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
