An Offer He Could Not Refuse

That long line of trainers at Gulfstream Park is the queue of horsemen waiting for the chance to train Favorite Trick.

The certain champion 2-year-old colt, the co-favorite with Skip Away for horse of the year and the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby, Favorite Trick will be changing barns in the wake of Patrick Bryne’s announcement Wednesday that he has signed a five-year contract to become Frank Stronach’s private trainer.

Part of the deal is that Byrne divest himself of horses that run for other owners. Besides the undefeated Favorite Trick, Byrne-trained horses headed for new trainers include Princess Diana, Richter Scale, Panama City, Polished Brass and City By Night. Princess Diana, who won a Breeders’ Cup race at Hollywood Park the same November day as Favorite Trick, has clinched an Eclipse Award for best 2-year-old filly.

Byrne will get a contract worth millions of dollars and the pick of horses from one of the biggest racing-breeding operations in the world. Stronach, an Austrian-born industrialist based in Canada, had horses that won more than 100 races and earned about $4 million in 1997. Stronach’s thoroughbred holdings include about 80 horses in training, 150 broodmares and 110 2-year-olds that will be introduced to racing in 1998.

“It’s a difficult decision,” Byrne said. “Favorite Trick is like a son to us, but when you have a Mr. Stronach behind you, you know that every year you could have a Favorite Trick. The opportunity with Mr. Stronach is sky-high, and I am very thankful to be in this position.”

Because of his bloodlines, Favorite Trick’s ability to handle the 1 1/4-mile Derby distance has been questioned, but in races up to 1 1/16 miles, he has been perfect. As a 2-year-old, he racked up eight consecutive victories, the best performance by an important juvenile since Native Dancer won all nine of his races in 1952.

Many of Stronach’s best horses last year--including Belmont Stakes winner Touch Gold, Awesome Again and Relaxing Rhythm--were trained by David Hofmans, who is based at Hollywood Park. Touch Gold, who has been sidelined because of a nagging hoof problem, might not get back to the races until this summer at Saratoga, where Bryne will campaign a division for Stronach. The rest of the year, Byrne will be at Gulfstream Park and Churchill Downs.

“I knew Mr. Stronach was talking with Pat Byrne about a deal,” Hofmans said. “I have 14 horses for Mr. Stronach now, and I expect to continue training for him. He has a lot of horses and he obviously needs several trainers. Byrne’s a good guy and a solid horseman and I wish him all the luck.”

Byrne, 41, is a London-born, fifth-generation horseman who broke onto the national scene in 1997. After working for eight years in the U.S. as an assistant for several top trainers in New York and California, Byrne formed his own stable in 1986. In 1997, his outfit came together and, led by Favorite Trick and Countess Diana, his horses won an astounding 36% of their races--51 wins in 141 starts--and earned $3.7 million, which ranked him 12th nationally.

Horse Racing Notes

Corey Black rode Nijinsky’s Passion, a 30-1 shot, to a one-length win in Wednesday’s $168,800 California Breeders’ Champion Stakes for fillies at Santa Anita. Nijinsky’s Passion, next to last after a half-mile, gave trainer Tim Pinfield his first stakes win. Trained earlier in the year by Tom Bunn, the filly was fourth and second in two previous starts for Pinfield. Sassy finished second, Gourmet Girl was third and favored Loveontheroad fourth. . . . Jockey Goncalino Almeida, injured in a spill Tuesday, said he will be sidelined three to four weeks. Besides cracking four ribs, Almeida suffered a hairline fracture of his right foot.