Chatlos Looks to Break His Saratoga Maiden in the Allen Jerkens

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.–Don Chatlos, a former assistant to Jerry Hollendorfer, has had a handful of starters at Saratoga since going out on his own as a private trainer for Larry Best's OXO Equine in late June, but he has yet to get off the duck. The conditioner hopes that will change Saturday when Rowayton (Into Mischief) lines up for the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S. on a loaded GI Traver S. day card.

“We haven't made a lot of noise in the win column, but our horses have had decent outs and should have good showings in their next outs,” said Chatlos, who has a second and two fourths from three starts this meet.

One of the fourth-place finishes belongs to Rowayton, who filled that spot behind Travers-bound Highest Honors (Tapit) in the nine-panel Curlin S.at the Spa July 26.

“He is doing well,” Chatlos said. “The cut back to seven-eighths is more in his wheel house. Obviously, [GII Amsterdam S. winner] Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby) is going to be a tough customer there. Wading into Grade I waters in Saratoga, you know it is going to be very deep.”

Rowayton finished third in the GIII Dwyer S. July 6 to another Travers contender in Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}) when running under Chatlos' name for the first time. Prior to that, the bay colt was an impressive allowance winner at Belmont June 6, while still running under the name of Chatlos' former employer Hollendorfer.

“The plan was to come here for Mr. [Larry] Best of OXO Equine, starting at Belmont,” said Chatlos, who arrived in New York in May with eight horses owned by Best and, at the time, trained by Hollendorfer. “We were kind of trying to follow the path that [Bobby] Frankel set, where you come east from May to October-ish and then back to California from October through April. The kind of horses Mr. Best has, the races are back here, especially if you have a 3-year-old in the summertime. Del Mar is more grass. The dirt races are back here. It was just something that they wanted to try then, obviously, June 22 came and it changed everything.”

June 22 was the day NYRA announced that they would no longer be accepting entries from Hollendorfer at any of their racetracks. A week prior, the Hall of Fame conditioner had been banned from Stronach racetracks after four of his horses were fatally injured during the tumultuous Santa Anita winter meet. NYRA had initially said they would welcome Hollendorfer with open arms, but reversed that ruling June 22. Following that change, Best announced he would retain Chatlos as his private trainer to continue overseeing his New York string, which would then follow the circuit to Saratoga.

“Working for Jerry, it is such a strong program and I had been there 4 1/2 years already, so it was a smooth transition in that sense,” Chatlos said. “The emotions and everything of a Hall of Famer being out and the tailspin that it put us in was a whole different story. Mr. Best asked me to do a job, so I had to put all that aside. Saratoga is the toughest racing in the country for the summertime. I had to focus. I had to get it together, so that is what I did. I said, 'You have a job to do. Just go do your job.'”

Born in the industry as a son of a trainer, Chatlos worked for several of California's top names, such as John Sadler and Ron Ellis and had a solo career for five years from 2002 to 2007, during which he won the 2004 GI Breeders' Cup Mile with Singletary. When his business began to dwindle, he returned to his hometown of Chicago to work for his uncle for a few years and joined the Hollendorfer barn in 2015.

“My business dried up,” Chatlos said. “I just didn't have the stock in California to be competitive. I found myself at a crossroads. I didn't really have a job. I didn't really have a direction. I was thinking how am I going to get myself going.”

He continued, “I decided to go home to Chicago where I got myself started. Those mom and pop stables in Chicago where they are grooming the horses and riding them themselves, it really got the love back for me. You can get a little Hollywood in southern California. I had a chance to go with Jerry in 2015 and I had always planned to go back to Southern California. I was with him for 4 1/2 years until this crazy summer of 2019 happened.”

Chatlos is adjusting as well as can be expected to being thrown into the deep end of both the Saratoga competition and restarting his solo career on the opposite side of the country.

“The toughest adjustment for me has been the help situation,” said Chatlos. “The big barns have the good help locked down. They have been there for years. If we were in Southern California, with the kind of horses I have, I would have that. That has been the toughest adjustment, trying to get people from California to come out here and see what kind of horses these are. I have some people from here and I brought some people in from Southern California. When we do this trip next year it will be a bit better planned and my help situation will definitely be better.”

At this time of year, Chatlos would normally be at Del Mar in San Diego, which some refer to as the Saratoga of the west. When asked how his summer at the Spa compares with his typical SoCal summer, Chatlos had a hard time comparing them.

“They are two different places,” he said. “That is the argument that goes back and forth, especially with social media, 'What is better? Saratoga or Del Mar?' The weather at Del Mar can't be beat. It is nice being here for the whole summer and not just an in and out trip, plus the history of this place and the racing, obviously. The only other place you see a program lined up with Chad Brown, Todd Pletcher, Steve Asmussen, Shug McGaughey and Bill Mott is the Breeders' Cup. That is what you face. So, if you are competitive at all and want to face the best, this is the place to be. Larry Best has afforded me the ability to train some really good horses who could be competitive.”

Chatlos added, “It is exciting. Where they put me next to Mott and McGaughey on the rail of the Oklahoma track is such a great spot. We have been lucky with the weather as well, besides the one Saturday they canceled because it was too hot.”

Chatlos' horses seem to be enjoying their time in New York as well.

“I had some older horses that really loved Belmont Park,” the conditioner said. “They did really well there and they are doing well here. The training style is a little different here, not the fast works you see in Southern California, and the horses I have right now really seem to like it. We will go back to Belmont until about the middle of October. If we have something for the Breeders' Cup, we may head back a bit earlier.”

Despite the upheaval he underwent in late June, Chatlos has taken the many big changes in his career in stride with an upbeat and positive attitude. He will keep on swinging in hopes of getting off the mark in his second solo career and hopefully secure that first win here at Saratoga, whether it be in Saturday's Grade I test or an upcoming race.

“To get a win period here would be unbelievable,” Chatlos said. “Definitely, a bucket list kind of thing. A Grade I? I can't even think that far ahead yet. That would be really unbelievable.”