Giant Chill - 2CT
In 1991, after 15 years of trying to grab the brass ring in harness racing, Jacquie & Ted Gewertz and their partners, Stan and Steve Robins, seized it firmly in both hands. Now it ,appears they won't let go. The Gewertzes have come close before, as co-owners of champion trotting mare Davidia Hanover, but it was three-year-old colt trotter Giant Victory who finally took the group to the apex they'd been seeking. The son of Super Bowl won the Hambleton Ian and Breeders Crown, Trotter of the Year honors. and now stands stallion duty beside his sire at Hanover Shoe Farms.
Armed with Giant Victory's substantial bankroll, the Gewertzes and Robins' went yearling shopping. Since the four partners are also avid New York. Football Giant fans, they rename all their performers with a "Giant" prefix. Their $135,000 yearling purchase named Cajun Crown, out of Speedy Crown-Chili Bowl, acquired the moniker of Giant Chill and became the new star of trainer Per Eriksson's stable. Giant Chill, driven by the taciturn John Patterson, Jr., won the Peter Haughton Memorial before succumbing to a throat infection that subsequently kept his schedule light for the remainder of the stakes season.
Per Eriksson has accomplished a tremendous amount in harness racing for someone just over 30-years-old. The Swedish native has trained the winners of three Hambletonians and five Breeders Crowns, and ranks fifth overall in the Crown trainer standings. Eriksson won this Crown division in 1991 with King Conch, making that freshman trotter the favorite for the Hambletonian, and he was about to set the same stage again. Aside from Giant Chill, Eriksson also ent11red Dylan Lobell, a half-sister to the Eriksson-trained 1989 Crown winner Delphi's Lobell.
Continental Farms, a Swedish driving/training conglomerate that dominated the trotting world throughout the '80s, currently tops the Breeders Crown standings with more than $3 million in Crown purses earned by their diagonally-gaited representatives. Though Jan Johnson and Berndt Lindstedt have scaled back. their operation, they had three colts entered in the freshman trot. Italian reinsmen Pietro Gubellini would drive Durkin Lobell for Scuderia Barbara, Lindstedt would handle Arden Homestead's Glenmorangie, runner-up to Giant Chill in the Peter Haughton Memorial, and Johnson took command of Cool Prince for owner Tomas Bertmark. Johan Diedan·s King Lavee was made second favorite on the basis of his three win in his last five starts. Driver/trainer Jimmy Takter, son of the legendary Swedish horseman Bo Takter, was still seeking his first Breeders Crown title.
The continent of North American was represented by Bob Key's Hi Noon Star, Segal and Monieson's Capital Star, and the Canadian-owned Promising Catch. Walter Belanger, owner of the brilliant trotter Napoletano, who spoiled Mack Lobells bid for the Triple Crown, owned Promising Catch with Marcell Lacaille and Jean Pierre Dubois of France.
From post three, Patterson really never had an anxious moment. He eased Giant Chill away from the gate, was unchallenged for the front end and was able to rate moderate fractions of :29.2, 1 :00 and 1 :29.1, ensuring an easy 1 :58.2 victory. Patterson, runner-up in the last two Hambletonians, claimed his rightful place in the Crown winners circle for the first time. As the regular driver of Giant Chill, who instantly became the favorite for the 1993 Hambletonian, Patterson will hope to make the third time a charm.
Eriksson can now lay claim to three of the six trotting Crown championships, and will seek his third Hambletonian in as many years. Capital Star, who had been trotting in second, galloped at the three-quarter pole and was disqualified to eighth for failing to lose ground. Durkin Lobell, comfortable along the rail for most of the mile, was tipped out mid-stretch lo trot strongly for second. King Lavee used Promising Catch as cover to obtain a good trip and was able to rally for third.
Giant Chill was an easy decision for divisional title voters. Ted & Jacquie Gewertz and the Robins Racing Stable were back in the enviable position as reigning favorite for harness racing's most coveted race, and sat out the winter content with a covey of new yearlings, all needing "Giant" surnames.
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Immortality - 2FP
Former Merrill Lynch exec Lou Guida has had a tremendous impact on the sport of harness racing, experiencing immoderate success with his partnerships and management of every level of trotter and pacer. from yearling to broodmare to stallion. Over the past 15 years, Guida has made his mark as a standardbred owner. breeder, stallion syndicator, agent, racehorse seller and buyer and even as a one-man public relations band for the sport. He owned the best son of Nlatross (Nlhilator), the best son of Mystic Park (Mack Lobell), and the best daughters of Baltic Speed, Amity Chef, Jate Lobell and No Nukes (Peace Corps, Miss Easy, Hazleton Kay and Immortality). Even more mindboggling is that he bought them all as yearlings.
