TRM issue 21_Jerkins feature.qxd 20/07/2011 11:59 Page 2
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Benson at Windfields Farm. “I came into the racetrack grooming horses,” she said. She worked as an assistant trainer before venturing on her own in 1994. She has become an outstanding trainer, not only in Canada, but in the United States as well. In 2009, her three-year-old filly Careless Jewel, who dumped her jockey twice on the way to the starting gate, dominated the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga, romping by 7¼ lengths for Donna and Verne Dubinsky’s Donver Stable, which also owns Inglorious. It wasn’t the first time Carless Jewel acted up. “She did that on a regular basis,” Carroll said. “She was a real handful. But once she got in the gate, she put her game face on.” Inglorious has a much different demeanor. “What sets her apart from other horses is what a great mind she has,” Carroll said. “She’s extremely sensible. We were in the Queen’s Plate paddock for quite a while. It was 17
horses, a big crowd, and the media was there and all this noise, and she was getting bored. She was bending her head looking for grass to graze. She was relaxed. That’s what’s special about her. She relaxes and waits. She does what the rider wants, she just sits there, and when he asks her, she goes. It’s a rarity when they are that relaxed.” Inglorious, the only filly in the field, was relaxed in the Queen’s Plate until the far turn, when she unleashed a breathtaking rally under Luis Contreras. “When he moved on the turn, I just got this rush of confidence that this filly is going to do it,” Carroll said. “I could see how much horse he had.” He had enough to win the Queen’s Plate going away, Inglorious’ third consecutive stakes victory and fifth in seven lifetime starts. “Winning it with a filly meant a lot,” Carroll said. “It was quite an accomplishment to take on the colts.”
Inglorious became the first filly since Dancethruthedawn in 2001 to win the Queen’s Plate, the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. But Inglorious isn’t going to chase that crown. She will be pointed instead to the Alabama at Saratoga. “It’s an important step up to win a Grade 1,” Carroll said. “That’s really the next step up to see if she’s competitive at that level.” Her trainer, who now trains a stable of 40 horses, sure is. Her list of major stakes victories includes the Woodbine Oaks (taken by Inglorious in her start before the Queen’s Plate), Canadian Derby, Delaware Oaks, and Cotillion Handicap. Tethra was her first major star. Inglorious won’t be her last. Along the way, she’s found very little resistance from others regarding her gender. “I’ve never made a big deal out of being a woman in this business,” she said. “I’ve never been treated differently. I really haven’t. I’ve really been fortunate.” n
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