Armbro Devona - 3FT
bay filly, by Speedy Crown
Owners
Lenavitt, Birndorf, Frankel & Jend Ent.
Trainer | Driver
Chuck Sylvester | Bill O'Donnell
Purse $418,533
Pompano Park, Pompano Beach, FL
Caressable - 2FP
bay filly, by Niatross
In a race that was thrown wide-open by the late scratch of the prohibitive odds-on favorite Follow My Star, Caressable and Valentina, stablemates in the Bill Haughton stable who had been following the divisional star for much of the season, took advantage of their nemesis' absence to finish one-two in the Breeders Crown, worth $632,803, at Yonkers Raceway.
Another late scratch was driver Bill O'Donnell, scheduled to pilot Caressable but late in arriving due to a helicopter snafu. In need of a quick substitute, Haughton, at the very last moment in the drivers' room, turned to the man who has won more races than anyone else, Herve Filion, and the legendary French-Canadian responded with one more, capturing his first Breeders Crown in his first drive in the Crown series.
The quick early pace, set by Gillian's Dream and then by second choice Razzle Hanover, favored the closers, and Filion, who knows every inch of the Yonkers half-miler, had maneuvered his filly into perfect striking distance, while Bill Haughton, steering Valentina, encountered serious traffic from her starting point in the second tier. As the field rounded the final bend, Razzle Hanover began to show the effects of being parked for the first two turns, and Filion steered the Niatross filly around that foe. Valentina, who had raced three and four-wide for the second half of the mile, was able to pass every rival except her stablemate, and Razzle Hanover, exhausted but brave, held on for third.
Wall Street Stable II, co-managed by Louis P. Guida and Robert Boni, owns the irascible brown filly which was bred by Marjorie J. Mohr's Larimohr Farm and Tom Stewart, Manager of Stoner Creek Stud.
Owners
Wall StreetStable II
Trainer | Driver
Bill Haughton | Herve Filion
Purse $632,803
Yonkers Raceway, Yonkers, NY
Division Street - Open Pace
bay gelding, by Most Happy Fella
Owners
Denim, Lachance, M.E.K.& KLR Stables
Trainer | Driver
Vinnie Aurigemma | Mike Lachance
Purse $309,554
Freestate Raceway, Laurel, MD
Express Ride - 2CT
bay colt, by Super Bowl
In what would be the final race for which he would serve as contract trainer for the prestigious Castleton Farm Stable, George Sholty sent Express Ride postward as the strongest sector of a three-horse entry, necessitated by the common part-ownership of Swedish industrialist Ult Moberg. The 1985 Two-Year-Old Colt Trot, contested at The Meadows outside Pittsburgh for a purse of $474,804, was not the smoothest of battles, but when the dust cleared, Express Ride had given Sholty a memorable going away present, the Breeders Crown. Sholty commented, "It felt more like surviving than winning!"
The trouble started when Mangrove, the third choice in the wagering, lost his footing just as he was crossing to the lead; his untimely break would cause a chain reaction of inter1erence among several of his competitors. Royal Prestige managed to squeeze through the incident from his spot in the second tier and get to the lead for driver Hakan Wallner, with Express Ride, who also bobbled momentarily, dropping In the second spot. Royal Prestige took the field past the half in a leisurely 1 :01.2 before John Campbell, driving Express Ride, opted to move to the outside. At the three-quarter pole and seemingly well in control, Royal Prestige appeared destined for the victory, but as he turned into the stretch, he, too, broke into a gallop, leaving the grinding Express Ride with the lead. The Super Bowl colt had enough in reserve to hold oft both Farm King and Salem Lobell, the only other competitors who had a clear journey for the duration of the 2:01.3 contest.
The Breeders Crown victory was sufficient to lock up division honors for Express Ride, as both the United States Harness Writers in their year-end poll and the Racing Secretaries of Harness Track of America picked the strapping bay horse as 1985 Two-Year-Old Trotting Coll of the Year. Owned by Mr. & Mrs. Frederick Van Lennep's Castleton Farm, Hanley Dawson. Jr. and William E. Simon, the victory was also the second Breeders Crown trophy shared by the trio, having won the 1984 Two-year-old Filly Trot with Conifer. Castleton and William E. Simon bred the colt, which Castleton President John Cashman has described as the finest trotting colt ever raised at that leading Kentucky nursery.
Owners
Castleton, Dawson & Simon
Trainer | Driver
George Sholty | John Campbell
Purse $474,804
The Meadows, Washington, PA
Jef's Spice - 2FT
bay filly, by Super Bowl
Garden State Park, perhaps the most luxuriantly modern racing facility in the world, hosted two Breeders Crown races in 1985, and the freshman trotting fillies were the first to face the brand-new Garden State starting gate. Trainer Charles Sylvester could be forgiven if he expected to bring home a large chunk of the $514,303 jackpot, as his three-filly entry of Castleton Memo, Evita Lobell, and the brilliant Britelite Lobell loomed odds-on in the high-caliber field. Yet, when the dust cleared, the Sylvester stable would only garner a mere eight percent, the fourth-place share, of the rich purse.
