INGLEWOOD, Calif. (Dec. 22, 2007) - John Sadler, second in the standings a year earlier, won his first training title with 21 winners as Hollywood Park's 32-day Autumn Meet closed Saturday.
Sadler, 51, finished a comfortable ten wins ahead of Mike Mitchell.
"It feels good," he said. "We've been building toward this. We just missed in this meet last year. We've been close in Southern California all year. We've had 100-plus wins on this circuit."
A year ago Sadler saddled 22 winners at the Autumn Meet, finishing two back of Doug O'Neill.
"We got off to a good start at this meet, winning the War Chant opening day with Warning Zone, and just stayed steady," he said. "We won in a lot of different divisions: maidens, allowances, stakes.
"I couldn't have done this without having great people working for me," he added. "Larry Benavidez has emerged as one of the top assistants around. As the stable has grown, we have needed to cover more ground, and Larry has been here most mornings while I have stayed at Santa Anita."
Sadler also saddled Playa del Rey Stakes winner Lady Gamer and Cat's Cradle Handicap winner Curiously Sweet at the Autumn Meet.
