Tom Pedulla is interviewing prominent owners, trainers and jockeys as they travel the Road to the $5 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve on May 3 at Churchill Downs.

This week’s installment features Ethan West, trainer of Chunk of Gold. The $2,500 yearling purchase for owner Terry Stephens placed himself on the Road to the Derby by finishing second in the Feb. 15 Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds.

Chunk of Gold, a son of Preservationist, already has earned $148,818 through three lifetime starts. The  May 11 foal will look to add to his 25 Kentucky Derby qualifying points this coming Saturday by competing in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby back at Fair Grounds.

West, 32, is a native of Cambridge City, Ind., who is based at Turfway Park in northern Kentucky. He discussed his path to becoming a trainer in 2018, the startling emergence of Chunk of Gold and his Derby dreams during a question-and-answer session conducted by America’s Best Racing.

PEDULLA: How did you become interested in horses and racing?

WEST:  My grandparents [Lois and Wayne] fooled around with them as a hobby. They had horses they bred and raised. Hoosier Park was still a Thoroughbred track, so that’s where we got our start. My brother [trainer Aaron] got into it. He was a few years older than me. I kind of followed him into it. Once I started fooling around with horses, that was the end of it. It was hook, line and sinker.

Ethan West (Coady Media)

PEDULLA: When did you go on your own as a trainer?

WEST: 2018, I took my license out.

PEDULLA: That’s not that long ago to have a Derby horse. Some people go their whole careers without one.

WEST:  Exactly. The opportunity comes up, you’ve got to jump on it.

PEDULLA: What is one of your favorite aspects of being a trainer?

WEST: The fact that I get to gallop my own horses. I started riding when I was young. That’s what really piqued my interest in it. It was a hobby. Now, I get paid to do my hobby.

PEDULLA: How many horses do you train?

WEST: Usually between 25 and 30.

PEDULLA: Are they mostly claiming horses?

WEST: I’d say we’re 50-50 between claiming horses and getting young horses at this time of year. I would say the majority are claiming horses. We get the occasional 2-year-old that jumps up like Chunk of Gold, but they are few and far between for us.

PEDULLA: Chunk of Gold was a $2,500 yearling. Were you involved in spotting him?

WEST: As much as I want to take credit for it, I had nothing to do with it. I didn’t even know about the horse until the racing manager [former trainer Larry Holt] for Mr. Stephens called and asked if I’d be interested in taking him. 

PEDULLA: You see a $2,500 yearling, what were your thoughts on getting the horse?

WEST: They were pretty fond of him when they called me about him. A smaller outfit like ours, we don’t look at that stuff. It’s ‘Send him in. We’ll give him a fair shake. I’ll see what he’s all about and we’ll go from there.’ We’re not in the position to say, ‘You didn’t pay X amount, we can’t take him.’

Chunk of Gold prior to the Risen Star. (Eclipse Sportswire)

PEDULLA: In reality, Derby horses can come in all price ranges.

WEST: 100%. People put too much into that price. The horse is living with a hype it has no idea about. 

PEDULLA: That is part of the beauty of the sport. You can’t necessarily buy success.

WEST: That’s the best part about it. 

PEDULLA: How long have you worked for Terry Stephens?

WEST: Since I received Chunk of Gold back in mid-October. This is the first horse I’ve had for him.

PEDULLA: When did you start to think he is a quality horse?

WEST: In his second start, the [Jan. 18] Leonatus Stakes [at Turfway Park], he was still really immature but he ran on well at the end [of a mile]. That’s when I started gaining quite a bit of confidence in him. Then we took him to the Risen Star and once again he stepped up to the plate. We’re not really sure how good he can be yet.

PEDULLA: Since his first two starts were on synthetic, did he need to answer the dirt question for you in the Risen Star?

WEST: Yes and no. You don’t know how they’re going to run across it. He had some works on it at Laurel Park before I ever got him and they were pretty fond of him across it. Once he got to Fair Grounds, he worked real well across it. That’s one of the benefits of getting on him every day. I can feel him out. I can tell when he’s going good and when he’s going bad. It built my confidence in him. The question then was, ‘Is he going to be good enough?’

PEDULLA: He has come along quickly.

WEST: We skipped a few steps with him. We didn’t go from maiden to allowance. We went from maiden to stake to graded stake. We kept bumping him up in class each time.

PEDULLA: Do you view it as a significant advantage to be able to get on at least some of your horses?

WEST: I like it because that’s how I got started. When I first went out on my own and had five horses, I got on all of them. That was the only way I knew how to train horses. Watching them, that’s not my favorite thing to do. Obviously, I don’t get to be on all of them now with the number of horses we train. But I do try to get on all of them at least once a week. It definitely helps a lot.

PEDULLA: Did the 1 1/8-mile Risen Star answer a lot of questions about Chunk of Gold for you?

WEST: It did. I think distance helps him. It answered any questions we had on dirt. It answered if he handles shipping well. We threw a lot at a young horse in a short amount of time and he’s responded pretty well to it.

PEDULLA: What are the advantages of training year-round at Turfway Park?

WEST: It gives us a home base. It’s not like we spend six months at Turfway and six months in Indiana. It’s in a central location, too. We’re here from December through March but then it’s nice that we’re an hour from Keeneland, we’re an hour and a half from Churchill, we’re an hour and a half from Horseshoe Indianapolis, 10 miles from Belterra Park. Wherever we have to go, we’re centrally located. Shipping is not too hard on us. We do a lot of it, but it’s pretty easy drives.

West exercising horses at Ellis Park. (Coady Media)

PEDULLA: That stability must be good for family life.

WEST: It is nice. I kind of get the best of both worlds, I get to be there for training and feed time but still get to sleep in my own bed at night.

PEDULLA: Your wife and children must appreciate that.

WEST: Very much so. The children are very active in sports. Every sport you can imagine, we’re tied to it somehow. Lots of practices, lots of games. There are nights when I cannot be there, but the majority of the time I’m home.

PEDULLA: Where do you hope to take your training career?

WEST: I hope I’m sitting in this seat every year. Obviously, we want horses like this. That’s the goal, to play at the top level. We don’t train for Godolphin or Juddmonte, but we’ve got a good group of owners who support us through and through. And the quality has definitely improved.

PEDULLA: Does it seem a bit surreal to be on the Road to the Derby?

WEST:  Very much so. It’s neat to see one of our horses on the [television] screen every time they talk about the Kentucky Derby.

PEDULLA: Is it realistic to think he can win the Derby?

WEST: If we get a shot to line up on the first Saturday in May, he’s going to lay it all out there for us. 

PEDULLA: Do you have Derby fever?

WEST: 100%.

PEDULLA: Do you envision what it would be like to win the Derby?

WEST: Who doesn’t? And here’s the thing about the Derby. There are so many horses, it’s not necessarily the best horse that wins the race every year. A lot of it has to do with the pace scenario, the trip you’re going to get, the post you draw. There’s a lot that goes into it and anything’s possible. It’s kind of cliché to say it, but they run the race for a reason.