Trainer Michael Trombetta can smell the roses … and a winner.
The Maryland conditioner sends Sweetnorthernsaint to Saturday’s 132nd Kentucky Derby with the confidence of a politician running unopposed. Rated among the top contenders, the front-running gelding could steal America’s most famous race if competitors don’t respect his early speed.
“It’s an excellent spot to be in,” Trombetta said, “but we still have to prove it against the tough guys. I feel confident about the hand we have going in.”
It is a story more than 35 years in the making. Rudy Trombetta, an Italian construction worker who came to Baltimore to install marble floors in many of the city’s signature skyline buildings, began training a few of his own horses in the 1960s.
Michael Trombetta wanted to go along to the Pimlico stables. There was something about the hay and horses that struck him and Trombetta began walking horses each morning by age 13.
“I took him like you take any son to a football game,” Rudy Trombetta said. “I used to play the horses a lot. When I bought horses, I brought [Michael] out. He’d rather be here than do anything.”
Trombetta didn’t need to serve an apprenticeship to a more experienced trainer when getting his own license. He handled the family’s few horses and managed to convince other owners to give him their first- or second-stringers.
The claiming game of cheap horses can be brutal in Maryland. Overpay for someone else’s misery and it’s money and reputation quickly lost. Revitalizing a cheap horse draws attention from both bettors and owners. Bop became a grass star in 2002 while Ghostly Numbers, Your Bluffing, Princess Pelona and Take Achance On Me scored stakes victories.
Trombetta won 53 races worth $1.5 million last year. Suddenly, he was regularly stopped by locals for his opinion of the afternoon card.
“You go into 7-Eleven to get a coffee and people will ask what kind of chance you have today,” he said, “and I have no idea who they are.”
Sweetnorthernsaint is Trombetta’s first major stakes winner. The roguish colt’s debut last summer was so bad that the owner transferred Sweetnorthernsaint to a reluctant Trombetta, who promptly gelded the colt and gave him a two-month layoff.
The operation worked. Sweetnorthernsaint returned focused with three straight victories before finishing third in a New York stakes race. Sweetnorthernsaint then rebounded with a runaway triumph in the Illinois Derby on April 8 that propelled him to Churchill Downs.
“To go there with a horse that’s earned his way and won major races along the way is special,” Trombetta said. “He seems to enjoy what he’s doing and he always finishes up strong. The consensus is the distance will not be a problem.”
Trombetta doesn’t even remember what he was doing onthe last Derby day. Now he’s scrambling for 30 tickets. The pressure doesn’t seem to be bothering him despite entering the national spotlight. Rudy Trombetta knows just how difficult the challenge is, though.
“Somebody asked me one time what it felt like to win a race,” he said. “It’s like kicking the winning field goal in the Super Bowl and that’s just to win a race.”
Ironically, Trombetta is more anxious to take Sweetnorthernsaint to the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 20.
“The Preakness would be special,” he said. “The Derby is the one everybody aspires for, but being I’ve watched the Preakness run for 20-some years from the bleachers it’s nice to be in it.
“The best part is [Sweetnorthernsaint] keeps surprising me. I hope he has a few more left.”
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at [email protected].
