Sometimes in life, all you need is a little inspiration and some luck to achieve your dreams.
On Saturday (May 10), Northfield Park's newest trainer Tessa Koran earned her first career training victory as Desert Hayz (Chris Lems) made her way to the winner's circle.
Koran grew up in the barn working with one of her best friends, her grandfather. Through the years, Koran has made a name for herself as one of the top caretakers on the backstretch. She had been contemplating taking the plunge and training her own stable for years, but it just took a little pushing.
"My best friend Hunter Myers and his fiancé Chloe kept pushing me to take my trainer's test. Hunter always told me 'T-Bone, go on and do wonderful things,'" said Koran.
Following Myers' passing, Koran wanted to honor her friend's memory and get her trainer's license. Just a few short weeks later, with the wings of a pair of angels, she guided her first winner to victory lane.
"I know my two biggest fans, grandpa and Hunter, were both cheering loudly on the fence in heaven," said an emotional Koran.
'T-Bone,' as she is known to some, is set to marry local driver Chris Lems in the coming weeks. Working with Lems has been a blessing in disguise, as he likes to do the barn work that she hates and she loves to do the barn work that he hates, a balance that works out nicely between the pair.
"Chris is my biggest supporter and inspiration truly. Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky to have someone who wills me to win in every aspect of life like he does. He's truly my hype man," said Koran.
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On Saturday, Desert Hayz left no doubt about her victory as the 4-year-old daughter of Uncle Peter took the lead and never looked back, winning in gate-to-wire fashion.
After leaving alertly, Desert Hayz was put into play early by Lems, battling with Benezia (Luke Ebersole) and Flight Number One (Edward Miller). Lems inherited the lead when Benezia made a break moving into the backstretch, and he would hold on to the top spot past a 27 4/5 first quarter.
Lems was able to work out a 30 2/5 second quarter breather before entering the clubhouse turn for the final time with Sbrocco (Justin Irvine) making a first-over bid for the lead. Coming into the backstretch for the final time, Sbrocco was one-paced and Desert Hayz began to create some separation.
At three-quarters in 1:27 1/5, Desert Hayz had a 1 3/4 length lead with no signs of slowing down. Through the stretch, several took a shot at Desert Hayz, but they ran out of racetrack as she cruised to the victory by three-quarters of a length in 1:57 3/5.
Owned by Lems, Desert Hayz pushed her career earnings to $36,464.
Live racing resumes on Sunday (May 11) evening at Northfield, first post is 6:00 p.m. (EDT).
--press release (Northfield)--