Sometimes in life, all you need is a little inspiration and some luck to achieve your dreams.
On Saturday, May 10, Northfield Park’s newest trainer Tessa Koran earned her first career victory with four-year-old trotting mare Desert Hayz, driven by fiancé Chris Lems.
Koran grew up in the barn working with one of her best friends, her grandfather. Through the years, Koran has made a name for herself as one of the top caretakers on the backstretch. She had been contemplating taking the plunge and training her own stable for years, it just took a little pushing.
“My best friend, Hunter Myers, and his fiancé, Chloe, kept pushing me to take my trainer’s test. Hunter always told me, 'T-Bone, go on and do wonderful things,'” said Koran.
Following Myers' passing, Koran wanted to honour her friend’s memory and get her trainer’s license. Just a few short weeks later, the wings of a pair of angels guided her first winner to the winner’s circle.
“I know my two biggest fans, grandpa and Hunter, were both cheering loudly on the fence in heaven,” said an emotional Koran.
‘T-Bone,’ as she is known to some, is set to marry local driver Chris Lems, in the coming weeks. Working with Lems has been a blessing in disguise as he likes to do the barn work she hates, and she loves to do the barn work that he hates, a balance that works out nicely between the pair.
“Chris is my biggest supporter and inspiration, truly," said Koran. "Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky to have someone who wills me to win in every aspect of life like he does. He’s truly my hype man.”
On Saturday, Desert Hayz left no doubt about her victory as the Uncle Peter-Vegas Sunset mare took the lead and never looked back, winning in gate-to-wire fashion.
Leaving alertly, Desert Hayz was put into play early by Lems, battling early with Benezia (Luke Ebersole) and Flight Number One (Edward Miller). Lems inherited the lead when Benezia made a break moving into the backstretch, a lead he would hold onto past a :27.4 first quarter.
Lems was able to work out a :30.2 second-quarter breather entering the clubhouse turn for the final time with Sbrocco (Justin Irvine) making a first-over bid for the lead. Entering the backstretch for the final time, Desert Hayz began to create some separation.
At three-quarters in 1:27.1, Desert Hayz had a 1-3/4-length lead with no signs of slowing down. Through the stretch, several took a shot at Desert Hayz, but they ran out of racetrack as she cruised to victory in 1:57.3 by three-quarters of a length.
Owned by Lems, Desert Hayz now has four wins in 14 starts this year.
Live harness racing resumes at Northfield Park on Sunday, May 11, with post time at 6 p.m.
(With files from Northfield Park)