By Bloodhorse.com
ARCADIA, Calif. (Apr. 21, 2015) — Well over 200 people—horsemen, fans, and racetrack regulars—gathered April 20 at Santa Anita Park to remember trainer Mike Mitchell, who died at the age of 66 April 14 after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.
Several people spoke, most emphasizing Mitchell’s sense of family, which went well beyond his wife, Denise, and daughters McCall and Shea.
Phil D’Amato, Mitchell’s longtime assistant who took over the stable a year ago as Mitchell’s illness progressed, battled tears as he spoke about his boss.
“Mike is my hero,” said D’Amato. “It was 14 years ago when I met Mike Mitchell while looking for a job. He said he’d give me a one-week trial, but after a couple of days he took me under his wing and he made me a part of his family. He was like my second father.”
Hall of Fame trainer Gary Jones said that he and Mitchell were like brothers, Mitchell having come up under Jones’ father, trainer Farrell Jones.
“He was a brilliant horseman,” said Jones, who relayed a story about how every Monday he and Mitchell would go to a nearby liquor store to get a Racing Form. “Mike would buy nine ice cream cones because Denise wouldn’t let him have them at home. He’d sit down on the curb eating these ice cream cones.”
Jockey agent Scotty McClellan recalled the time three horses trained by Mitchell that would be heavy favorites became open when their rider got sick. Even though McClellan quickly called Mitchell in an attempt to get the mounts for Joe Talamo, the trainer told him that fellow agent Ron Anderson had beaten him to the punch. Mitchell had already named Garrett Gomez on all three horses.
“I wanted to get mad at Mike, but I couldn’t. So I got mad at Ron Anderson instead,” said McClellan, bringing a big laugh from the crowd.
That incident aside, McClellan, Talamo, and Mitchell collaborated on many big victories, especially with multiple grade I winner Obviously.
Kim Kerlan Higgins and Kerry Kerlan Cline, daughters of the late Dr. Robert Kerlan, paid tribute to Mitchell. Kerlan, a noted orthopedic surgeon who operated on many jockeys, spent his final days in intensive care in Centinela Hospital not far from Hollywood Park. Higgins told the crowd how Mitchell would visit Kerlan every morning on his way into Hollywood.
“Mike would sit there and hold his hand, expecting nothing in return,” she said.
Trainer Mel Stute recalled how Mitchell in recent months had enjoyed joining the regular trainer group at Santa Anita’s Clocker’s Corner. Stute noted the many people from Clocker’s Corner who were in attendance at the memorial.
“That’s the kind of man Mike was,” Stute said.