Training a new way for Nicole Agosti to connect with Standardbreds
August 9, 2018,by Nicolle Neulist, for the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association
Stickney, IL — Nicole Agosti took her trainer’s test this past winter, but not because she planned to move on from her longtime job anytime soon.
“I absolutely love grooming, and I absolutely love working for Brett [Wilfong],” Agosti said. “I never took my test thinking I was going to train full-time. If Kyle [Wilfong] and I wanted to buy a horse and race, it was more so I could have some fun with it. I mostly took it for myself: saying I can do it, knowing I could do it.”
Four Footed Fotos photo
Nicole Agosti (center), flanked by Angie Coleman and Kyle Wilfong in the Hawthorne winner’s circle after earning her first career training win with Red Red Redneck.
The only horse she currently trains is Red Red Redneck, a 5-year-old Illinois-conceived and foaled gelding by Yankee Skyscaper. He had previously been trained by David Brooks, who co-owns the horse along with Adam Brooks. ed Red Redneck moved to Agosti’s care before his start on July 26. “Kyle [Wilfong, the horse’s regular driver] thought Redneck was just getting too complacent. If they wanted us to take him and try him, just to give him a change of scenery, shake him up a little bit, try something different, see if this would help him out a little bit, and they said yes.”
After the first race at Hawthorne on Aug. 2, it looks like it was just the change Red Red Redneck needed.
In his first start for Agosti, Red Red Redneck finished fifth, 3-3/4 lengths behind Wildcat Bobby. In his next start, on Aug. 2, he drew the rail. Kyle Wilfong drove him to a prominent place on the inside. Boxed in behind odds-on favorite Canthelpbutwin to the eighth pole, he got room to come through inside in the final furlong. Full of horse, he paced to the lead. Longshot Fox Valley Hoss rallied inside, but came too late. Red Red Redneck held, crossing the finish a head in front.
It was Red Red Redneck’s first win in 21 starts this year — and substantiated Agosti’s belief that he was still competitive at Hawthorne if he could find his best form. Before the race, Agosti was cautiously optimistic: She noted that the day before his victory was the first time she had seen him lying down in his stall since she got him, and that he was very keen on his feed leading up to the race. Still, knowing the uncertainties of horse racing and given that she was still becoming acquainted with the horse, she kept her pre-race expectations reasonable: “If he gets a little better each week, that’s all I can ask of him.”
Agosti has been around horses her entire life, and had close experience with both Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds growing up. Her parents, Tom and Tanya Agosti, began in harness racing: training, driving and owning horses. However, in 1995, her father began training Thoroughbreds. He raced mainly at Fort Erie Racetrack, two miles over the Canadian border from Buffalo, N.Y., though he also would sometimes run at Finger Lakes Racetrack in upstate New York and Woodbine Racetrack outside of Toronto. From 2005 through 2007, however, his Thoroughbred starts began to dwindle and he returned to Standardbred racing, racing mainly at Buffalo Raceway and Batavia Downs.
At that point, Nicole Agosti was in high school. She had been around horses her entire life, but once she had the opportunity to be around Standardbreds regularly, she had a clear favorite breed. “Once I started with the Standardbreds, I just absolutely fell in love with them. Their disposition is so much nicer than Thoroughbreds. You can sit behind Standardbreds. I can be a lot more hands-on with them.”
Though Red Red Redneck is the only horse she has taken the lead on training, he is far from the only horse with whom she works. She continues working with trainer Brett Wilfong as a groom. That work remains close to Agosti’s heart because it brings her so close to every horse she works with.
“Every single one of them has their own quirks and their own personalities. Being in the barn full time every day, all day, with them, you get to learn a lot about them. They’ll tell you things that you might not see. I just love having a connection with my horses. I love being in the barn. My favorite time of the day is the end of the day when it’s quiet and there’s no one around, and it’s just me and my horses.”
Her connection with horses finds its way beyond the racetrack, too. Encil, an Illinois-foaled gelding by Hi Ho Silverheel’s, began his career in Illinois, racing at Balmoral and Maywood from 2006 (his 3-year-old season) through 2008. After stints at Hoosier, Indiana Downs and Northfield, her father claimed him out of a claiming series in early 2010.
“There was just something about him,” Nicole Agosti recalled. “I fell in love with him almost instantly. He was a project pretty much from day one. To race week in and week out, he was a project to keep him going. I fell in love with him. He had more heart than a lot of horses.”
Encil last raced in the winter of 2012, and has been with her ever since. “He made his way back to Illinois! He made the trip out here with me. He was already retired before I moved out here. I broke him to ride. I’ve taken him on trails. He trusts me and I trust him.”