Begg Setting Goals for the Spa Meet

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Each year, owners and trainers try establishing a plan or goal going into the Saratoga Race Course meet.

James “Jamie” Bentley Begg is just one of them as both an owner and trainer.

Stabled at Barn 42 that runs parallel to Union Avenue, Begg looks to build upon his stable while trying to eclipse his first two Saratoga wins—both from Locke and Key—in 2023.

“It would be nice to eclipse that,” the King City, Ontario native said. “Getting a couple of wins would be part of the goal. Every year when you come here, it’s a tough meet. I want to be competitive in all of the races.”

Begg is well aware of the Saratoga competition after being an assistant to Hall of Famer Mark Casse for six years. During his time with Casse, Begg had the opportunity to work with Belmont Stakes-winner Sir Winston, two-time Fourstardave-winner Got Stormy, Adirondack and Spinaway-winner Perfect Alibi, and Sovereign Award for Horse of the Year Catch a Glimpse, just to name a few.

Along with working for another Hall of Fame trainer, Roger Attfield, Begg has also been involved in producing horses after completing the Thoroughbred Breeding Management program at the prestigious Irish National Stud. That experience led him to producing multiple stakes horses and being an owner of Kingstead Stables in Ontario.

Begg, who became a trainer near the end of 2020, currently has five horses stabled at Saratoga, with another 10 horses at his Woodbine base in Toronto. His past experience learning from others has helped him become successful as a trainer.

“Working with those top-class horses, you know what it takes to win those races,” Begg said. “If you started from the bottom and didn’t have those prior experiences, you could build your stable, but you wouldn’t necessarily know what it takes [to get to that next level]. As they say in professional sports, being a pro, you see pro habits. It’s the same thing with training. You see really good training.”

Two of those horses—Stewie and Loveumissumeanit—have already run at Saratoga this year as part of the special meets, the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival and the July 4th Racing Festival.

Stewie chased Midwest shipper I’m Wide Awake to finish second in an allowance race during that first week of June. While Stewie is still looking for his first win since early September at Finger Lakes, the 4-year-old gelding has been no worse than third in his last 6-of-8 starts and has been back on the workout tab since his last race with the hopes of getting a start at Saratoga.

On Saturday, Loveumissumeanit rated behind a quick pace, then made a belated run to eventually finish 1 ½ lengths behind winner National Archive in an allowance race for New York-breds on the grass. It was the first time she raced at 1 3/16 miles after running at shorter route distances, mostly a mile.

“We were looking at starting the meet like that,” Begg said. “As much as she didn’t get her up there in time, we wanted to stretch her in distance. Cutting her back to a mile or a mile-and-a-sixteenth, she may become more engaged in the race.”

Loveumissumeanit was initially purchased as a yearling for $100,000 at the 2023 Fasig-Tipon New York-bred sales in Saratoga. After she finished third in her debut for trainer Chad Brown in November, she was put up for auction a month later at the Fasig-Tipton Digital Sales where Begg purchased her for $40,000.

Since the auction, Loveumissumeanit showed improvement in Florida before winning her first race in May. Begg also likes the benefit of her, as well as his other horses, being part of the New York-bred program.

“There were a few fillies that we were trying to get and we got her,” Begg said. “I had her in Florida this winter and she was doing okay. Coming out of Florida, she really blossomed. She’s training a lot better than when I initially got her.”

“Competing in New York with not having a lot of top money, the state program is beneficial here,” he added. “With her being a New York-bred, it was appealing. It was good timing, and we had enough time to start working with her [going into the New York turf season].”

Of the other horses that are part of Begg’s Saratoga roster, an unnamed New York-bred 2-year-old colt by graded stakes winner Bourbon Courage could be promising for Mike McMahon and Jaime Hill’s Bourbon Lane Stables after being purchased for $55,000 at the Midlantic Sales in May. 

Begg has also been active around the claiming box at Saratoga. He was on the winning end of a three-way shake on Takeschargesmiling for $12,500 in Sunday’s eighth race. He believes Saratoga is the ideal place to claim horses for both short-term and long-term benefits.

“We have always been with the claiming horses,” Begg said. “A lot of guys will claim because their owners want horses for Saratoga. They will start claiming everything. To me, Saratoga should be the place to shop for claiming horses for the rest of the year. It’s really finding horses for certain spots where they can be competitive.”

Begg knows the claiming game can be challenging and competitive, especially when a trainer is trying to win a race while knowing the risk to lose a horse through a claim. Once that horse is claimed, it may be difficult for the previous trainer to watch that horse gain immediate success through someone else’s barn.

“The claiming here is tough,” Begg said. “There are certain times when you have to watch the claims. You get the horse claimed, and the guy wins at the same claiming price a couple of months later. For a trainer who is going for the [meet] title, that is where you really have to be careful.”

Over the last two weeks, Begg’s horses at Woodbine have been running well, including three winners. He is hoping that momentum can carry into the upcoming Saratoga meet, but he also knows that will be a challenging task, even with trying to match last year’s pair of victories.