Tribal Custom Locks Up Top Honors

With an eight-length romp in a Turfway Park starter-allowance race on Sunday, Tribal Custom (Tribal Rule), scored win number 12 on the year, topping all North American Thoroughbreds in terms of victories for 2015.

According to Equibase, two Puerto Rico-based horses are tied at 11 wins behind Tribal Custom, but the 5-year-old mare is ensured of the “winningest horse” honor for 2015 because neither Aranzadi (Bluegrass Cat) nor Limoncillo (PR-Harbor Master) are entered to race at Camarero Race Track on Dec. 31, the lone remaining 2015 race date on that track's calendar.

Tribal Custom is owned by Michael Angelo of Edinburg, Pennsylvania, (who races under the program name Gabes Stable, LLC) and is trained by Ohio-based Elliot Sullivan.

Tribal Custom racked up a 12-2-1 record with $89,203 in purse earnings from 19 starts in 2015.

“Tribal Custom seems like she's really getting better in her last couple of starts,” said Sullivan. “I was impressed with her on Sunday. I thought she ran really big.”

Sullivan also owns and trains Chella (Where's the Ring), a 4-year-old filly with 10 wins in 2015, giving the 27-year-old conditioner the unusual distinction of training the top two horses in terms of wins in the continental United States for 2015.

“It's a privilege. It's something to be grateful for. They're both special horses, and I'm fortunate to have both of them,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan obtained both Tribal Custom and Chella via modest claims earlier this year, and his up-and-coming stable was featured in a Dec. 22 TDN profile (click here).

As for near-future plans for both distaffers, Sullivan said, “Chella is going to the shelf. She'll probably go to the farm this week. Tribal Custom, I was planning on giving her a rest, and still am, but I might run her back one more time because she won so convincingly on Sunday.”