Trainer Michael Dickinson Finds Himself Back in the Winner's Circle
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It didn't take long for Michael Dickinson to find himself back in the winner's circle.
The Maryland-based trainer won with the first horse he saddled since retiring in 2007 when Augustin Stable's Tide Is High, who had not run since September, went wire-to-wire in an entry-level allowance race late Saturday on the turf at Laurel Park.
It was the first time Dickinson saddled a horse as a licensed trainer since Dec. 8, 2007 at Turfway Park. It was also Dickinson's first trip to Laurel since 2003 when he won two graded-stakes in one day. A Huevo won the 2003 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G1) and Tapit won the Laurel Futurity (G2).
"I've really enjoyed my training again. I came back to train because I want to train and I enjoy it," said Dickinson, who decided to return to training last summer. "I love training on the farm.
"Today, I'm not too pleased. She's a good horse, I didn't train her very well. She used to run off a little bit last year and I thought I had her relaxed and I didn't. So I'm not pleased, I'm not even a tiny little bit pleased. I might be relieved, but at least we had a winner. But we've got to do much better than that."
Dickinson retired from training in 2007 after having won 587 races, including a pair of Breeders' Cup races with Da Hoss in 1996 and 1998. Since 2007, Dickinson spent his time inventing and developing the Tapeta Surface, a synthetic racing surface now used by racetracks all over the world and named after Dickinson's farm, Tapeta Farm, in North East, MD.
When asked if he has any new training methods this time around, the Yorkshire, England native, who is now 66, said he has many new methods to apply to his craft.
"Oh yes, a zillion different things...a very different Michael Dickinson trainer," he said. "I didn't do very well before, I want to do better this time. That's why I've come back because I didn't think I did very well and I want to prove to myself that I'm not quite as bad as I thought I was."
Source: Maryland Jockey Club
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