Former Sewickley woman is trainer for Hidden Stash in Kentucky Derby

Victoria Humphrey Oliver said she knew there was something special about Hidden Stash when she watched the 3-year-old thoroughbred run.

“I could just see he had talent,” said Humphrey Oliver, of Lexington Ky., who lived in Sewickley from second grade until the end of her freshman year at Sewickley Academy. “Horses are like athletes. You can just tell the ability they have by watching them compete.”

She was certainly watching closely Saturday. She’s the trainer for Hidden Stash, which ran in the 147th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs Race Track in Louisville, Ky.

The horse was given 38-1 odds at post time and finished 14th in the 19-horse field. He was 16.5 lengths behind winner Medina Spirit.

The Trib caught up with Humphrey Oliver by phone hours before the race.

“Yes, he is a long shot, but he can’t read the board,” said Humphrey Oliver, who is the first female trainer in the event since 2015, according to WDRB.com.

Hidden Stash is owned by the BBN Racing syndicate. His name was inspired by his mother, Making Mark Money. Humphrey Oliver and her husband, Philip Oliver, have a share in BBN Racing.

Hidden Stash was third at the Sam F. Davis Stakes on Feb. 6 at Tampa Bay Downs. He finished runner-up in the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs on March 6. The horse took fourth at the Blue Grass Stakes on April 3 at Keeneland Race Track in Lexington.

He was bred by Rhineshire Farm in Paris, Ky. The jockey is Rafael Bejarano.

Hidden Stash trainer Victoria Oliver competing in her first Kentucky Derby: https://t.co/euEleZnxqq pic.twitter.com/UlnUJOPitc

— WDRB News (@WDRBNews) April 29, 2021

According to kentuckyderby.com:

“Hidden Stash has displayed a consistent turn of foot to this stage of his development, though he has yet to prove that he is fast enough to win the Kentucky Derby. The three-year-old shows a career-best 93 Brisnet Speed figure, and he will need marked improvement to challenge for the top prize on May 1.

“However, he did have a tough trip in his initial nine-furlong bow at Keeneland, and the move to ¼ miles can potentially work in his favor at Churchill Downs. The chestnut continues to train well in preparation of his toughest assignment to date, and he could be an interesting exotics contender with a well-timed ride in the Run for the Roses.”

Humphrey Oliver said she won’t be wearing a fashionable hat today — the fashion style for the event known as the “Run for the Roses.”

“I don’t do hats,” she said. “I am not a hat girl.”

She said training horses is a 365-day-a-year job.

She grew up around horses, learning to ride in third grade. Her sister, Susie, and her sister’s husband, Chris Keller, still live in Sewickley.

Their parents, G. Watts and Sally Humphrey, owned 35 acres in Sewickley where the girls kept their riding horses as children. Her father is well-known throughbred owner and breeder.

She graduated from Stoneleigh-Burnham School in Massachusetts, which offers an equestrian program.

“I’ve loved horses forever,” she said.

When asked if she’s ever fallen off, she replied, “We fall off all the time. … It happens more than people think.”

Humphrey Oliver said she has been working with horses for 22 years. She and her husband have a 40-horse barn.

“Today looks like a perfect weather day,” Humphrey Oliver said. “We feel fortunate to have a horse in the derby. Some people go their whole careers without having a horse in this race.”