It's been quite a week for trainer Tim Yakteen. On Wednesday, he became a father for the first time when wife Millie Ball, an on-screen analyst for HRTV, delivered a son. Friday, on his 41st birthday, Yakteen saddled his first Del Mar winner since he started training on his own last summer in the $75,000 Daisycutter.Fortunately, owned by Jerry Jamgotchian, was the cause for Yakteen's Friday good fortune, overtaking front-running favorite Bella Banissa in the stretch and pulling off to win the five-furlong Daisycutter on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course."I'm super happy," said the elated trainer after the race. "It's my birthday, my son [Sam] was born two days ago, and this is my first win here. I'm at a loss for words."
Yakteen is no Tim-come-lately. He served two stints as an assistant to Bob Baffert, and in between was an assistant to Charlie Whittingham from 1991-97. He finished his second tour with Baffert prior to going on his own.