July 2022 Member of the Month: Tim Cohen
ATim Cohen, of Rancho Temescal , is the featured TOBA Member this month.
t Rancho Temescal in Ventura County, California, Hollywood and horses live side by side. As a filming location, the 6,000-acre property has hosted plenty of human A-listers; as a Thoroughbred farm, Rancho Temescal has seen its fair share of equine stars. Headed up by Tim Cohen, son of founders Jed and Roberta Cohen, the operation has hit the highest of highs in recent years.
“So my dad’s been racing in California for almost sixty years now,” Cohen recalled. “He’s probably one of the last of the Mohicans of that era, and of course as kids growing up, we went to the track all the time and kind of evolved about twenty years ago, when we bought the farm. Then I went from hotels and restaurants to dirt and trees and horses.”
He mused, “To start something from the ground up was a fantastic opportunity and we were able to do that. We ended up buying the land from Texaco and we developed it agriculturally.” About 150 acres are used for horses and are home to about 100 to 120 Thoroughbreds, 20 to 30% of whom belong to the Cohens. The family has ten broodmares and 60 horses in training, but at home, they focus on layups and raising babies. Cohen noted, “We have quite a good working team in evaluating the bloodstock and at the end of the day, I’m fortunate enough to make the final decision.”
The Cohens have hit the jackpot by importing European runners to run on California grass. Cohen explained, “We look for horses that we think will improve on firm ground. It’s very important that they’re structurally sufficient to handle the training in California, and so we’re looking for horses that we think can train on dirt, we think can move forward on firm ground, and that’s hard to do.” A Del Mar resident, Cohen bought three two-year-olds at the 2022 Tattersalls March sale. Those youngsters are now in training with William Jarvis, but Cohen plans to eventually ship them stateside to take advantage of his home track’s Ship & Win program.
At the 2020 Tattersalls Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale, they spent $191,444 on Evening Sun, a winning gelding bred by Queen Elizabeth II. Cohen added, “He proved himself to be, I think, a very handy horse in Europe and we thought the quality was there and a couple of his races, we thought on form, watching the videos, he actually performed better than what was on paper.”
In August 2021, Evening Sun scored in his third-ever North American start. Since then, he has tallied two wins and one second in four races.
Most recently, he posted a half-length victory in the April 30 San Francisco Mile (G3). Cohen was unable to attend the race but shared, “I just was smiling because he got the trip. [Jockey] Brice [Blanc] rode him wonderfully, did everything that he hoped for, and he got a fair run at the race, and he showed us what he is.” He added that trainer Jeff Mullins “understands the European horses and what they need to do and how they acclimate.” Fellow European import Dicey Mo Chara is also doing well, scoring one win in three starts this year and placing in a graded stake.
A $97,358 purchase at Tattersalls in 2017 for the Cohens, River Boyne became a dominant figure on California turf. His career high came when he won the 2020 Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes (G1T). “He was one of those diamond in the rough finds,” Cohen said, “and he just exceeded all expectations.” River Boyne stands at Tara Stud, Navan, Co. Meath, Ireland; Cohen hopes to visit him next year and buy some of his foals to race.
Cohen has also hit the big time with American-breds. Kentucky native Sharp Samurai rattled off three consecutive graded turf wins in 2017 and added a fourth in 2018. On the dirt, he ran second to Maximum Security in the 2020 TVG Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) and third to Knicks Go in the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1). “The Breeders’ Cup, going to the first turn, was brutal for him,” Cohen said. “I think one of the horses inside came over on him and pinched him and I was like, ‘Ugh.’ And he tried so hard; he put so much into that race, and it was astonishing that he finished third with the trouble he had. But again, that was an attribute to the horse. It was really exciting for us to be part of and we’re really appreciative of every race we’re in, to be honest with you.”
