Kathy Cecchin and her husband John have a small stable consisting of a handful of horses. While John worked with Hall of Famer Jimmy Takter in the 1990s and was associated with stakes stars the likes of Whiteland Image, Jailhouse Rock and Suspicious Image, Kathy had accumulated just $143,994 in winnings as a trainer prior to 2020. Her numbers have changed dramatically courtesy of pacing colt Desperate Man, who is entering some big-time races and beating big-time opponents.
A son of Shadow Play - Dreamlands Latte, Desperate Man alone has brought in $280,252 in winnings and has almost tripled Cecchin’s lifetime earnings. He got his first win of 2021 on July 25 at Georgian Downs in the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold series, winning in a lifetime best 1:49.4f. Not only did he win but he beat stiff competition in highly-touted Bulldog Hanover and the Meadowlands Pace winner, Lawless Shadow. The result was a bit surprising even for Cecchin but she was ecstatic with the outcome. “It was shocking, but we were all very proud of him. If we don’t believe in him, no one else would. We thought he was that good.”
Every owner has different reasons for selecting a certain horse at the yearling sale, and Cecchin had her own reasons for shelling out $20,000 U.S. to purchase the yearling in Lexington. “The reason I pursued buying him was that his mother and the mother of Outlawgrabbinggears are full sisters. He’s an amazing heart and has a heart of pure gold.”
Outlawgrabbinggears is a five-year-old gelding owned by Nicole Davies — John & Kathy’s daughter — and her husband, Paul Davies. Nicole, Paul, John and Kathy are all on the papers of Desperate Man as well, a surprise for Nicole & Paul that has proven to be very fortuitous. “We gave a part of him to them as a wedding gift,” said Kathy. “He wasn't really worth anything at the time because he was a baby.”
Cecchin does her training her own way and it can come with its own kinds of benefits. “I’m not up to the same par as other trainers. I treat him like he’s a kid.” Kathy was quick to credit John for his contributions as crucial to the success of Team Cecchin and Desperate Man. “John and I have been together for over 30 years. He’s under my name because I was the one who wanted him, but John’s got enormous experience and we’re together. If I trained himself by myself, I’d never get him to move ahead.”
Desperate Man had an incredible two-year-old campaign with three wins, in his six starts. All his wins came in the OSS Gold division, taking a mark of 1:51.2 at Mohawk. Moving into his three-year-old season, Cecchin notes that her colt is still growing and maturing. “Last year, he was very goofy. This year he’s starting to become more professional. He had a big growth spurt in the spring. His work ethic of being a racehorse is getting there.”
The next race for Desperate Man is at Mohawk on Saturday (Aug. 7) once again battling the province’s best in the OSS Gold. He will face similar foes in Lawless Shadow (PP9, Mark MacDonald, 3-1) and Bulldog Hanover (PP8, Jody Jamieson, 5-2) and will also have a bigger field to deal with.
“He’s up against it this weekend with a 12-horse field. It's not necessarily his wheelhouse. I could see him getting parked twelfth the whole mile,” stated Cecchin. “I really don’t know what our expectations are. Seven good colts aren’t going to get a cheque.”
However, Cecchin still remains hopeful and has full confidence in driver Trevor Henry to manage the colt from post three. “Trevor is awesome, and he knows the horse so well. He really knows Mohawk and will do his best to have the horse in the best position.”
This weekend’s race might help remove some uncertainty about Desperate Man’s upcoming schedule. Desperate Man is the 7-2 third choice on the morning line for Saturday’s single $159,6000 OSS Gold division, and the rescheduling of the 2021 Pepsi North America Cup from June to September has given Cecchin more time to see how her colt would fair in such a major stakes event.
“The jury is still out on if we’re going to enter him in the North America Cup. We just have to wait and see...It helps us with his maturing and growth. Other horses are going 1:49 or faster. We have to take a good look around before we put him in.”
To view the entries for Saturday's card of harness racing at Woodbine Mohawk Park, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Trey Colbeck)