Good Customer Tom’s Magic to Make King’s Plate Bow

[Wandering Eyes]

In How To Talk To Customers, co-author Tom Larkin wrote that the key in business relationships was to “Make A Great Impression on the Customer”–known by his signature acronym M-A-G-I-C. “Results matter, and so does the process used to get those results,” the Preface pithily preached.

According to those that knew him best, Larkin built a successful consulting company which focused on the development and enhancement of a business's number one concern, outreach. He traveled the world giving dynamic presentations on what has become the lost art of customer service. Sadly in 2023, he succumbed to ALS after a four-year battle.

In college at Arizona State, Larkin ran across future horseman Corey Johnsen and the two formed a lifelong bond. To pay tribute to his friend through his syndicate CJ Thoroughbreds, Johnsen christened a colt Tom's Magic (Justify) after they acquired him for $200,000 during Keeneland September.

“Marette Farrell who we use as our bloodstock advisor pointed this colt out to us at the sale,” said CJ Thoroughbreds Vice President C.J. Johnsen. “We focus primarily on fillies, but we've had clients who wanted to invest in colts and we really couldn't believe that a Justify would be priced so well. He had sesamoiditis, but we knew we could park him for 60 to 90 days at the farm in Midway [Kentucky] and everything would work out. Tom Larkin was really important to my dad [Corey Johnsen], so we wanted to name this colt after him.”

What excited CJ Thoroughbreds about their purchase was the colt's Ontario-bred roots from dam SP Dixie Chicken (Rahy). Being a half to Dixie Moon (Curlin), who won the Woodbine Oaks, and to Guy Caballero (Quality Road), who took down the Plate Trial Stakes north of the border, gave the ownership group hope that the King's Plate Stakes Aug. 16 could be a viable target going forward.

“We brought Scott Mawaka of Mo Speed Racing on board as an equal partner,” said Johnsen. “Sending this colt to Mike Stidham made sense and we liked his potential, plus his pedigree speaks to the idea that he can go longer. So, the idea of getting to the King's Plate has been out there for some time.”

The question concerning how to prepare a Thoroughbred for a race that is more than nine months out intersects nicely with Larkin's quote about how the process is just as important as the end result. When talking to customers he urged companies to create their own 'magic of communication,' which became all about connecting on another plane with potential clients. Empathy, listening, following through on promises and being accountable were just some of the devices his toolkit deployed to create the opportunity to do business.

Mike Stidham is customer-driven | Hodges Photography

As Stidham can attest–having cared for the likes of current Darley sires Mystic Guide (by Ghostzapper) and Proxy (by Tapit) to last weekend's GIII Kelso Stakes hero Think Big (Twirling Candy), plus countless others over nearly 50 years in the game–training a Thoroughbred incorporates all of the tenets Larkin espoused.

“The customer experience is everything,” said Stidham. “I was going through a tough time in the 90s when I was trying to get to the next level and I thought that I needed to find something else to do. I looked around at some of the old timers who were losing horses left and right to other barns. I knew I needed to get with the program and start working on getting more clients, otherwise that was going to be it. The key was becoming customer-driven, and you do that by going above and beyond what was expected.”

Gone were the days when owners were stymied by a paywall and isolated from knowing what was going on with their horses. Stidham became part of the Internet generation that sent workout videos and he picked up the telephone to personally give updates, instead of clients calling him.

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression as the saying goes,” he said. “It's true. My assistant Hilary [Pridham] and I take a lot of pride in service and because we have been doing this so long we know almost immediately what kind of horse we have on our hands.”

When Tom's Magic was sent to Stidham starting last summer, the colt got a smattering of working experiences from the main track at Delaware to Turfway's synthetic surface in the fall. Stidham said the colt moved effortlessly no matter what was under him.

Of course, the son of Justify was customarily green when he debuted in late November, but he showed some spark as the runner-up over the grass versus Cherie DeVaux trainee Deep Manhattan (Justify), who Stidham called “a monster.” The chestnut broke his maiden at course and distance before the calendar turned, and his 3-year-old campaign was marked by a score in the Black Gold Stakes Mar. 1.

With the King's Plate six months out at that point, Stidham had several avenues that Tom's Magic could take. He opted for monsoon-laden Keeneland, which miraculously put on the delayed GIII Transylvania Stakes–the result was a ninth-place finish behind eventual GI Belmont Derby champ Test Score (Lookin At Lucky).

Tom's Magic was a tough customer in the Black Gold Stakes | Hodges Photography

“A horse in your barn is a customer too,” said Stidham. “You have to think about their needs, what will make them rise to any given occasion. What's interesting about this colt is that the weather helped and hurt us at different stages over the next three months after the Transylvania.”

On the lookout for the 'right' race for his customer, the trainer thought seriously about the GIII Penn Mile Stakes, but it kept being put off.

“I have never seen a race delayed like that,” he said. “Things got really tricky and Hilary, who scours the condition books, was trying to find a fit for him that would give us a chance to build some confidence.”

The barn found the right spot in the Tale of the Cat Stakes at Monmouth June 28 and got to the winner's circle.

“The weather was great that day, he sat just off the speed and looked really comfortable,” Stidham said. “I especially liked what he showed in the latter stages of the race with that stride of his, so we are all systems go moving forward to the King's Plate.

Even though Stidham has never entered Canada's signature Thoroughbred race, he is confident that Tom's Magic can handle the surface, the distance and be ready to ship to Toronto. Now, it is all about keeping his good customer happy.

“I love a horse that is not afraid to train,” Stidham said. “He's exactly that type and coming out of the race at Monmouth with the same amount of time off as he had from April to late June, I think we will be ready.”

Whether it's training an employee in the art of customer service or caring for a Thoroughbred who is pointing to a big race, it certainly takes magic. Tom Larkin built a successful career inspiring others to think about the process before taking stock of the results. Ever customer-driven, the team behind Tom's Magic is looking to do something similar with trying to get the 3-year-old ready for his King's Plate bow. Now, that's a fitting tribute for his namesake's memory.

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