Coa, O’Connell lead standings at Tropical meet

Trainer Kathleen O’Connell made history at Calder (Jim Lisa Photos)

Calder Race Course concluded its 47-day Tropical Meet on Saturday with jockey
Eibar Coa booting home 61 winners at the session to lead all riders. Coa had
previously won the leading jockey title at the Tropical Meet for three
consecutive years in 1996-98. Manoel Cruz came in second place with 57 winners
while apprentice Luis Saez was third in the standings with 52 winners.

The leading trainer of the Tropical Meet was Kathleen O’Connell. It marks
O’Connell’s first training title at Calder, where she has been training since
the mid-1980s, and the first time that a woman has led the trainer standings at
Calder in its 39-year history. A little over a decade ago, O’Connell was the
leading trainer at Tampa Bay Downs during the 1998-99 season. Horses trained by
O’Connell won 17 races at the Tropical Meet, including Fly by Phil (Act of
Duty), winner of the Tropical Park Derby (G3) on New Year’s Day, which clinched
the title for her.

“Being the leading trainer at Calder is definitely something I had hoped to
accomplish and it was exciting because it came right down to the wire,”
O’Connell said on Saturday. “It’s a team effort getting this done, because so
many things have to fall into place and so many people are involved that
contribute to that effort. It’s great to get the support from fellow horsemen
like Steve Dwoskin and Stanley Gold who came by the barn and called to
congratulate me.”

Steven Dwoskin sent out 15 winners to finish second in the trainer standings,
while Bill White and Marty Wolfson tied for third place with 14 winners each.

The Tropical Meet leading owner’s trophy went to Steven Dwoskin, whose own
horses won 11 races. Dwoskin was also the leading owner of the 2009 Calder Meet
with 21 winners. Rose Family Stable took second place in the owner standings
with nine winners while Farnworth Stables and Andrea’s Farm tied for third with
six.