West Point, McLaughlin split

[NTamm1215]

The end of the Saratoga meet also brought an end to the successful working relationship between Terry Finley's West Point Thoroughbreds and trainer Kiaran McLaughlin.

At the request of McLaughlin, who is seeking to downsize his stable somewhat, West Point has moved 21 horses, splitting them between trainers Tom Albertrani and Mike Hushion. An additional horse, Justwhistledixie, was transferred to Bill Mott. Lewis Lakin, a longtime Mott client, has a 40 percent ownership interest in Justwhistledixie.

McLaughlin said his primary clients, the Maktoum families that run both the Darley and Shadwell outifts, have increased the number of horses they send to him.

"Just trying to get my numbers in order,'' said McLaughlin, who prefers to keep around 120 horses, but was up to 140. "[West Point] is great for the game. They brought a lot of good people into the game. It was a tough decision. We had a lot of nice horses for them and have done well.''

McLaughlin has trained for West Point since 2002 and has won major stakes for the group with the likes of Seattle Fitz, Lear's Princess, Flashy Bull, and Justwhistledixie.

"We wish him the best,'' Finley said of McLaughlin. "He's a great guy. He and his team are top notch.''

Finley said there were several reasons he chose to split up his New York horses between Hushion and Albertrani.

"Both are really good communicators, and get the concept of a partnership model,'' Finley said. "Both I think are world-class horsemen. Put those together and we're very comfortable.''

Among the notable West Point horses, Mr. Fantasy, who is still on the farm, will be going to Hushion while Flat Bold will go to Albertrani.

http://drf.com/news/article/107143.html

NT