Now that she's won the 2021 Pepsi North America Cup with Desperate Man, trainer Kathy Cecchin isn't planning a trip to Disneyland. And she's not planning a trip to Delaware, Ohio either.
For horses not paid into the Little Brown Jug, a win in the North America Cup allows for supplemental entry. Cecchin told Trot Insider that the son of Shadow Play - Dreamlands Latte will be staying put in Ontario.
"We did have the opportunity to supplement to the Jug," said Cecchin. "We're just not prepared to do anything like that, so his next start would be on September 25 in the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold leg at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
"He seems like he came out of the Cup really well – feeling well, eating well, jumping around. Hopefully that continues."
Desperate Man will possibly face off once again with Ontario Sires Stakes divisional leader Bulldog Hanover in that start at Mohawk on Sept. 25. After that, Cecchin indicated that the plan for Desperate Man is to race just once or twice more as a sophomore.
"I don't know if we will have to race in an overnight before the Super Final. We'll see what happens – if it was a three-year-old open then we probably would, if not, we’d probably just have to qualify him. And then the Super Final, October 16, and then he’s shut down for the year."
The past seven days have been unlike anything experienced before by Kathy and her husband John, and co-owners Nicole & Paul Davies. The family is still reeling from the mild upset posted by Desperate Man in Canada's premier pacing event.
"It was so unexpected and just something that we just weren't prepared for. I don't think you can plan to win the North America Cup. You can’t really be ready for that and we certainly were not," stated Cecchin, who was been inundated with congratulatory messages since last Saturday night. "We appreciate it so much that people were cheering for him. It means a great deal to us.
"We're very overwhelmed, I think all of us – John, Nikki, Paul – in a very good way." The attention hasn't stopped for the connections, as Nicole & Paul were featured on Breakfast Television on Friday (Sept. 17) and interviewed by Sid Seixeiro.
Cecchin couldn't say enough about the drive orchestrated by long-time friend Trevor Henry, and complimented his management of the colt throughout the season.
"Trevor's been babysitting this horse all year. He's kept the best interest of the horse in mind 100 per cent. He's never over raced him. He's never hurt him. And this was the race where he really said let's rock and roll. He's always been so good making sure the horse is kept well care of."
Be sure to check out the October issue of TROT Magazine for a full feature article on the Cecchins, Desperate Man and his 2021 Pepsi North America Cup victory.