New York-based trainer Tom Morley, who enjoyed a banner year in 2016 capped by the success of GI Ballerina S. heroine Haveyougoneaway (Congrats), has moved his string to the Fair Grounds for the winter months. Morley and his wife and NYRA paddock analyst Maggie Wolfendale recently welcomed their newborn daughter, Grace Primrose Morley, earlier this week.
“All of our horses shipped well and I'm really happy with the way they looked while I was down there,” Morley said. “We'll start making multiple entries now and I'm looking forward to it…We went to Florida last winter and the money's not great for the level of horses you have to run against. I know Fair Grounds has put a lot of time and money into the turf course and a lot of our horses are grass horses, so it seemed like a sensible move.”
While Haveyougoneaway sold for $1.1 million to Lake Villa Farm at the Fasig-Tipton November sale, the 33-year-old former assistant to Eddie Kenneally and Jeremy Noseda said he has a number of turf runners he looks forward to competing over the Fair Grounds lawn.
“Maggie and I will head down after Christmas and spend the remainder of the winter in New Orleans,” he said. “I'm excited to get some of these horses running. I really like a grass sprinter
named Kiss the Toad (Exchange Rate), as well as a nice grass stakes filly I picked up from Team Valor named Nisharora (Ire) (Excellent Art {GB}). There's also a nice 2-year-old I have for Donegal [Racing] named Manning (Malibu Moon) who had a set back and has really started to improve at the right time.”
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