Just Trust Me off to a storybook start

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This article was published 06/06/2025 (457 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Former horse trainer John Mulligan said it looked like a scene from the movie 50-1, a film based on the true story of longshot Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird and his happy-go-lucky group of crazy cowboy owners who beat the bluebloods at their own game in 2009.

This wasn’t Kentucky and groom-owner-trainers Dewey Williams and Eugene Burns weren’t quite in the Derby. Yet. This was Tuesday night racing at Assiniboia Downs. “They just looked like a couple of good ole boys, happier than ever, walking into the winner’s circle,” said Mulligan. “It was a scene right out of that movie.”

With a smile from ear to ear and a jovial laugh, the big orange-haired Burns led slick three-year-old colt Just Trust Me and jockey Antonio Whitehall into the winner’s circle to meet trainer Williams after winning the first stakes race of the local season. Their $3,500 purchase had just won the $24,000 Fancy As Overnight Stakes, but it might as well have been the Kentucky Derby based on the happiness meter.

Not only did the Williams-Burns combo win the first stakes race of the season, they also upped their local record to a perfect three-for-three. Just Trust Me drew off to win by five lengths and it could have been more. It was a mismatch for a horse that might just be the local Manitoba Derby horse to beat. “We’ll see,” said Burns. “He’s going to the Golden Boy next.”

Burns and Williams arrived from Turf Paradise with nine horses, four purchased in Northern California for less than US$10,000. All have won. Just Trust Me’s victory was another triumph for red-hot jockey Antonio Whitehall. The three-time riding champion scored a hat trick Monday and added two more wins Tuesday, tying him atop the jockey standings with nine victories.

“Whitehall’s been coming down and getting on a bunch of these,” said Williams. “Sheldon Chickeness has been getting on horses for us too. He’s a big part of our program. And Will Tourangeau, Monique Goulet, and Jared Brown have all helped us out. People are just nicer here.”

Besides Williams and Burns, the barn crew includes Michelle Bennett and blacksmith Chance Dale, who’s followed them from Phoenix to Wyoming to Winnipeg. Burns splits time between the track and his Georgia farm, where his wife Lindsay conditions show horses. Williams’ better half Connie holds down the fort in Gooding, Idaho.

The 40-year-old Burns and 71-year-old Williams started their partnership in Boise, Idaho, and have worked together since 2012. “He came looking for me one day,” said Williams. “And now he can’t get rid of me.”

After leaving Assiniboia Downs in 2018, Williams and Burns spent two years at Prescott and two in Wyoming. “We were leading owner in Wyoming, and tied for leading trainer one year,” said Williams. COVID delayed their return to the Downs.

Now they’re back with serious Derby aspirations. “One of the big factors for us coming here is we had this horse and we were debating on where to go to run him,” said Burns. “They have a really good three-year-old program here, starting with the Fancy As Stakes, then the Golden Boy, and another mile prep before the Manitoba Derby. That’s why we came.”

Just Trust Me had already established solid credentials in California and Arizona before his local triumph. He broke his maiden at Del Mar in California, won an allowance race at Pleasanton, and finished second in the Luke Kruytbosch Overnight Stakes at Turf Paradise. When asked about their best horse ever, Williams was direct: “Probably this one.”

Burns and Williams have both won Idaho Cups and Colorado Derbies. Williams has also won the Sunray Park Futurity, the Sunray Park Derby, and the Albuquerque Derby in the past. Now they have a Manitoba Derby horse, and that’s a whole different world. With their perfect start and genuine aspirations, these good ole boys from Idaho are proving sometimes the best stories come from the most unlikely places.