Both Britelite Lobell and Castleton Memo were unable to stay fli:lt in the early stages of the race, and neither had a chance to exhibit the dazzling speed and courage that they had displayed so often earlier in the season. With the two top fillies offstride, along with second-choice Heaven's Glow, the race became a wide-open affair, and when the fillies t1Jrned for home, it soon became clear that the stretch drive would be a brutal one.
JEF's Spice opened a short lead at the eighth pole, but the lightly-raced Armbro Eclair, trained by the masterful Bruce Nickells, took dead aim on her rival for the final surge. With drivers Mickey McNichol and Ron Waples summoning every ounce of their driving savvy, the two fillies dug in, trotting as a team until the game JEF's Spice finally rebuffed the equally brave Armbro Eclair.
McNichol captured his first Breeders Crown with the homebred bay, which is owned by Jeanette & Edward Freidberg's JEF's Standardbred Country Club and conditioned by Jim Gluhm. The filly is a daughter of Super Bowl and was that stallion's third champion in 1985, in as many Breeders Crown trots to date. The mile was trotted in 1 :58.4, and the connections for Breena Almahurst, Evita Lobell, and Argyle Socks cashed the other purse checks.
Owners
JEF's Standardbred Country Club
Trainer | Driver
Jim Gluhm | Mickey McNichol
Purse $514,303
Garden State Park, Cherry Hill, NJ
Nihilator - 3CP
bay colt, by Niatross
Owners
Wall Street/Nihilator Stable
Trainer | Driver
Bill Haughton | Bill O'Donnell
Purse $565,053
Garden State Park, Cherry Hill, NJ
Prakas - 3CT
bay colt, by Speedy Crown
Owners
Enggren, Vizzi & MacKenzie
Trainer | Driver
Per Eriksson | John Campbell
Purse $455,821
Mohawk Racetrack, Campbellville, ON
Robust Hanover - 2CP
bay colt, by Warm Breeze
Barberry Spur, a gangly June Niatross foal who, despite a purple pedigree, fetched a mere $40,000 in the sales ring, had been among the season's leaders much of the latter part of the year. Robust Hanover, a pint-sized Warm Breeze colt from perhaps the most productive maternal family in harness racing, brought a miniscule $8,500 as a yearling for breeder Hanover Shoe Farms. Yet when the dust cleared, these two had established themselves as the two finest pacing colts In America, and the favorites In the $673,553 Breeders Crown.
The final shaped up as a momentous, evenly-matched affair. Each colt had won his elimination heat impressively; therefore they would start from the two Inside post positions. Each was improving with every start. Each was being driven by a future Hall of Famer, with Bill O'Donnell seated behind Barberry Spur and John Campbell, the dominant Crown reinsman in 1985 in Robust Hanovers sulky. Each figured to be on or close to the pace.
As the gate opened, O'Oonnel took advantage of his rail position and was the first horse to grab the lead, but the crafty Ben Webster had the French Chef colt Souffle cranked up, so Barberry Spur yielded and allowed Souffle the lead. Robust Hanover had settled In behind these two, and the rest of the eight-horse field also found spots at the rail.
As Webster began to slow the pace, O'Donnell, sensing that Campbell would not wait too long, brushed Barberry Spur back to the lead, which Webster willingly relinquished. O'Donnell's instincts were correct, as Campbell immediately sent Robust on a charge to the lead. The smaller horse set the rest of the pace, sailing on an open lead past the three-quarters in 1 :28 before O'Donnell began to get his mount rolling. As they turned for home, it was evident that the race was, as predicted, between the two bargain colts. The only question that was left. Well, can a good little horse beat a good big horse?
The Rosecrolt fans had made Barberry Spur 3-5, but Robust Hanover refused to watch the tote board. Dwarfed by his foe, the diminutive pacer battled on, accepting Campbell's whip and straining toward the wire. Just outside of him, Barberry Spur, towering above his adversary, could not seem to get his nose in front, despite Bill O'Donnell's exhortations. The gap was narrowing, a half-length, then a quarter, then a neck, then a head. But that was as small as the margin got.
Robust Hanover, owned by Ronald Knigge and trainer W. E. '1.ofty" Bruce, held on by a scant head In 1 :56.4, a new track r8(;()rd. Barberry Spur was a dead-game second, and Souffle, taking advantage of his early positioning, was clear for third.
Owners
Wallace E. Bruce & Ronald Knigge
Trainer | Driver
Wallace Bruce | John Campbell
Purse $505,165
Rosecroft Raceway. Fort Washington, MD
Sandy Bowl - Open Trot
bay horse, by Super Bowl
Owners
KVF Stables
Trainer | Driver
Soren Nordin | John Campbell
Purse $354,533
Sportsman Park, Cicero, IL
Stienam - 3FP
bay filly, by Falcon Almahurst
Owners
John Powell, James Leadbetter & Gil Short
Trainer | Driver
Kelly O'Donnell | Wm. “Buddy” Gilmour
Purse $412,054
Northlands Edmonton Park, Edmonton, AB
