Tahnee Camilleri trainee fulfilling potential

YONKERS, N.Y. – Mister Rebbily looked every bit a professional racehorse when cruised to a 5 3/4-length harness racing victory in a $12,000 conditioned pace at Yonkers Raceway Aug. 10. He relaxed in fourth and watched a speed duel play out in front of him before launching a bid three-wide entering the backstretch the final time, clearing the lead around the final turn, and imposing his will in the stretch under a Jordan Stratton hand drive to post a 1:52 victory. 

Considering Mister Rebbily’s professional appearance in his last outing, and his 3-for-5 record since being imported into the United States by trainer Tahnee Camilleri for owner David Kryway, one wouldn’t know that only a few months prior, the horse was terrified of just about everything.

Camilleri found Mister Rebbily while on a trip to Australia to visit her family in January. Mister Rebbily was racing in overnights at Albion Park and although he was picking up checks each start, hadn’t won since going back-to-back in April and May 2019. The October 2016 foal had less than $13,000 Australian dollars earned and wasn’t listed for sale. However, as a half to Firebby, who won her first three starts in the United States for Camilleri at Yonkers in 2018, the trainer was interested.

“I saw him at the races and at his home farm. At the farm, he was very quiet and well-mannered, but at the races, he was quite hot and naughty. I knew I was going to have my work cut out for me,” Camilleri said. “He’s actually a half-brother to a mare called Firebby who was the mare I initially brought over and started my American dream. There was a little bit of a family connection there and I liked what I saw. He looked like a nice type to get around Yonkers; I purchased him as a Yonkers prospect.

“He wasn’t really for sale, but because I had trained and sold his sister over here, he was on my radar and I was luckily able to negotiate a sale while I was over there,” Camilleri continued. “He was extremely lightly raced, just at the start of his career. Most trainers don’t want to lose horses that early on. I was very fortunate to be able to buy him.”

Mister Rebbily was cleared to the United States Jan. 20, but even a month after arriving Stateside, was no closer to starting in a race. Moving from a small farm in Australia to New Jersey’s bustling Gaitway Farm made everything a challenge for Mister Rebbily and his connections.

“He was born and broken in on the farm that he was trained out of. It was like he came to the big city and it was very overwhelming for him,” Camilleri said. “He’d never experienced horses training coming at him while he was jogging, which he was petrified of. And don’t get me started on the tractor. He would be jogging on the half-mile track and he would see the tractor on the mile track and he would run off the track. His eyes were bugging out of his head, there was just so much stimulation for him and he’s already a hot little horse.

“He wasn’t used to crossties, he had to be broken to crossties and just a simple thing such as picking up his feet on the crossties would send him into a panic. It took a lot of work in the barn and a lot of work on the track,” said Camilleri, who credits caretaker Yvan for working with Mister Rebbily in the barn.

Recognizing she was effectively breaking a new horse from scratch, Camilleri enlisted the help of Ernie Hendry, an assistant trainer at Julie Miller’s stable who has significant experience breaking and training difficult young horses. 

“Ernie said he’s never had a horse who was as fearful of the tractor or as hot as Mister Rebbily when he came, and that’s saying something,” Camilleri said.

Gradually, Mister Rebbily started to improve. Mister Rebbily and Hendry trained in a set with stablemate Billy Lincoln, driven by Camilleri. With each training session, Camilleri could feel Mister Rebbily’s talent revealing itself.

“Billy Lincoln is a lovable fellow, unflappable, nothing phases him. He’s a big, tall, strong horse whereas Mister Rebbily is a small, flighty horse. Couldn’t get two more opposite horses, but they’re stabled next to each other, they love each other, they go out in the field together, and they train down together. They do everything together,” Camilleri said.

“I would always cut the mile with ‘Billy’ and ‘Rebel’ would sit behind, just teaching him to relax and follow a helmet and see the tractor and the water truck and everything else that was happening. After about a month or two, he was really breathing hard on my helmet and Ernie started pulling him out and we worked them to the line together, and I was just so excited because he was really impressing me. It didn’t take long to realize just how good they both were.”

Mister Rebbily was finally ready to qualify May 29 as the coronavirus racing shutdowns began to ease across the eastern United States. After finishing fifth in a trial at Gaitway, pacing his mile in 1:53.1 with a :27.3 final quarter, Camilleri entered Mister Rebbily in a $11,000 overnight at the Meadowlands June 6. He started from post 10 and finished up the track.

“He was very upset and very nervous. That was his first time racing under lights; he had only raced in the daytime in Australia. Meadowlands in and of itself can hot up even the quietest horse, so it was just a little too much stimulation,” Camilleri said. “I took him to the races expecting he would be a handful, and he was. He didn’t do anything wrong in the race, thank goodness, but he was just washed out. He had run his race before he stepped foot on the track.”

Mister Rebbily qualified again at Gaitway June 29 with Dexter Dunn in the sulky and returned to the Meadowlands July 4. Mister Rebbily made short work of the competition in a $6,000 overnight, cruising to a 3 3/4-legnth win in 1:52.

Mister Rebbily moved to Yonkers and scored another open-length win in a $12,000 conditioned pace July 13 before finishing second by a nose in the same class July 27. After his win Aug. 10, Mister Rebbily improved his record to 5-for-17 with another five placings and $27,169 earned.

Mister Rebbily winning on August 10th.

Mister Rebbily will make his next start Monday night (Aug. 24) in the seventh race at Yonkers, a $14,500 pace for non-winners of eight pari-mutuel races or $100,000. He drew post position two and will have a new driver in George Brennan as Stratton opted for Pete Tritton’s Globaldomination, who drew post six and seeks his fifth win in nine starts this season. The field also includes The Moonshadow, who drew inside and looks to make it four in-a-row for Mark Harder.

“(Mister Rebbily’s) heart rate was really good and he had plenty left (after his last start). I’m sure if pressed, he could go 1:51. I think he could make a lot of money at Yonkers if he can do that,” Camilleri said. “I’m so proud about what he’s done. I can’t help but sing the horse’s praises. I’m very proud of the little bugger.”

Yonkers Raceway’s revised schedule features live harness racing Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, Friday nights through Sept. 12. First post time is 7:12 p.m. For entries to the races, click here.