Breeder of Three-Time Dirt and Turf Stakes Winner Witty
Ness Nets Friday Hat Trick to Clinch Summer Training Title
Twice Stakes-Placed Sheliahs Warcloud Nearing Comeback
LAUREL, MD – Largely thanks to her 5-year-old Grade 2-placed homebred Witty, a three-time stakes winner at Laurel Park, owner-trainer Elizabeth Merryman is a finalist to win a second straight national award from the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.
Merryman, a member of one of Maryland’s most successful, diverse and respected racing families that spans generations, joins Joe Fafone and Amy Moore as finalists for TOBA’s 2023 National Small Breeder of the Year.
Based at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md., Merryman was also named Pennsylvania’s champion breeder for 2022 at the ceremony held annually the following fall. TOBA’s 39th Awards Dinner is scheduled for Sept. 7 in Lexington, Ky.
“I was really excited last year to go down and participate,” Merryman said. “I was really floored to win. I was the top breeder for the state of Pennsylvania and they tell you that ahead of time, but [the national] one they just announce that you’re a finalist and they only announce the winner at the dinner. I was thrilled. It was really fun.”
Merryman’s national TOBA award came on the strength of Caravel, who won five stakes in 2022, three graded, capped by the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) at Keeneland. The Mizzen Mast mare was retired following the 2023 Breeders’ Cup with 15 wins and $1.98 million in purse earnings from 26 starts.
“She’s in England now and she’s in foal to Frankel, so that will be great for the family, too. It’s very exciting,” Merryman said. “I remember when I shipped her out to Presque Isle Downs myself when she won the [2020 Lady Erie] and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this going to do so much for my mare’s pedigree,’ and then she became a Breeders’ Cup winner. She was a really incredible filly that could beat the boys like she did multiple times.”
Also out of the mare Zeezee Zoomzoom, Witty is Caravel’s younger half-brother. He had three wins and five seconds from 11 starts in 2023, facing stakes company seven times with victories in the Ben’s Cat at historic Pimlico Race Course and Laurel’s Maryland Million Turf Sprint last fall.
“The mare has been pretty amazing,” Merryman said. “She’s definitely a dream come true kind of mare. All her babies come out just big and gorgeous and correct. They’re really cool horses.”
Overall Witty owns three stakes wins each on grass and dirt, including Laurel’s April 20 King T. Leatherbury in his 2024 season opener. He has been second in three straight subsequent stakes – Pimlico’s Jim McKay Turf Sprint May 18, the Highlander (G2) June 29 at Woodbine and Van Clief Aug. 11 at Colonial Downs.
“He ran very well the other day,” Merryman said. “He is a character. He is such a cool horse. We love him.”
Merryman is pointing Witty to the $2 million Turf Sprint (G2), a ‘Win and You’re In’ qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup, going six furlongs at Kentucky Downs Sept. 7 – the same day as the TOBA Awards Dinner, approximately a three-hour drive away.
“I have a little conflict this year which is kind of stressing me out. Witty is supposed to run at Kentucky Downs that same day,” Merryman said. “I really think he’ll like the six furlongs and the uphill stretch and all that. Hopefully that gives him the added ground he needs, but you never know. It’s going to be such a tough race. You’ve got horses that want to go longer trying to shorten up and horses who want to run shorter trying to stretch out. It’s kind of hard to tell what’ll happen, but we’re going to give it a go.”
Merryman is the youngest of six children from late multiple stakes-winning breeders and owners John and Kitty Merryman, all but one of which became trainers. Other six-figure earners she bred include Incisive Strike, who banked $325,597 in 57 starts; 12-time winner Scarlet’s Number, who raced 67 times; Kitty’s Right and Quick Thinking.
Ness Nets Friday Hat Trick to Defend Summer Training Title
Jamie Ness sent out three winners from six starters Friday to clinch leading trainer honors for a second straight year at Laurel Park’s summer meet.
The 35-day summer stand has two racing days remaining, culminating in a 13-race program Sunday featuring a pair of scheduled 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for Maryland-bred/sired horses – the $75,000 All Brandy for fillies and mares and $75,000 Find.
Ness ended Friday with a 25-16 advantage over runner-up Brittany Russell, who won with her lone starter on the card, Wish Me Home ($5), in Race 4. Ness countered by winning Race 5 with Peachyness ($4.20), Race 6 with ex-Russell trainee Swill ($9) and Race 8 with Two by Two ($7).
The 49-year-old Ness had five multi-win days during the summer meet, including prior hat tricks on June 9 and July 13, and sent out Gordian Knot to a third-place finish in the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash July 28. He has horses entered in three races Saturday and six races Sunday including first-time turf starter Bestsugardaddyever in the Find. Russell has horses entered in four races Saturday and two Sunday.
“It’s good. I don’t have to sweat it out the last couple days. It seems like every meet me and Brittany go down to the last day. It’s really kind of fun,” Ness said. “The last couple summers we’ve had good meets. It’s a cliché but you’ve got to have good horses, spot them right and hope for the best. We’ve been able to keep a steady clip for like the last 15 years. You try to do the right thing, do everything right and good things happen.”
Ness also won Laurel’s calendar year-opening winter meet this year. He owns nine career training titles in Maryland, six at Laurel and three at historic Pimlico Race Course, dating back to 2011. In addition to Laurel, Ness is currently the leading trainer at both Delaware Park and Parx.
