FAII HILL, Md..--Local trainers, most of them based at the Fair Hill Training Center, have had tremendous success during the past six weeks.

Graham Motion (Photo by Coady Photography)Graham Motion has had 15 winners, including five Stakes winners for 10 different owners, while Keri Brion has had 12 winners for nine different owners.

Liz Merryman had five winners, including two stakes winners, two that she owned and three for three different owners.

Michael Matz had four winners, including a Stakes winner, mostly for Runnymoore Racing as Matz cuts back on the number of horses he trains, and Hendriks, who saddles mainly steeplechasers,, had one flat winner.

Both Motion and Brion started their careers working for Jonathan Sheppard,both eventually serving as his assistant trainer, and both have a particular talent for training turf winners.

Motion had two Stakes wins at Del Mar, two at Woodbine in Canada and one at Laurel and began his skein of five with Andrew Stone's Vronti (GB) in the $100,000 CTT and TOC Stakes, 1 3/8 miles for fillies and mares on the turf on  Aug.15 at Del Mar.

Amerman Racing's Test Score won the $300,000 Del Mar Handicap, 1 3/8 miles on the turf on Aug. 29 and Newstead Stables' Gimme a Nother (SAF) won the G1, 750,000 E.P. Taylor, 1 1/4miles  on the turf at Woodbine on Sept.12.

 

AMERMAN'S Racing''s Coast Highway won the $125,000 Laurel Futurity, 1 1/16 miles on the turf for 2-year-olds on Sept. 26, and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Warming won the G2, $200,000 Dance Smartly Stakes, 1 1/16 miles on the turf  for fillies and mares. 

Keri Brion (Photo by NYRA)Motion also had two allowance winners on the turf, Siouxse and Unwavering Monarch.

He had five 2-year-old Maiden winners, Excessif, Coast Highway and Sushi Part on the turf, and Controlling and Indian Pharoah on the dirt, as well as a 3-year-old Maiden winner, Center on an all weather track.

Motion also had two Maiden Claiming winners in Citrine and Gum on the turf.

Brion had three 2-year-old Maiden winners, boding well for the future as she builds up her flat stable after beginning mainly with jumpers.

The fillies Sea Isle, Misses Boots and Millford Lass won in Maiden races, all on the turf, at Kntucky Downs, Delaware Park and Colonial Downs.

Brion had three Maiden Optional Claiming winners, also all three on the turf; Sunny Bird, Metaron and Sally Maclennane.

She had six Claiming winners, four on turf and two on dirt.

Shakin My Head, Fly Now, Crab Mentality and Rare Eclipse won on turf, and Calling on Heaven and Brown Sugar Batty won on dirt.

Merryman saddled Hasting Farm's Jean Valjean to win the $75,000 Marshall Jenney Stakes for Pa-breds at Penn National at 5 furlongs on the turf.

Martha Nevins and Michael Pawasarat then bought Jean Valjean, who won the $150,000 Disco Partner's Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf.

Merryman also saddled her own Aperitif to first win a Maiden Special Weight and then a Starter Allowance on the turf, and she also had a winner in Magic Beam on the turf.

Matz saddled Runnymoore's Understudy Kitty to win the $75,000 Lewes Handicap for Del-bred or certified at 1 mile and70 yards on the turf.

He also had winners in Sun Valley in a 2-year-old Maiden Special Weight on the turf, and Voluntary won twice, first in a Maiden Optional Claiming and then in a Starter Optional Claiming, both on the turf.

Hendriks saddled Skyrayleigh to win a Maiden Optional Claiming race at Delaware Park.