For Tricolour, the 42nd Time Was the Charm

Back in mid-October, trainer John Kirby claimed a horse named Tricolour (Hard Spun) at Parx out of a $10,000 maiden claimer. Not everyone thought that was such a good idea.

“The first time we ran him, the guys on TVG said, 'Who in their right mind would claim a horse that was 0-39?'” said Kirby, who is also the horse's owner.

The answer: a smart trainer.

Tricolour was on his way to becoming the sport's next Zippy Chippy (Compliance), who went winless in 100 career starts. Purchased for $140,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September sale, Tricolour debuted in 2021 and had been with five different trainers before being claimed by Kirby. In career start 39, he finished second for trainer Phil Aristone before being claimed. In his first start for Kirby he was second in a maiden special weight race.

Kirby wasn't the least bit discouraged, noting that he won a five-way shake the day he claimed the 5-year-old.

“The reason why I wasn't discouraged is that while he was 0-for-39, he had finished in the money more than 50 percent of the time,” he said. “When I claimed him he had earned something like $132,000 without ever having won a race. And I claimed him for myself. I figured that if he would pick up a check half the times I led him over there that would be fine. I also liked his pedigree, Hard Spun and Empire Maker on the dam's side. He was hitting the board going long, going short, on dirt, on turf, on synthetic. He was very versatile.”

He just wasn't winning, but Tricolour kept knocking on the door. On Tuesday, that door finally opened. In his 42nd career start, he won a one-mile maiden special weight race at Parx, earning $30,000. Remarkably, the losing streak didn't discourage the betting public. He was sent off at even-money.

Tricolour finished seventh in his career debut, a 2021 maiden special weight race at Delta Downs for owner Donegal Racing and trainer Dane Noel. He was claimed out of his third lifetime start by Joe Sharp, who had him for four races.

“What attracted us to the horse was he was the kind of horse that would always make a run,” Sharp said. “He was one of those horses who always seemed to be coming at the end, but just couldn't quite get there.  As long as they have a willingness to run it's not so frustrating. It can be tough when they aren't able to win, but as long as they have a willingness to try and put forth the effort you're ok. It's nice to have a horse like that at any level. I'm not surprised that he won. I was more surprised to learn he was still running all this time and hadn't won yet. I remember being a fan of Zippy Chippy as a kid when I was in high school. He was always a horse you pulled for to win once you knew his story.”

The barns would change but not the story. In his first 41 career starts he ran second 14 times and third nine times.

Prior to coming into the Kirby barn, he had also been trained by Kenny Miller and Steven Krebs. Kirby claimed the horse off of Aristone. Then something just clicked. He ran a career-best Beyer figure of 71 in his final start for Aristone and then a 72 in his first start for Kirby. He ran a new career-best number Monday in the victory when earning a 77.

“I had hopes for him,” Kirby said. “Once we got him back to our barn you could tell he had some class to him. Almost every day leading up to that first race we ran him in we thought we'd try some different things with him. Training him different ways, training with different equipment.”

He also discovered a breathing issue.

“The first time we ran him we had Paco Lopez on him and he said that he ran good and that he really liked the horse,” Kirby said. “I have a good rapport with Paco. He's pretty spot on so far as what he tells me after a race. He said there was one problem, that he heard a little noise in his breathing. We scoped him and he was full of mucous. It was like a three on a scale of five. We put him on antibiotics, cleared that up and then just took it easy coming into his next race.”

Tricolour has made $40,000 in his two starts for Kirby, more than justifying the $10,000 claim. And it's not out of the question that he could begin a winning streak. For whatever reason, in start 39 and late into his 5-year-old campaign he was a new horse and he has maintained that form ever since. There are plenty of conditions at Parx for horses who have won just one race. There are also options in the starter allowance category for a horse that started recently for $10,000.

“Now that he's over the hump I think I can win a few more with him,” Kirby said.

His career earnings now stand at $172,216, not bad for a horse that had been a chronic loser, the horse they told John Kirby he never should have claimed.