“It’s hard to win at one front but to be winning on three fronts, it’s like a war. You’ve got to equal out your bullets everywhere,” he said. “Every year we build the infrastructure up a little bit better. We have a farm where we turn out and rehab and rotate horses. We’re constantly moving horses every day. It’s an advantage we’ve got. We’ve got horses ready at three different places and it works out pretty good for us.”
Ness’ horses earned a career-best $11.2 million in purses in 2023 to go along with 349 wins, the fifth time he has topped the 300 mark including a personal best 395 in 2012. He ranked second in North America in wins last year and third in both 2022 (326) and 2021 (311) and this year is second with 215 to only Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen (254).
A South Dakota native, Ness began his racing career in the media relations department at Canterbury Park in Minnesota, where he won his first race in August 1999. At Laurel he won both his 2,000th race with Caylee’s Song Nov. 28, 2013 and his 4,000th with Sing Scat July 16, 2023. Overall he owns 4,393 wins and more than $91.5 million in purse earnings.
Both Swill and Two by Two were ridden by Jaime Rodriguez, who holds a commanding lead in the race for leading jockey, 41-31, over J.G. Torrealba, winner of Race 9 on No Easy Days ($4.60). Twenty-two of Rodriguez’s wins have come on Ness horses.
Rodriguez is named in eight races Saturday and one race Sunday while Torrealba, who registered five wins Aug. 11 at Laurel, is named in five races Saturday and seven races Sunday.
“Ever since the first day he came and worked a horse for me I said, ‘That’s my guy.’ We get along good and, obviously, he’s a good rider,” Ness said. “He’s a good rider, but a better person and that’s what I like most about him. We’re on the same page and when everybody’s on the same page, it usually works out pretty good.”
Twice Stakes-Placed Sheilahs Warcloud Nearing Comeback
Over a 24-hour period to kick off the month of August, her older sister was narrowly beaten for third in a Canadian stakes and her younger brother won his unveiling in Virginia. Soon Sheilahs Warcloud will be rejoining her siblings on the racetrack, much to the delight of Laurel Park-based owner, trainer and co-breeder Justin Nixon.
“Nobody’s happier about it than myself, I can tell you that,” Nixon said. “She’s been very good to us, so we’ve got to be very good to her.”
Bred in Maryland with Dr. Megan Kerford, Sheilahs Warcloud was a promising prospect heading into her 3-year-old season after winning her debut last summer at Colonial Downs and running second in her next three starts, two of them stakes – Laurel’s Maryland Million Lassie and Maryland Juvenile.
Named for Nixon’s mother, Sheilahs Warcloud launched her sophomore campaign with a popular 1 ½-length optional claiming allowance victory Jan. 12 at Laurel but has gone unraced since. After missing some time she had three breezes in April before going to the sidelines again, but returned to the work tab in mid-July and has been training steadily since.
Sheilahs Warcloud has been nominated to several stakes over the spring and summer including the Black-Eyed Susan (G2), Miss Preakness (G3) and, most recently, the $75,000 Miss Disco for Maryland-bred/sired 3-year-old fillies July 21 at Laurel.
“She’s coming along real nice. We’re just not going to push her,” Nixon said. “I don’t have anything right now exactly picked out for her, nothing specific in mind. I think ultimately we’d like to go back to the Maryland Million, but obviously we’d like to get a race into her before that.”
The 39th Jim McKay Maryland Million is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 12 at Laurel. Sheilahs Warcloud went off favored in the Lassie, sat off a duel up front and came with a four-wide rally to draw even in deep stretch with leader Miss Harriett – a first-time starter sent off at 62-1 – but ultimately fell a neck short.
“I thought she ran great,” Nixon said. “Miss Harriett ran lights out and I thought we had her. She came out to us a little bit and maybe it just intimidated her just a touch and we couldn’t get by that filly. We ran as good as we can run and not win.”
By Madefromlucky, Sheilahs Warcloud has been sharp in her recent breezes including a five-furlong bullet in 1:00.40 Friday at Laurel. She went three furlongs in 36 seconds July 20, fastest of 12 horses; and a half-mile in 48 seconds July 28, ranking fourth of 65 horses, and 48.20 Aug. 7, third-fastest of 24.
“She’s working well and doing everything right, fingers crossed,” Nixon said. “We had a couple little bumps in the road there over the spring but we’re in good order now and progressing nicely.”
Meanwhile, 2-year-old Rogueish colt Reggie Runs Rogue graduated by 2 ¼ lengths in a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight Aug. 2 at Colonial Downs the day before 5-year-old mare Gastown Babe, a six-figure earner, ran fourth in the Sweet Briar Too at Woodbine beaten a neck for third. Like Sheilahs Warcloud, both are out of the Sky Mesa mare Sky Lani. The three are stabled side-by-side-by-side in Nixon’s Laurel barn.
“Brothers and sisters, right down the row, one-two-three,” Nixon said. “Unfortunately we lost the mare, but all three of the foals we had out of the mare won at first asking. She was awful good to us and all three of them are just solid horses and great to have in the barn. We’re excited about him, we’re excited about her, and Gastown is chipping away … so hopefully she’ll keep producing.”
Notes: Jockeys Sheldon Russell and Angel Cruz each doubled Friday. Russell was first with Class Wizard ($13.60) in Race 1 and Wish Me Home ($5) in Race 4, while Cruz visited the winner’s circle on Zihuatanejo ($7.60) in Race 3 and Big Wanda ($22.60) in Race 10 … There will be carryovers of $1,630.41 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (Races 6-11) and $1,026.94 in the $1 Jackpot Super High Five (Race 6) for Friday’s 11-race program that begins at 12:25 p.m.