Guida has employed a wide range of trainers, drivers and consultants. In 1985, while shopping for horseflesh, he had his eye on a juvenile filly standout, Follow My Star. Shortly before the Breeders Crown, he offered owner Allen Wilk a hefty sum for the favored Follow My Star. Guida displayed the good sense to keep her with her current trainer, and that is how trainer/driver Bruce Nickells' second career, as a 'filly man·, began. Convinced that Nickells had a magic touch with the fairer sex, Guida plied him with royally bred distaffers from the yearling sales and even threw in a few homebreds.
Nickells obliged, turning out pacing performers such as Bruce's Lady, Conquered Quest, Hazleton Kay, Central Par!< West, Maytown Hanover, Nadia Lobell and Angel B Good. Just to hone his diagonally-gaited skills, Nickells also won the Hambletonian Oaks with Par!< Avenue Kathy, and is responsible for trotting stakes winners C'Est Ouoi, Mystic Virtue and Lotsa Pasta (all fillies) and colts Ten Pound Bass and Stars And Bars. However, Guida's purchase of Follow My Star dictated that Nickells's destiny be training pacing fillies, and the ensuing results were phenomenal.
His distaffers have racked up seven divisional titles, more than $6 million, and innumerable speed standards. Follow My Star retired as the richest pacing mare of all time. Another Nickells-trainee, Miss Easy, usurped that title in 1991. Miss Easy and Immortality are the only two females to win more than $1 milfion in a single season. Nickells has won every distaff pacing division of the Breeders Crown at least once, something no other trainer has done, and ranks third overall in the Crown trainer standings. Over the nine year span of the series, his 15 entrants have won six championships and more than $1.9 million. For these recent accomplishments, Nickells was named Glen Garnsey "Trainer of the Year" In 1990.
It was not surprising that when the baby races began in late spring that Nickells had several promising fillies ready to compete. But his favorite was the aptly-named Immortality, a No Nukes daughter of the world champion mare Jef's Eternity. Though Immortality, owned by the partnership of Winning Verdict Stable and Rose Guida finished second in a pair of baby races, she would not taste defeat again. Driven by John Campbell, Immortality annexed the La Paloma, Sweetheart and Three Diamonds Finals in relaxed fashion before making her Crown appearance. Her obvious leadership in her division kept her peers away from the Crown entry box in droves, and just five other freshman fillies were willing to scrap over the remaining purse money after Immortality seized the lion's share.
The entrants included: Pro Group's Lady Is Pro, a half-sister to two-time Crown winner Town Pro; Steve Arnold's Crystal Eros, boldly entered in the Crown after she choked down and failed to finish her race the previous week; M & L Stable's Cammie's Lady, second in the field in earnings to Immortality; Patrick and Patricia McRae's homebred Town Dreamer; Brittany Farms and Daisy Acre's Nukes Magic, one of three daughters of No Nukes, a sire yet to claim a Breeders Crown credit.
As the gate opened for the first of six Breeders Crown events that evening, Cammie's Lady sprinted to the lead with Crystal Eros seizing the two hole. Once the front end was settled, Campbell slipped Immortality out and took control of the race. She had the lead but not the wood past the quarter in :28.1, and once snugged against the hubrail paced off a half in :57.2 and a three-quarters in 1 :26.4. When Cammie's Lady, obligated to make a move on Immortality after receiving a two-hole trip began to move, Campbell imperceptibly shifted in he bike and Immortality responded by skating away to a three-length lead, tripping the timer in 1 :54.4.
Cammie's Lady was clear of the remainder of the fillies to take second place, and Crystal Eros finished third. Bruce Nickells, triumphant for the fourth time in live years in this Crown division, shook his head in amazement. Immortality was bred by Bill Perretti, who won this division in 1988 with the Nicke!ls-trained Central Park West. It was No Nukes· first Crown sire credit, and Campbell's 21st driving trophy over the nine-year series. The $97,000 yearling price Winning Verdict Stable and Rose Guida anteed up in November had turned into $978,485, and Immortality was voted divisional honors by a landslide.
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Village Jiffy - 2CP
Two-year-old pacing colts represent the quickest Investment In harness racing. A good looking yearling that captivates an owner in October can return an 1initialpurchase price threefold in nine short months. That kind of payoff is the tantalizing lure that keeps us breeders and yearling sales in business. For owners that breed their two-year-old themselves, the wait is longer and the investment hefty, but the return can also be proportionately greater as a good colt makes his mommy more valuable, too. Since the Breeders Crown fs held in the fall of the year, purchase prices are Justified or found excessive, hopes are realized, dashed or simply shelved until next year. The Breeders Crown freshman pacing colt events hosted by Pompano Harness have quite a dramatic history. Who can forget Kentucky Spur's head victory over Totally Ruthless? Or Till We Meet Again's dramatic comeback after a break behind the starting gate? How about the tunning Artsplace surviving a torrid duel with Die Laughing dueling to sprint away to an all age track record, or Digger Almahurst stealing the event from the favored Direct Flight?
