Mattingly (Photo courtesy of OBS March 2023)
Woodbine Press Release
TORONTO, On. – Harlan Malter of Ironhorse Racing Stable travels to Toronto from New York this weekend to watch his 2-year-old Mattingly in Sunday’s Victoria Stakes at Woodbine. With a name like Mattingly, as Malter explains, this was meant to be.
Mattingly’s origin story began with Malter’s royal dream.
“I have a stallion named Bucchero who we campaign. He stands in Florida, and he ran at Royal Ascot in the King Stand back in 2018. Just through me being overly friendly, I’ve become friends with a lot of people there and I thought the idea of eventually trying to get a Bucchero to run back at Ascot would be fun”.
Malter purchased Mattingly, by Bucchero and out of Grand Slam mare Battingstar, at Ocala this past March. Debuting in the Royal Palm Juvenile Stakes on May 13 at Gulfstream, Mattingly could’ve secured a trip to Royal Ascot, but finished second, putting the Ascot dream out of reach, for now.
The connection to baseball runs deep for Malter, so Mattingly’s name came easily to him.
“[Mattingly’s] dam is named Battingstar by Grand Slam. I played baseball at Columbia University in New York. My partner went there too. The greatest baseball player to play at Columbia University was Lou Gehrig, who played back in the 30s. Gehrig was known as the Iron Horse, which is the name of our racing stable. Who is the best baseball player ever in the state of Indiana? Don Mattingly, who also played for the Yankees just like Gehrig. Don Mattingly set the major league record for most grand slams in 1987. Legitimately the mare is by Grand Slam.”
Before planning to race at Woodbine this weekend, Malter wasn’t aware Don Mattingly had become the bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays, though there is even more to the Toronto connection.
“Probably the most surreal Grade One winner in the history of Woodbine was Bullards Alley who won the Pattison [Canadian International] by [10 ¾] lengths at 42-1 about six years ago. The trainer, Tim Glyshaw, is the trainer of Bucchero also. Tim Glyshaw is in the Evansville Indiana Sports Hall of Fame. Do you know who else is in the Evansville Indiana Sports Hall of Fame? Don Mattingly.”
Watch out for Ironhorse Racing Stable’s Columbia blue silks with a circle representing a baseball in Sunday’s Victoria Stakes on Sunday, 5 ½ Furlongs on the Tapeta.
A compact group of five will clash in the $125,000 Victoria Stakes, which is carded as Race 3 on Sunday’s 11-race card.
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Mattingly – Sahin Civaci – Joseph Orseno
2 – Yacht Boy – Rico Walcott – Norman McKnight
3 – Going Up – Ronald Allen, Jr. – Ron Potts
4 – Gotts Got It – Erin Walker – Ron Potts
5 – Pipit (S) – Patrick Husbands – Kevin Attard
Post time on Saturday and Sunday afternoon is 1:05 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the races through HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.
