Daley On His North American Return

Noel Daley’s second stint in the United States got underway after Thanksgiving, and with a stable of 18 horses that includes stakes-winner Princess Deo and more than a dozen soon-to-be two-year-olds, the Aussie native hopes his return to the States results in frequent returns to the winner’s circle.

Daley relocated from New Jersey to Australia at the end of last season but decided the change of scenery wasn’t for him. Eleven months after leaving, Daley was back and buying horses at this fall’s yearling sales to rebuild his stable.

“I’m really happy to be back,” said Daley, who has won 2,571 races and $61.4 million in purses during his nearly 30-year career in North America. “I’ve been here so long I’m just used to it. At least it worked out pretty quickly and I got back while people still knew who we were. I was happy to pick right back up with some owners that have been with me for a long time. That helped.”

Daley, who turns 58 on Wednesday, might be best known for training Hall of Fame trotter Mr Muscleman, but his list of accomplishments also includes capturing the Hambletonian in 2011 with Broad Bahn and winning eight Breeders Crown trophies.

Among the horses in his stable now is Princess Deo, a three-year-old trotting filly trained by Daley at age two. She returned to Daley’s care in November and finished a dead-heat first with Evident Beauty in the $65,000 Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey final for state-sired trotters earlier this month.

“She looked great,” Daley said about Princess Deo, who has earned $405,974 in her career. “We’re going to bring her back (next year). She’s a big, big mare, so I’d only imagine she would be better at four. Four can be a tough year, but she’s a big strong thing.

“Having her come back and be good straight off, that helped. She is turned out for a couple weeks and was nice and sound and in a good frame of mind. As long as she comes back in the same frame of mind, we’ll be all right.

Daley also has a six-year-old pacer he brought with him from Down Under, a New Zealand-bred named Laredo Torpedo. The horse finished second in his North American debut this past weekend at the Meadowlands Racetrack.

“I’m happy with him,” Daley said. “If he does all right, maybe I’ll do that, bring one at a time over to race. He’s no champion, but he’s a nice enough horse. And you need some income (during the winter).”

Daley’s young horses, which all will turn two on January 1, is made up of 10 trotters and four pacers.

“That’s a good start,” Daley said. “Getting the 14 (yearlings) was good. I’m happy with that. I don’t know how good the trotters are, but 10 out of 10 of them trot. That’s a good head start. I’m sure we’ll have our issues along the way, but it’s a good start.

“We’ll just see how they turn out. I’d like to pick up a couple racehorses or maybe three-year-olds. I prefer doing the young ones; getting them going has always sort of been where we had our success. I’d rather do that. We’ll putter through the winter and get them ready.

“I’m keen to get back into it. I’m enjoying what I’m doing.”

(USTA)