Perez Was Trainer Out of the Gate

Trainer Jim Perez, a youthful veteran on the California harness circuit at 29, continues to carve a successful niche. No two people could be happier than Andy and Victoria Perez, his parents and primary clients.

Andy and Victoria, who operate furniture and real estate businesses in Diamond Bar, have been avid Standardbred fans and owners for more than 20 years but had normal parental reservations about their son entering the sport.

“He was a 4.0 student at St. Paul High [in Santa Fe Springs],” Andy said. “One summer when he was about 16, he was working for [trainer] Bobby Gordon, and I sent him east with three horses to the Meadowlands [N.J.].”

Andy anticipated that the horses would be overmatched, and the experience would sour his son on the profession. “But he did good,” Andy said. “One of the horses won and paid $78.

“He started going to school at Mt. San Antonio College and one day said, ‘Do you mind if I take a couple of years off and try training horses? It’s the love of my life.’ I said you’ve got to do what makes you happy.”

Andy later offered his son a job as a sales representative for the furniture company but was not surprised when he turned it down. Jim was drawn to the horses at an early age while his parents were being introduced to the sport at Hollywood Park by trainers Eddie Cobb and Jack Sherren and enjoying their first big winner in Torpid’s Knight.

“He always loved horses since he was a little kid,” said Andy of the youngest of his six children and the only one with that interest. ‘He had a good eye for horses and was a hard worker.”

Jim got his license 11 years ago and won with his first drive at Los Alamitos behind Bright Star.

“I had no ambition to drive,” said Jim, who hands out most of the assignments to catch-drivers. “I like to train.”

His training ability readily became apparent with such important horses as Half Nip, the first Standardbred to break 1:54 at Los Alamitos with a track-record 1:53 2/5, Denali’s Thor, Two In A Teepee and Calarium.

The Perez stable has continued to roll this meet with five stakes victories by trotters Suds Lite and Trotting Power and pacer Gold Pursue. The three horses, along with King Charming and Latest Crown, are all scheduled for stakes activity this week.

Suds Lite, 4, and Trotting Power, 3, won last week. Both colts are by Scotch Crown, a son of Speedy Crown purchased by Andy and brought to California. The pair are out of related sisters Foxy Hunter and Foxy Holdup, who later produced two 2-year-old fillies named Suds N Scrub and Foxy’s Dream, respectively, that Jim is readying for races.

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Little Bighorn, a rising star in the Nicol Tremblay stable, defeated 3-10 favorite Gee Gee Digger by two lengths in a lifetime best of 1:55 1/5 in a $10,000 Cal Breeders Stake for 3-year-old pacers.

The Denali gelding is the last foal out of War Chief’s Sister, who produced previous stakes winners Two In A Teepee and Circle The Wagons. The first two finishers will resume their rivalry Sunday.

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With average nightly handle near the $970,000 mark approaching the midway point of the meet--up more than 15% over corresponding dates last year--Premier II Harness Racing Assn. has raised purses 5%.

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Till We Meet Again, the leading career money-winner on the grounds, is within $14,000 of the $1-million mark. The 9-year-old horse was the national 2-year-old champion colt pacer in 1989 and will probably go to stud next year.

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Art Craig, second trainer for Hall of Famer Joe O’Brien at Hollywood Park during the 1970s, is back on the circuit from Canada for the first time in several years with 16 horses.