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Justin Stein guides Phil's Dream (second right) to victory in the Nearctic Stakes at Woodbine for trainer and owner Paul Buttigieg (opposite)
TRM Trainer of the Quarter
PAUL BUTTIGIEG
The TRM Trainer of the Quarter award has been won by Paul Buttigieg. Buttigieg and his team will receive a selection of products from the internationally-acclaimed range of TRM supplements, as well as a bottle of fine Irish whiskey. WORDS: BILL HELLER PHOTOS: MICHAEL BURNS
12 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 30
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HEN Phil’s Dream, bred, owned and trained by Paul Buttigieg, overcame traffic problems in early stretch to win the $328,826 Grade 1 Nearctic Stakes by two lengths at Woodbine October 13th, he earned a spot in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. He’s not going, because Phil’s Dream would have to be supplemented for $100,000. More importantly, Buttigieg is already living his dream. He was 15 years old when he visited a racetrack, Woodbine, for the first time in 1962. It was love at first sight. “It was beautiful,” he said. Buttigieg immediately got a job on a nearby farm. “I was mucking out stalls,” he said. “Owning a farm was my dream.” Now he not only owns a farm, but a highly successful one – the Buttigieg Training Centre in Edberg, Ontario, an hour’s drive north from Woodbine. It’s home to 150 Thoroughbreds. “I break a lot of yearlings for Bob Tiller,” Buttigieg