Barn Tour: Brittany Russell on her Derby hopeful, other talent

In the fifth year of training on her own, it’s fair to say that Brittany Russell has created a solid, steadily growing stable with no signs of slowing down.

Russell began training on her own in 2018 after working with Brad Cox. Consider her earnings the last few years: $1.6 million in 2020, $2.9 million last year, and $4.2 million and counting this year. She's the leading trainer at Laurel Park's current meet, with 27 wins from 115 starters, 10 wins ahead of her closest competitor.

Russell's stable has grown to about 70 horses in training, mostly at Laurel Park and Fair Hill Training Center, also in Maryland.

Like most trainers, Russell credits her team, owners and supporters. “It takes a lot of the right people to help you get to the right places,” she told Horse Racing Nation on Tuesday from her Baltimore-area home.

One member of her team who is particularly valuable is her husband, jockey Sheldon Russell.

“It's really helpful because he's in the barn a lot,” Russell said. “He's getting on these horses. If he's not fond of one, he tells me right away, and that's usually a sure sign of what we have moving forward. But I need the honesty. You get a lot of riders in the barn that maybe aren't sure if they can be that honest with you. Sheldon knows what we're trying to accomplish here. So, he's on our team. And if I'm doing good, he's doing good. So it's a win-win if it's working.”

Russell generated early Kentucky Derby buzz this month when Post Time, a Frosted colt, went 3-for-3 with a win in the Maryland Juvenile Stakes. The Equibase chart notes that he “drew out with complete authority as his rider sat motionless” and won by 3 3/4 lengths.”

“He's making us look good right now,” Russell said. “Hoping that he can continue that.”

Russell discussed what might be next for Post Time, other 2-year-olds and older horses in her stable for the latest in HRN’s Barn Tour series.

2-year-olds

Post Time. “He is quite a character,” Russell said. “I'm trying to back off slightly since his last race and let him kind of put us in the direction we want to go when he starts acting right. It didn't take him long. He's back to it, bouncing around, being his normal, high-energy self.

“We're not going to rule out the (Jerome) in New York the beginning of January. Speaking with Ellen Charles, his owner, it seems like we probably want to keep him home for another run. Obviously, he's running good numbers. And he's doing things right. But she's raced some good horses along the way, and I think she'd feel more comfortable if we probably ran him in an open race at home. And look, if he keeps doing what he's doing, then we might consider New York or something. We're still not ruling out the Jerome yet, though.”

Prince of Jericho. This Munnings colt is 2-for 3 after winning a six-furlong allowance race by 5 1/4 lengths last out. “He’s the man,” Russell said, and he’s pointed to the seven-furlong Heft Stakes Dec. 26 at Laurel Park.

Circling the Drain. The son of West Coast broke his maiden on second try Friday with a seven-length win at 1 1/16 miles after finishing second in his debut. “He's great. We came out of his race awesome. We'll probably just look for an allowance race for his next run. Obviously a horse that wants more ground. He did all things right the other day. We've always been pretty high on him, the way he works in the morning. So you're just hoping that the tougher these races get, he just continues to step forward.” Russell wasn’t sure where he might start next.

L Street Lady. The Munnings filly also broke her maiden on her second try, leading at every call to win by 7 1/2 lengths going 5 1/2 furlongs. “She's awesome,” Russell said. “Actually, she came out of that last one really good. She's bouncing, doing well. We might consider the Xtra Heat. … But we're probably toying with an allowance versus the stakes in January.” The six-furlong Xtra Heat is at Laurel Park on Jan. 21.

Collection Day. The son of Collected broke his maiden Nov. 27 on his fourth try. “I don't know what we're doing with Collection Day at the moment. We'll probably try an allowance race with him.”

Older horses

Wondrwherecraigis. The 5-year-old son of Munnings gave Russell her only graded-stakes win when he won the Bold Ruler (G3) last year at Belmont Park. His only win in five starts this year came in the Fire Plug in January, after which he tried the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1), finishing 10th. His last start was a second-place finish in an allowance at Pimlico in September. Russell said he will rejoin the barn this week after a freshening at Fair Hill. “He just seemed like he might have been a little more tired after the Dubai run than we thought. We tried to give him a bit of time when he came back. And look, he ran good races. But not the old Craig before Dubai. We just felt like we could probably get him back to a better place if we just stopped on him and kind of regrouped.”

Hybrid Eclipse. The 4-year-old daughter of Paynter has a 6: 3-0-2 record this year, with a win last out in a 1 1/16-mile stakes at Laurel. “She is the coolest horse, and she will run in the Carousel on the 26th.”

Juror Number Four. The 4-year-old Into Mischief filly has a 9: 2-3-3 record this year, finishing second last out in a Laurel Park sprint. “Another one that she's just so cool. We've had her since she was a 2-year-old and she always seems to run into these tough fillies regionally. She always had to run against Street Lute. And then she had to run against Fille d'Esprit. She's really cool. She always shows up, and we'll probably run her – there's an open allowance this weekend or there's a stakes the day after Christmas. We'll see if the allowance goes and go from there. But we'll run her one more time then we'll break on her and fresh her up for next year because she's Delaware-certified.”