Preseason with - Patrick Dixon
- HBPA
- Apr 15
- 3 min read
Q: You had 16 winners, 19 seconds, and 18 thirds—what do you think attributed to such a strong season?
A: Yes thank you 2024 was a great season for the Barn it was a lot of fun, and we have a lot to be thankful for. I think our success came down to the foundation we put into the horse over the winter at the farm. We also had a good mix of competitive horses last year. We had two-year-olds up to 6-year-olds racing so we always had a lot of horses for different types of races
Q: Who are some horses you're most excited about this season?
A: Thundering is high on the list the way he finished in the Display Stakes. He is an exciting horse to look forward to.
Arabian Prince has been a great addition to the barn finishing in the money in every start he has made since coming to Woodbine
Coolcollected broke his maiden on the turf last season and has been training very well since coming back to Woodbine
Nantuckets Day broke her maiden in a nice MSW on the grass last season beating some nice horses. It will be nice to see how she matures as a 4-year-old.
Q: Colebrook Farms is 17 wins away from 700 career winners. Can we get to that number this season, and how many will you have in training in 2025?
A: It would be a great achievement for Colebrook Farms to reach that milestone. I'll be trying my best to make that happen this season!
Q: Thundering broke his maiden in the Display Stakes. What gave you the confidence to run him there, and how did he winter? What’s the plan for him this season?
A: I’ve always believed in Thundering he always showed a lot of ability in his morning workouts. I had the Display in mind for him for some time. He has spent the winter in Florida with Gabriel Dixon getting ready for his 2025 season. We thought about running him down there one time but we decided to bring him back to woodbine and start his 3-year-old campaign here in Canada.
Q: You were an assistant to two Hall of Fame trainers—Roger Attfield and Reade Baker. What did you learn from them that you apply now?
A: Yes working for Roger Attfield and Reade Baker is something I'm very proud of. Both taught me some very valuable lessons in training races horse. A lot of my success can be attributed to the knowledge I gained working for them.
Q: What is one race you wish you could have a redo on?
A: I'd say that the one that stands out the most for me is the 2024 Ontario Colleen was such a weirdly run race. We ran Simply in Front, she missed the break and ended up much further back than I wanted her to be. The front runner, Time to Dazzle, got a good lead and just never stopped and that's horse racing you have to take the good with the bad. But that is definitely a race id like another go at!
Q: You’re able to gallop your own horses. Do you think there’s a benefit to that?
A: Yes its a luxury I'm thankful to have I know I can't gallop forever but its something I still really enjoy doing when I can.
Q: What is one of your proudest achievements in horse racing so far?
A: My proudest moment was probably winning my first stake race the Overskate with Perfect Crime. He's a horse I've had in training for a long time since he was a two-year-old he's a barn favourite it was only fitting that he won my first stakes race.
Q: What was it like to win your first stakes race as a trainer?
A: It was an unreal feeling. I felt very confident in him going into the Overskate I thought he had a very good chance of pulling it off. I had a good Jockey riding him and he felt like he was in his best shape so it meant a lot to me and the Colebrook team. They put a lot of trust in me and it was very rewarding to pay some of that back.
Q: What was it like to win the Display Stakes with Thundering?
A: Winning the Display was a great it's difficult and can take a lot of time and Patience to win any race with a Two year old so winning a stakes race makes it even more special.
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