After a sensational \u201907 meeting, top trainer Harwood hasn\u2019t changed her hard-working, no-nonsense style<\/b><\/p>\n
Coming off an unforgettable record-breaking season, Doris Harwood refuses to bask in the splendid spotlight.<\/p>\n
For this determined thoroughbred trainer, everything squarely remains in front of her \u2013 the next race, the next unproven horse, the next challenge. The task is simple and complex: Come to the track, spot the fledgling 2-year-old horse and hope it develops into tomorrow\u2019s sensation.<\/p>\n
In a sport that can humble as quickly as reward fiercely competitive trainers, Harwood fully understands both ends of the spectrum.<\/p>\n
She toiled in obscurity as a jockey, and then as a trainer, one of the first and few women in the profession at Longacres, the storied Renton track that closed in 1992. But she gained credibility over the years, despite experiencing her share of misfortune along the way.<\/p>\n
It was by no means an easy road.<\/p>\n
Then fast forward to 2007, and the non-nonsense lady \u2013 the one who runs a tight ship, commands respect and demands more from others \u2013 finds herself operating at the top of her game. She has emerged as one of finest around in her craft at Emerald Downs.<\/p>\n
A culmination of hard work, solid seasoning, good breaks and fortuitous timing spurred the Harwood barn to great heights in \u201907. She obliterated the single-season stakes record with 12 wins \u2013 won 34 races in all \u2013 and amassed $688,443 in earnings, tops among trainers at the meet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no way I could have envisioned it,\u201d Harwood said from her small office at the track stables. \u201cIt just happened. It all lined up where I had five stakes horses. \u2026 You can\u2019t anticipate that. You can\u2019t imagine that. It was wonderful to experience it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The dream ride included multiple stakes wins from the likes of three powerful equine athletes \u2013 Shampoo (four), Margo\u2019s Gift (three) and Smarty Deb (three). Shampoo tied the track record by winning four stakes in one season, while Smarty Deb became the first filly at the Auburn oval to capture the prestigious Gottstein Futurity.<\/p>\n
\u201cRacing is about dreams, and Doris is a great dream-maker,\u201d said Ken Alhadeff, Margo\u2019s Gift owner and one of Harwood\u2019s first clients when she began her career in training.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been an incredible, wonderful journey,\u201d Alhadeff said. \u201cI am thrilled for her success. \u2026 She\u2019s a credit to the thoroughbred industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heading to showtime<\/b><\/p>\n
For Harwood, Alhadeff and their super gelding, the season under the sun didn\u2019t end at Emerald Downs<\/p>\n
Margo\u2019s Gift, a 26-to-1 shot, rallied to stun the field of 2-year-olds to seize the $250,000 Favorite Trick Stakes at Monmouth Park on the Jersey Shore during Breeders\u2019 Cup weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing about him is, he\u2019s a Washington-bred, and he\u2019s been an overachiever all season,\u201d said Ricky Frazier, who rode the gelding to the win on an off-track. \u201cHe makes no mistakes. This is unreal. This was a lot to ask. It\u2019s just unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, to cap off the weekend, Harwood\u2019s Smarty Deb finished a strong fifth in her first graded stakes start, the $2 million Breeders\u2019 Cup Juvenile Fillies. It was the first locally established horse from either the 12-year-old Emerald Downs or its predecessor, Longacres, to compete in the Breeders\u2019 Cup.<\/p>\n
It was an adventure beyond description for Harwood to compete on the big stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust to make it that far was quite an accomplishment and a thrill,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Harwood hopes to add more thrills this season, even with a relatively new lineup. Smarty Deb now is at Santa Anita, but she still has big plans for Margo\u2019s Gift and Shampoo, not to mention Elusive Horizon. She has nearly 50 horses in her barn currently, including six owned by Alhadeff.<\/p>\n
As all good trainers do, Harwood makes notes and closely watches each horse train. Few things escape her eye for detail.<\/p>\n
Established and formidable, Harwood doesn\u2019t rebuild, but reloads for each meet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a totally new year. And my attitude has always been I\u2019m going to do the best that I can with each horse, whatever that ends up being,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Make no mistake: The 55-year-old Harwood loves to win and hates to lose, a combination that keeps her coming back to the track to put in the long days.<\/p>\n
\u201cWinning a race is my drug of choice \u2013 that\u2019s the adrenaline,\u201d she said. \u201cI mean, I scream like a maniac, even with a bottom claimer.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we\u2019re proud of the ones who just try hard at any level of competition,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
An eye for talent<\/b><\/p>\n
Harwood is especially gifted at spotting good, young talented horses, and placing them in her carefully guided program. She brings them along with tenderness and care.<\/p>\n
With Margo\u2019s Gift, Harwood was able to help the horse overcome his fears to become a championship competitor.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s smart with the horses,\u201d Alhadeff said. \u201cShe trains them well and has a relationship with horses and understands that each one is an individual.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wants to win badly, but she\u2019s also realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Realistic to know it will be difficult to get back to a Breeders\u2019 Cup race. Sure, Harwood, would like to return to the national stage soon, perhaps the coveted Kentucky Derby. But she has other local goals in mind.<\/p>\n
While Harwood has collected her share of many great stakes victories, she has yet to pull in the elusive Longacres Mile and Emerald Derby. She saddled one of the track\u2019s most popular horses, Thetruthisoutthere, in three straight Mile starts (1998-2000), only to finish a race-best fourth in \u201999.<\/p>\n
There remains plenty of unfinished business for Harwood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m passionate about it and really I\u2019m passionate about the horse,\u201d said Harwood, who owns several horses herself and rides daily. \u201cI guess I\u2019m still horse crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doris Harwood<\/p>\n
Personal: Lives on the East Hill in recently annexed Auburn, with her husband Jeff and two stepsons, Cole and Trevor. Owns many horses and seven dogs. Harwood was born in Kentucky, raised in Seattle before establishing a home in Auburn. She first began to ride at age 10.<\/p>\n
Daily approach to things: \u201cI come to work and hope I don\u2019t see too many problems that I have to work through. And if I do, I just go at it. I\u2019m not a worrier, and I don\u2019t lose my mind when things happen. You put in the work. \u2026 The results, the truth comes out on the track.\u201d<\/p>\n
Career Emerald Downs record: 249 victories (eighth all-time), $2.9 million in earnings (seventh) and 21 stakes wins (fifth).<\/p>\n
Favorite bet at the track: \u201cI don\u2019t gamble. I gambled with my life when I was riding horses, but I won\u2019t let go of my (money).\u201d<\/p>\n
Favorite all-time horse: For The Children, a versatile gelding who won in many different ways.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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