The eight colts entered in the 1992 edition of the Crown featured four homebreds and four auction purchases. All four had earned back their purchase price and then some, with Sheppard and Metro winner Presidential Bait, a $75,000 yearling acquisition, stashing away close to $800,000 for Ontario real estate developer and construction magnate Antonio Chiaravalle. Bob Csep/o's Broadway Blue, plucked for $74,000 was nearing the $350,000 mark, mostly due to a second place finish In the Woodrow Wilson. Homebred Bonnie And Clyde had won five times and banked more than $260,000 for Rose Guida, Bonnie Castle Stable and MRF Stable, while Brittany Farms' Life Sign, a son of George Segal's legendary race mare Three Diamonds. was approaching the $200,000 mark. Life Sign bore the fastest racetime, a 1 :52.4 airing staged at Lexington. Bonnie And Clyde was a son of the sensational Dragon's Lair, who set the tone for theatrical climaxes by winning the 1984 inaugural Breeders Crown Two-Year-Old Colt Pace over previously undefeated Nihllator. Roy Davis, having won this event In 1988 with Kentucky Spur, was back again with Allante Spur, and Ohio chiropractor Steve Smith, who'd given a mere $27,000 tor Columbus Avenue, was making his first start in Crown competition. Also along were Presidential Ball's stablemate Riyadh, also owned by Chiaravalle and driven by Robinson's son Brett, the Lofty Bruce-trained Tibet. Bruce won this event in 1985 with Robust Hanover) and the homebred Village Jiffy, the fifth $100,000 winner in the race.
A son of Cam Fella, Presidential Ball had endured plenty of racing adversity that kept him from winning some of the major two-year-old events, but held the edge for top honors in his class. A win by Bonnie And Clyde or Life Sign would definitely tip the divisional honor scales in their favor. The unfortunate last minute scratch of Broadway Blue, due to a virus caught shipping to Florida, narrowed the field to seven, with the entry of Presidential Ball and Riyadh established as the solid wagering choice. Jack Moiseyev, a driver at the forefront of the sport in recent years, had yet to win a Breeders Crown, but looked about to end that drought behind Presidential Ball.
John Campbell pushed Bonnie And Clyde quickest out of the gate, but Riyadh, steered by young Brett Robinson, was quick to contest his hold on the lead. That pressure yielded a blistering first quarter in :27 flat, and Bill Fahy allowed Life Sign to range up on the outside to investigate the possibility of Campbell easing back Bonnie And Clyde for a breather and allowing Life Sign the lead. Though Life Sign got within a nose of the front end, Bonnie And Clyde was too rewed up to relax, and rocketed on past the half in :54.3. This left Presidential Bal!, who'd followed Bonnie And Clyde after being blocked by Columbus Avenue at the start, with no choice but to move on the leader or be boxed in and shuffled back. The attempt to brush to the front failed, and when Presidential Ball showed obvious signs of tiring, Moiseyev quickly tucked him back Into the two-hole.
Finally, a three-quarter mile in 1 :23.3 wore Bonnie And Clyde to a nub, and Life Sign got the lead Bill Fahy pressed so hard tor. But all the front end shenanigans left Village Jiffy, lurking a little-used third-over, in optimum position. When driver Ron Waples issued the wakeup can, Village Jiffy answered with alacrity, and easily paced by the expended Life Sign.
Racing for the partnership of trainer Bill Wellwood, Charles Armstrong, AFJ Stable and Fred Brunner, Village Jiffy sped under the wire by more than three lengths in 1 :53.2. Tired but staunch Life Sign finished second, with a ground saving Tibet up for show. Columbus Avenue, with the least amount of earnings on the card added $24,000 to his modest amount, while Bonnie And Clyde hung on for the fifth place check. Presidential Ball failed to get a check for the first time in his young career, and was found to be suffering from a viral infection when scoped after the race. He would take down divisional honors, despite Life Sign going on to win the Governor's Cup at the close of the season.
But back to Village Jiffy. Cam Fella, with five crops lo the races, picked up his fifth Breeders Crown credit. Suddenly the foals out of the already proven producer Village Jig jumped in value. The amazing Ron Waples, who earlier In the year replaced an injured Mickey McNichol on Fake left to win the Little Brown Jug, reined home another spectacular longshot. The shrewd Canadian Hall of Famer ranks third In the Breeders Crown standings and is responsible for four of the seven longest priced winners in Crown history. The $60.60 mutual is the sixth-highest in the 102 Crown events. Waples saved the night for the first-ever national Pick-6 in harness racing, capping off five straight favorites or near favorites with a 29· 1 mutuel. The pool of $75,449 was split between six lucky ticket holders, whose $1 outlay returned them $8,769. Meanwhile, ever-hopeful owners and breeders, (the lucky ones freshly bankrolled with the earnings of their freshman pacing colts) keep perusing the sale catalogs and Inspecting the yearlings, waiting eagerly to see what next year will bring.
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