Courtney Ryan Keeps Winning in Florida

After leading Courtney Ryan through a 2013 campaign that included six wins, 15 money finishes and nearly $114,000 in purses from 18 starts, trainer Tammy Levy wasn’t sure what her stable star would do for an encore in 2014.

A Florida-bred daughter of graded stakes winner With Distinction, Courtney Ryan has been even better as a 5-year-old, leading all North American mares in victories. She picked up win No. 10 on November 2 at Gulfstream Park West, extending her bankroll to $130,837 in 14 races.

The only horse with more wins this year is 5-year-old gelding Handsup Moneydown, who is 11-for-15 racing primarily on the Mid-Atlantic circuit. His last start came on September 20.

“It’s very surreal,” said Levy, 47. “I don’t know what to say. Sometimes, I have a really hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that she’s accomplished so much, and that I’ve only been training for five years and I got my hands on her. We did this together. It just brings tears to my eyes. It’s just amazing. She’s been great for me, and I still don’t believe that she’s won so many races. I look at the pictures lining my wall, and I can’t believe she’s done it.”

Overall, Courtney Ryan has won 19 of 57 lifetime starts for purses of more than $305,000. She only had two wins from 19 races when Levy claimed her for $6,250 out of a second-place finish in a one-mile dirt race on July 21, 2012.

Since then, Courtney Ryan piled up 17 wins, nine seconds, four thirds and $261,583 in purses from 37 starts for Levy. Two of her seconds have come by a head and a neck, the latter in the Claiming Crown Iron Lady last December at Gulfstream Park.

“Nothing has changed, and I think that’s the beauty of Courtney Ryan,” Levy said. “Consistency is epic for her. She has the same groom, the same exercise rider, the same pony, the same pony boy, the same stall. We just try to listen to her and she kind of points us in the direction she wants to go. She’s incredibly intelligent and she’s keen on letting us know what she wants to do, so we try to give her that. Every time she wins, I have to cry on my way to the winner’s circle. So many horses don’t run 19 times in their career, let alone win 19. I’m very proud.”

When it comes to putting her finger on the secret to Courtney Ryan’s success, Levy, who lives and operates a small farm near Gulfstream Park West in Southwest Ranches, attributes it all to the mare she trains for her husband Ron’s IAB Stable.

“I don’t have another horse like her. I’ve never had another horse like her,” Levy said. “I don’t know what she has. I wish I could tell you; I would try to replicate her. It’s just something inside of her. She loves to run. She loves what she does. She’s very competitive. I think our team is very competitive, so I don’t know if she can get that vibe from us, but she is. It’s her heart. She’s just got an enormous heart.”

Courtney Ryan also has a loyal and devoted fan base, from her own Facebook page to the crowd that gathers whenever and wherever she runs.

“She has a huge Facebook following,” Levy said. “We go to the races and whenever we’re in the winner’s circle, especially at Gulfstream Park, she probably has three deep of people outside the winner’s circle clapping and cheering for her. People come by the barn to visit her. Sometimes people will stop and ask me, ‘I’m just dying to know, what is it like to be with Courtney Ryan?’

“She has moments that she’s very sweet, but she’s very pushy and she wants what she wants, and she wants it now. She can be a handful. She’s not mean or vicious or anything like that. She’s just a handful. She’s spunky, and she’s spoiled. She wants what she wants and she’s going to have it. She can have whatever she wants, really. She is the queen of my barn, and she’s definitely earned it.”

To date, Courtney Ryan has never raced outside her home state, but Levy knows that she may have to look outside Florida for future starts. Levy plans to run her once more at the Gulfstream Park West meet that runs through November 30, and then point to Gulfstream Park’s Championship meet, which opens December 6.

“I kind of just go from race to race at this point and when she’s ready and lets me know she wants to run, I look to see what’s available,” Levy said. “We’ve talked about looking for some overnight stakes and the fact that we might have to ship her because she doesn’t have very many conditions left. Obviously, I don’t look to put her in any spot I could lose her. She’s amazing. Whatever I put in front of her, she doesn’t balk at it.”

As long as Courtney Ryan continues to thrive at the racetrack, Levy said she will keep bringing her back to do what she loves.

“She’s never had a freshening. She’s never wanted one,” Levy said. “After some of her more difficult races, we’ve walked her maybe a week and she just comes out of her skin. By the end of the week, she’s ready to go back to the track. She loves going to the track.

“She’s just an honest horse that likes the game, she likes the job, and she’s having a good time. This is her way of showing everybody that she’s having a great time, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Source: Gulfstream Park West