TDN Q&A: Jack Sisterson

Young trainer Jack Sisterson, a former assistant to prominent names in racing such as Doug O'Neill and Todd Pletcher, set out on his own with a Keeneland-based string earlier this year and won his first race Aug. 12 when Calumet Farm homebred Next Dance (Oxbow) won her debut in a Belterra Park maiden race. As Sisterson becomes more of a regular name in the entry box across the Midwest, the trainer sat down with the TDN's Lucas Marquardt to discuss his time working with O'Neill as well as his new connection with the storied Calumet operation.

LM: How did it feel getting your first winner for Calumet? It must have been pretty exciting for you.

JS: We were always anxious to get our first win and we have that competitiveness in us. I don't want to focus this on myself, but as a team, here at this barn, it was a whole team effort. From the hot walkers, the grooms, the exercise riders–we were all very happy. The van driver said when he dropped the horse back off after the race, the lady who does the laundry, she came back to do the laundry and was high-fiving everyone and wanted to see the filly get off the van. So it was a small win at Belterra, but it was a homebred. That made it that much more special and sired by Oxbow and the mare is owned by the farm and it was great to win with a homebred.

LM: Talk a little about how you got hooked up with Calumet in the first place. When did they first approach you about training?

JS: It was a few years ago, actually, that I was introduced to Calumet through Doug. Doug trained a couple of horses for them and they were always approachable guys and they made you feel a part of their team…I kept in contact via Doug and Calumet and was back here in Keeneland. I got to see them more often obviously being at Keeneland and Calumet is stabled here, you know the main farm is here. I met with them a couple of times and was offered a position and was very humbled.

LM: Calumet has this really storied name in Thoroughbred racing, but under Brad Kelley, it's a relatively new operation. They have had a lot of success, a GI Preakness S. winner already. Can you just talk a little bit about joining an operation like that, both with such a history, but also being a young up-and-coming operation as well?

JS: The name Calumet itself–it's such a historic name and it's one that we want to build a team to grow Calumet to where it once was before. I know I can speak on behalf of the staff I have behind me–we're all very proud to be in the position we are and we want to work that much harder.

LM: Let's talk a little bit about yourself. Where are you from, and how did you get started in the business?

JS: I'm from Durham, England–a small town outside of Newcastle, and my parents hold a few horses on a smaller level and I remember growing up going with mom and dad to a few point-to-points back home. I developed a love for the sport at a young age. It was hard to get it out of my blood and I always wanted to be a jockey growing up. I grew too tall for that, but I always wanted to do something with horses and I wasn't sure exactly what path that would lead me down, but it was something…I was able to move to the United States and had opportunities to work for trainers that lead me down the training career.

LM: How are you finding life in Kentucky after spending so much time in California?

JS: I spent probably the last ten years or so in Del Mar and you go from living on the beach to…Kentucky–it's a great little town in Lexington…It's the best place to go, racing competition wise. I am enjoying my lifestyle here in Lexington–fingers crossed I'm here for a while.

LM: You obviously spent a lot of time working with Doug O'Neill, playing a major role in the campaign of two GI Kentucky Derby winners in I'll Have Another and Nyquist. What can you say about your time as a member of Team O'Neill?

JS: If you could describe a boss you wanted to work for, it would be Doug O'Neill. He's such an approachable, good horseman–he really treated his staff well–from hot walkers to grooms to riders to assistants to foremen–everybody was on the same level. We didn't have a hierarchy–it was all very much a team effort, win, lose or draw with Doug.

LM: The 2012 Triple Crown saga with I'll Have Another must have been particularly memorable. He won the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and then you had to scratch him from the GI Belmont S. Was that as much of a ride of emotions as it seemed?

JS: We learned a lot through the Triple Crown with I'll Have Another…Mr. [Paul] Reddam, you know, put faith in Doug's training to get him back there…I remember Mr. Reddam pulled us all in the barn when we weren't able to run, and he sat us all down and he made every one of us go to the Belmont on Saturday to support every other runner in that race. We couldn't run and we could have dropped our heads and sulked, but we learned things like this are going to happen and we pick our heads up and we support other people in the sport. Thankfully we took a lot away from that trip and it was a great experience, and one Mr. Reddam had asked going into it, “If I would have told you, you're going to win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and you're not going to win the Belmont, what would you say?” And we all looked at it on the bright side and said, “Absolutely, we'd be more than happy with that.”