By: Chris Lomon
Although it’s a notion they’ve never pondered, the idea of being role models to women looking to break into the horse racing business suits the duo known as Team Pink just fine.
“I've never thought of us in that light when it comes to other females, but if we are, that's awesome,” said
Jennifer Petricca (
pictured above on the right), assistant trainer to conditioner
Denyse McClachrie (
pictured above on the left). “I don't think the gender role matters any more. Everyone has supporters and everyone has critics. You can't let that bother you. Just work hard. At the end of the day, people see what you accomplish on the racetrack.”
If that is the ultimate barometer Team Pink – the name Petricca and McClachrie gave themselves for their typical clothing coloof choice on race days – prefer to be judged by, many will be suitably impressed by what the Woodbine-based pair have achieved.
Home base is Barn No. 2 at the Toronto oval, where a stable numbering around two dozen horses will soon get rolling when the 2017 Woodbine season gets out of the gates on April 15.
In 2016, the McClachrie outfit recorded 20 wins, along with 52 top-three finishes and $400,532 in purse earnings from 121 stars, all career-high marks.
Petricca points to one reason in particular for the strong showing.
“Our 2016 success is in large part to our great and supporting owners,” she noted. “They all have trusted us, brought us new horses and claimed us new horses, which has allowed us to show people what we can do.”
This year, the operation will see the most horses it ever has.
“The 2017 season will be even more of a challenge,” said Petricca. ”We are going to have our biggest stable to date, but we're looking forward to it. This is why we work so hard, to have good horses and to win races.”
They hope one of the winner’s circle trips will represent a milestone moment.
“Our biggest goal is to win our first stakes race,” said Petricca. “I think we have a good shot at that this year. Fingers crossed.”
It was five years ago when Petricca and McClachrie decided to join forces.
Prior to working together, the two had exchanged head nods and hellos on the Toronto oval backstretch on more than a few occasions. At the behest of a friend, Petricca found out McClachrie might be in need of some help.
“I was going to college and I was looking for a summer job,” recalled Petricca. “Someone suggested I go see Denyse. I started working for her a few days after that. Well, four years later and here we are. I tried juggling school and work for a little, but the horses won.”
The two quickly found they had a great deal in common, including a no-nonsense approach to success.
They also readily admit they don’t share all the same personality traits.
Not a problem in the world of Team Pink.
“I think Denyse and I work well together because even though we are friends, we are able to respect each other in the workplace, and we've worked together for so long now that we just know how we both operate and how we do things,” said Petricca. “I think we bring out one another's positivity. This job can get very stressful and it's easy to feel down after a bad race. But we both manage to keep each other positive and look at the bright side. We're good at the pep talks when needed.”
They also happen to be good – very good – when it comes to their craft.
Their philosophy is simple: a happy horse is a successful horse.
“Denyse and I work very hard on every horse, trying to figure out their individual needs, feed program and training program,” said Petricca. “It’s about keeping our horses happy. That I think is what makes them turn around to have some stellar performances on the track. Owners have taken notice of that which has brought us some new clients, and that has led to some amazing winners.”
Petricca is hoping there are more of those stories to share in 2017.
With a bigger number of horses than they’ve ever had, Team Pink could very well be primed for their most successful campaign to date.
And if along the way they happen to inspire other women to get involved in the sport, Petricca and McClachrie will view it as an added bonus.
“It's okay to be a girl in the horse racing world,” said Petricca. “We embrace it.”
Just like any good role models would.
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