The Irish-bred Abby Hatcher powered to victory in the June 26 Chicago Stakes (G3) at Arlington International Racecourse, giving Anna Meah her first graded stakes win since taking out her training license in October of 2019. Abby Hatcher is owned by Meah's husband, bloodstock agent David Meah, who acquired the 4-year-old daughter of Acclamation after her debut win across the pond. A West-Coast native with a background in rodeo, Meah initially learned how to gallop on Quarter Horses before making her way to exercising Thoroughbreds on the racetrack, eventually landing in the barn of Art Sherman. While under Sherman's tutelage, Meah had the opportunity to work with Horse of the Year and Kentucky Derby (G1) winner California Chrome and learn the trade of training before beginning her own stable.
Meah, who lives in Lexington and operates her stable of 27 horses at Keeneland, spoke with BloodHorse MarketWatch about the lessons she took from Sherman's barn, moving her training base from California to Kentucky, and the eventful first trip to the races in the U.S. for Abby Hatcher.
MW: Abby Hatcher's win in the Chicago Stakes marked your first graded stakes win as a trainer. What did that milestone win mean to you?
AM: I feel very blessed, I know there's a lot of people that don't get a win like this so early on in their careers so for me to win a graded stakes just three years shy of training that's pretty big.
MW: What is the story behind Abby Hatcher? I noticed she broke her maiden in Ireland in 2020 and there was a year's time between that win and her next start in the U.S.? Was she a private purchase?
AM: She was a private purchase. My husband (David Meah)'s bloodstock partner Jamie Lloyd had seen her break her maiden over there and that was when he made the initial offer to bring her over here. She was shipped over to us in California (winter 2020) and was supposed to run but ended up scratching at the gate. It was her first time in America and she was going to run right off the plane but she sucked back from the pony, got loose and fell so she was an automatic scratch. It wasn't a fairy tale beginning by any means. And that was right before we moved from California to Kentucky.
We turned her out in Kentucky once we got here for a few months and just let her be a horse. The time off did her wonders, though. She grew up and filled out a lot. A lot of the Europeans put on weight when they get over here because the training is different and the feed programs are as well.
MW: Abby Hatcher seems to do quite well on both turf and synthetic surfaces.
AM: She had broken her maiden in Ireland over a synthetic track similar to Arlington and that stood out to us. We figured the (seven eighths) would be a good distance for her because she's quite strong in the beginning of her races. She'll make a mile but that's about it as far as she'll go.
MW: What are your plans for Abby Hatcher for the rest of the year?
AM: We're going to nominate her for a few stakes. I wouldn't say we had anything in mind. The funny thing is we were planning for this race (Chicago) for a long time and honestly to win it we just didn't think it was going to happen we were just trying to get her black-type. So this came as a surprise to us in a way. We knew she was doing really well but still. And now we have a graded stakes horse that we can nominate to some stakes all over and see what comes up best for her instead of another allowance.
It's nice to have options. There's a stakes at Woodbine that's quite appealing. The turf and synthetic play a big role and she'll handle either one of them.
MW: How did you initially get involved with horse racing?
AM: I worked with a veterinarian that was on and off the track so that's where I initially developed an interest in racing. I grew up doing rodeo so I've always had the initial desire for the adrenaline and the speed. Working with that vet got me in and out of the racetrack a bit and then I finally got a job offer with a private Quarter Horse racing farm owned by Ron and Scott Raley. I learned a lot with them. I started with the Quarter Horses at the farm and then a little bit at the track before doing the Thoroughbreds. I learned a lot with them. I can say I've touched my feet in every kind of water for sure.
MW: Are you originally from the West Coast?
AM: I was born in Oregon State and raised in Washington so I am all West Coast. I lived in California for 7 years. Emerald Downs, Grants Pass, Portland Meadows, they were the tracks close to me. It's sad Portland Meadows closed down because it played such a huge part in my foundation. It wasn't a big, beautiful track by any means but I think a lot of good riders started out there.
MW: How did you end up working for Art Sherman?
AM: My husband introduced me to Alan Sherman. When I first came out to California from Washington I didn't have a set in stone type job and I was freelancing for different trainers. I had only freelanced 3 days for Sherman before I realized you know what there's an opportunity for a salary job and it just took off from there. That was in April of 2013. And that was right before Chrome was there.
MW: Looking back, what can you say about the experience of working with Alan Sherman and California Chrome?
AM: It was great. (Art) helped me get my assistant license. It's a funny story because looking back I didn't have any thought to get it but when "Chrome" was overseas they were planning on sending him to Arlington for the Arlington Million and they were rushing me to get this assistant license so I could get out to Arlington and run him there. So I did get the license and went out there. He ended up not running but everything just took off from there as far as running horses by myself so it ended up paying off.
They taught me so much. When they went to Dubai the second time for three months we didn't have as much communication as I would've liked so I had to learn a lot along the way with everything. I learned a lot in that short amount of time and got a taste of what it would be like to have my own barn.
And getting to work with Chrome was cool. I'm very fortunate to get to work with such a great horse so early on.
MW: Since you got started on the racetrack as an exercise rider and now are a trainer, do you still get on your own horses in the mornings?
AM: I did get on my horses for awhile. I exercised horses for probably 10 years and I was very fortunate to not get badly injured In that time but then I did get into a bad accident on one of my own horses in June of 2019. I got back to riding after that but I kind of had to stand back and look at the bigger picture at that point. I can employ someone to ride the horses because if I get sidelined I don't not want to be able to run my stable either. That was tough because I enjoyed getting on the horses. I still get on my pony but its not quite the same. But it is nice to have that ability to gallop if I really wanted to.
MW: In March of 2020 you moved your stable from California to Kentucky. What factors played into that decision?
AM: We had a lot of clientele out here that supported that move. We were struggling out in California to get races to go and fill and California was under a bit of scrutiny at the time. But it was mainly just the support we had from clients out (in Kentucky) and then the option of having all the different racetracks. You're looking at so many tracks that are just a van ride away. So if your race doesn't go you have so many more options nearby where if you're in California you might be sitting on that horse for another month so it was very appealing for the owners to come out here. I figured if I was going to give training an honest go I needed to come out East where I've got the support.
MW: What are your goals for your stable for the rest of the year?
AM: We are always looking to run in stakes if we have the right horse. We just want to keep doing well and be competitive in every race that we're in. That's always been our goal, not to run just to run or fill races. We want to give our horses every opportunity to win races.
