from working for Rusty Hellman and then Wayne Catalano, galloping Animal Kingdom when he had him. To work for Catalano was a dream. He had won so many races as a jockey—which so many people forget—and then went on to double that training.

"I then worked for Pat Byrne and I had the opportunity to gallop Take Charge Indy, who was a really talented animal. Here was a guy who at one point was on top of the world, so he had great stories that taught me a lot about the ups and downs of the game."

From there Davis was able to start assembling the nuts and bolts of being a trainer. Over the past seven years he served more than five years with top conditioner and defending Fair Grounds champion trainer Mike Stidham before branching out to the West Coast to serve nearly two years under the tutelage of multi-titleholder Phil D'Amato. 

"Mike (Stidham) and (head assistant) Hilary (Pridham) taught me loads and most of what I know and do comes from them," Davis said. "They're dedicated, organized, manage 50-60 employees and expect the best every day you go in there. You can't have a bad day, you just bust your butt every day and do it right.

"D'Amato is a top horseman. We won three training titles while I was there, and he taught me a lot about managing a big stable. I think any assistants who want to go out on their own need to spend time on both coasts. They do things out west that we wouldn't think of here and vice-versa."

Davis gallops all five of his horses at the New Orleans oval, which he finds to be very advantageous. He hopes to increase his numbers soon and is palpably relieved to land one in the win column so early. 

"It's a different kind of stress (as a head trainer)," he explained. "You have to keep everyone happy, including the horses, and at the end of the day it's your name on the barn. I enjoy getting on my horses and really getting to know and evaluate them daily and I hope to have more coming in. One thing I do know is that you have to have an influx of stock in this industry because they go out sometimes faster than they come in, especially when you take care of them and give them the time they need. You have to have someone give you a shot with some quality horses. That's how you do well and you win the big races."

The plan after the Fair Grounds is to shift to Keeneland and stay there as long as possible through the spring and early summer before deciding the best place for his horses to compete. Considering his level of dedication and enviable experience, Davis appears to have the world at his fingertips, to exploit a cliché. But, such a platitude seems perfectly placed in the context of an industry that loves to ride the wave of a workable wunderkind.

"I want to win the (Kentucky) Oaks, (Kentucky) Derby and be in the Hall of Fame, but I know it's a hard climb," Davis concluded. "Right now I am happy for the few horses I have and I will try to win races with them. This game is not for the faint of heart. There are incredible wins and there are mornings making those bad phone calls you don't want to make, but you get up and do it all over again because you love it."