Catalano Celebrates First Claiming Crown Win in 20 Years

(from Churchill Downs news release)
Two decades after his first Claiming Crown triumph, trainer Wayne Catalano returned to the winner’s circle Saturday when Ghostly Gal upset the $174,500 Claiming Crown Tiara at Churchill Downs.

The 6-year-old mare, owned by Tommy Town Thoroughbreds, surged late under jockey Vincent Cheminaud to defeat 3-5 favorite Dana’s Beauty by a head in the 1 1/16-mile turf contest.

“It’s very special to win a Claiming Crown race,” Catalano said. “I won my first one back in 2004 when it was at Canterbury Park. I won the Jewel with a horse named Intelligent Male with jockey Eddie Martin Jr. up. I had to wait a little while to get my next one on Saturday but I’m very glad I was able to get another one.”

Ghostly Gal joined Catalano’s barn earlier this year and became eligible to run in the Claiming Crown Tiara with a victory in a $25,000 claiming race on Aug. 14 at Colonial Downs. Saturday’s win marked her sixth career victory which improved her record to 15-6-2-3 with earnings of $230,470.

Ghostly Gal is expected to target the $250,000 My Charmer Stakes on Dec. 14 at Turfway Park, which is part of the new Synthetic Championships.

“She’s been a wonderful addition to the barn,” Catalano said. “We’ll see how she comes out of this race but the My Charmer seems like a good next step.”

Catalano, who regularly shares his nightly cooking expertise on his X account @CATRacingStable, said he took a rare night off from the kitchen and enjoyed dinner at the Suburban Fish Fry. His cooking fans won’t have to wait much longer until Catalano begins to share his Thanksgiving recipes with the holiday less than two weeks away.