WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU…
Ryan Deyotte taking on Woodbine in 2016 as Sheena Ryan’s agent
Horse racing has a way of making its people tougher than they ever thought they could be.
Ryan Deyotte has dedicated his life to working with Thoroughbreds from the days when he was old enough to help his father, a longtime trainer, feed the stable before he was off to school.
Deyotte has had his share of success in the business but he has also had some personal hardships. At the age of 42, the resident of Coquitlam, British Columbia is ready to take on one of the biggest challenges in his professional career when he moves to Toronto for 2016 to be the agent for jockey Sheena Ryan.
“I’m super pumped,” said Deyotte, who will begin his 4,300 kilometre drive across the country in early March to prepare for the April 9 opening of Woodbine. “I spent two weeks at Woodbine in November, meeting people, seeing people I recognize from out west. I am ready to take a shot at it.”
A life in horse racing was essentially a slam-dunk for Deyotte being a son of a trainer. “Essentially, I was born in a barn,” laughed Deyotte. “Of course I wanted to be a trainer, my dream was winning the Kentucky Derby.”
He was in his early 20s when he started his first horses at the track and won 7 races from his first 40 starters over three season with a small stable.
In 2007, Deyotte took a stable of horses to Fort Erie racetrack to tackle Ontario racing. He did not have a lot of luck, however, as most of his horses became sick or injured and he won just a single race.
The following winter, Deyotte was involved in a serious car accident when hit head-on by another driver. He had fractured vertabrae in his neck and
was sidelines for almost a year.
When he started nine horses in 2009 and did not win a race, Deyotte left the industry to work in a union job in a school district.
It was in 2011 when Deyotte had the scariest moment of his life when he suffered a massive heart attack at the age of 39. “My girlfiend Judi essentially saved my life,” said Deyotte. “I am looking after myself better now.”
After a full recovery, Deyotte and his girlfriend decided to get back into racing and claimed a filly who won a couple of races. An opportunity arose for Deyotte to become a jockey’s agent when top Canadian apprentice Ryan Pacheco hired him in 2014 and the pair landed in the top three of riders at Hastings Park. Pacheco ended up getting hurt that fall and in 2015, Deyotte brought two riders from Ontario to B.C. including Mark Lee Buchanan, who started his B.C. stint well before changing agents.
But Deyotte powered on and in November, 2015, took a trip to Woodbine where he met some familiar faces such as Mickey Walls and his family, and introduced himself to new people including jockey Sheena Ryan.
Ryan, the 2014 Outstanding Apprentice in Canada who had purse earnings of over $1.7 million, had made more than one comeback from serious injury in her career as a rider and was coming off an impressive season in 2015 as a journeyman jock.
“I have been a big fan of Sheena for a while,” said Deyotte, who watched her rider on simulcast netowrks while out in B.C.
“I noticed that she rode really hard and she never rode a lot of favourites.”
The two chatted and before long, Ryan had hired Deyotte to be her agent for 2016. “She strives for excellence and she wants to continue to learn,” said Deyotte. “I am going to take one last shot [at a horse racing career].Judi will stay in B.C. – she is a dental assistant – and I will give it a go in Toronto and see what transpsires.”
The pair will get a fun training day together as Deyotte has carded 6 races for Ryan to ride on Tuesday (Jan. 26) at Portland Meadows for Portland Mile day.
“Sheena is on vacation and is out on the west coast so I put some races together for her.”
Several of Ryan’s mounts are favourites and she has rides in both the Portland Distaff and Portland Mile.
Considering both of them love the game so much that they have battled back from many obstacles, it is easy to cheer for them in 2016.
Sheena Ryan, Sovereign Award winner, is ready to take on 2016 with new agent Ryan Deyotte – NORM FILES PHOTO
CHAMPION ALPHA BETTOR 2-1 FOR PORTLAND MILE
Canadian champion ALPHA BETTOR, an 8-year-old horse, is favoured for Tuesday’s $25,000 Portland Mile at Portland Meadows. The son of Alphabet Soup has been sold by Bulldog Racing and is now owned by Andy Stronach’s Pan Am Racing and trained by Jose Corrales.
Alpha Bettor has won 11 of 39 races and over $824,0000. His last race was a troubled 6th place finish when in for a $60,000 claiming price last October at Woodbine.
CONQUEST’S DYNASTY CONTINUES…Ontario bred filly wins on Sunday
CONQUEST DYNASTY wins at Gulfstream – Gulfstream Park photo
CONQUEST DYNASTY, bred in Ontario by Keith and Rachel McClelland, won a 9 furlong maiden race on the grass at Gulfstream Park and is a Woodbine Oaks contender for the Conquest – trainer Mark Casse team. The filly ran the distance in 1:52.99, a 76 Beyer Figure according to Daily Racing Form.
The filly is by Court Vision out of the Sky Classic mare Chick and she was one of the more expensive yearlings in Canada 2 years ago as she was bought by Morgan Racing (Mark Casse) for $110,000.
She was entered in the following year’s June sale in Ocala but withdrawn.
In other Canadian classic news – BATTERY, a son of Bernardini and a Queen’s Plate hopeful, had a half mile workout in 49.14 at Palm Beach Downs on Sunday. He is a maiden winner for trainer Todd Pletcher coming off a 2nd place finish in an allowance race.
Trainer Mark Casse has some Canadian Conquests getting in shape:
Conquest City Girl (ON) Mark E. Casse F 3 47.90 b 4/99
Conquest Daddyo (ON) Mark E. Casse C 3 48.00 b 8/99
Conquest Misbehave (KY) Mark E. Casse F 4 48.45 b 13/99
Conquest Sandman (ON) Mark E. Casse C 3 48.00 b 8/99
Ivan Dalos’ 3-year-old stakes winner GAMBLE’S GHOST worked half a mile in :50 at palm Meadows while last year’s Plate winner SHAMAN GHOST worked in 49 as he continues his comeback from a long layoff.
GOOD LUCK TO BEN WALLACE
Standardbred owner/trainer Ben Wallace will race his first horses since he lost most of his stable in the tragic Classy Lane Stables barn farm three weeks ago.
Wallace will start Trisun in race 1 tonight at Woodbine and House of Terror in race 8 – horses owned by clients.
The Classy Lane GoFundMe inititaive has raised over $400,000.
Groups and organizations from three breeds of racehorses in Ontario have come to the aid of those involved in the fire. 43 horses, mostly standardsbreds, perished the fire.
here is one note from a recent donation:
$410
Little Rascals Child Care, Inc.
6 days ago (Offline Donation)
Our children had been doing fundraisers, bake sales, pizza and workshop sale items to do donations to an organization of their choice. When they read and talked about the fire it was a unanimous decision.
The GoFundme page:
https://www.gofundme.com/abhm5afg?fb_action_ids=411115395751461&fb_action_types=gofundme%3Ashare_co_dashboard&fb_ref=fb_cr_og_share__acf48ba2255b480cbf287a1f5034bc17
