Canada mightn’t have any jump racing, but two mega jumps trainers are among those who’ve inspired this Woodbine stalwart.
You might think someone who has been at the coalface of racing for 34 years could’ve lost some enthusiasm for the sport, but that certainly isn’t the case when it comes to Canadian trainer Catherine Day Phillips.
A Grade 1 winner thanks to Jambalaya’s strike in the 2007 Arlington Million, she was born into the industry as her parents James and Dinny Day were accomplished trainers, which might’ve made an alternative career path difficult.
“When I was seven or eight, I wrote in my schoolbook that I was going to be a trainer of some sort as horses were always going to be in my life,” says the mother of Colton and Blake, whose husband Todd is a big part of her operation.
“At one point I travelled and left the horse world for a couple of years,” she continues. “I came back to it, but my father was very successful, and I felt a lot of pressure to follow him. I probably rejected that idea for a bit but came back on my own terms because I loved it. I started training in 1994.”
Based at Woodbine with 32 horses, Day Phillips has had spells down in Florida but is very much part of the fabric at her home track, where she has enjoyed notable success with A Bit O’Gold and Mr Havercamp.
“We’re suffering from the purses in Canada,” says Day Phillips, “and other big centres such as Kentucky and New York are putting a lot of money into their purses, which is drawing horses away from Toronto.”
She says her country is suffering from declining foal crops but admits that’s a problem “worldwide” and Canada “probably lost something during the Covid years”, when the Canadian International wasn’t run for a few years on and off during and after the pandemic.
“We might’ve lost our way a little,” she accepts, “but I think there’s a desire and focus here to get it back and we’re hopeful of a purse increase this year, while there’s a refurbishing of our turf course too.”
The campaign at Woodbine starts this weekend and ends in December, and Day Phillips is optimistic of a positive season, but still has ambitions much further afield.
“Would I like runners at Royal Ascot? Yes, and with three exclamation marks!” she adds. “My goal here is to win the King’s Plate, which we’ve been second in twice, so that needs to be done.”
Day Phillips says there are some nice horses in her care.
“Wyoming Bill and Katie’s Grace are two to look forward to,” she says, “while Happy Marsden is a promising two-year-old colt out of Dixie Chicken, who’s a broodmare we’ve had some luck with and is also the dam of Wyoming Bill.”
Which racing figure past or present do you most admire?
Bill Mott is a trainer I’ve always looked up to and admired.
When I first started training, I went to Hialeah with four horses to help with their surgery. We were stabled in his barn, so I loved watching the goings on and everything he did left a big mark on me.
It was things like how the stable was run and how the horses were done. I was like a kid in a candy store.
I like to think I’ve taken things from him. He’s an incredible horseman – very hands on – and that connection with the horses is something I’ve tried to have.
Also, I’m fascinated by Nicky Henderson and Willie Mullins.
The news in North America is a little difficult to listen to, so driving to the track each day I started listening to Nick Luck’s podcast.
The jumps season then started in Britain and Ireland, and I got more interested in it, and so did my family.
Colton, one of my sons, went to the Grand National at Aintree.
We’ve followed Constitution Hill with Nicky Henderson and the whole bizarre story around him and how Nicky must manage him and the responsibility that goes with that, while watching Willie Mullins come to the Breeders’ Cup and win with Ethical Diamond was very exciting.
I’d love to learn more about jump racing and can see a trip over to Europe when our season dies down.
What’s your favourite venue, and race, anywhere in the world?
The people at Saratoga are so close to the racing and the town is very involved.
It’s a great place to be and a beautiful course, while I’ve had the pleasure of going to the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for three of the last four years and I’ve really enjoyed that and the celebration of the sport there.
Who’s your favourite racehorse and why?
I know Mike Smith a little bit and remember him talking about a horse before she became well known.
That horse was Zenyatta.
He told me about this giant, black mare who had this mane that went back and forth and how fast she was – the fastest he’d ever sat on.
I always felt a connection to her through him, and she was heart-stopping to watch. I remember when she was beaten by Blame in her final race my children and I cried.
I don’t think they knew why they were crying. It was just one of those moments.
What’s your fondest memory in racing?
The Arlington Million with Jambalaya.
He was our own horse, and it was so exciting.
My husband drove him to the race in our own truck and trailer, and we were kind of the little guys taking on the world and defeating them.
The Aga Khan had a runner, and Doctor Dino also ran. It was a world stage, and I don’t think we realised how big it was at the time.
To do that with our little horse was extremely special.
If you could change one thing in racing, what would it be?
We need to focus on bringing young people closer to the horses and connecting them to the animals.
It’s not just about partying at the races.
We need to give them more hands-on, up-close experience, whether that’s tours of the backstretch or getting them on the farms and meeting and touching the horses.
Catherine Day Phillips was speaking to James Burn
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