bay colt, by Worthy Bowl

The thirteen colts who traveled to Woodbine Racetrack's inaugural presentation of the Cadillac Breeder Crown traveled a diverse route to the final championship race of the season. A group fraught with ambiguity, the Breeders Crown would help define their identities. The first step was eliminations held the week prior to the main event.

Trainer Chuck Sylvester's eagle eye singled out an Arndon colt at the yearlings sales in 1991, which he purchased for $17,000. Though that youngster, Pine Chip, did not race at two, Sylvester and subsequent co-owners Gerry Donahue, Neal Goldman and the Guida Racing Stable were so rewarded during his sophomore campaign they bid to $80,000 to obtain Pine Chip's half-brother by 1985 Breeders Crown champion Nearly Perfect. A chestnut trotter, he bore the name King Pine.

King Pine's maiden start was in the American-National. He flashed the ability bred in to him by winning with an 8 1 /2 length margin. Sylvester sticks to a fairly traditional road for his juveniles, and King Pine was showcased at Lexington's Red Mile as well. Like many chestnut horses whose white feet and subsequent light-colored hooves are often easily chipped, King Pine had trouble keeping his horse shoes on, and would often break stride when he lost them. He staged a triumphant march to the wire in his elimination under the confident handling of Mike Lachance. Bridget Jablonsky, a veterinary student at the University of Pennsylvania, was looking for tuition help from her homebred, Speed Monster, and a second place finish in the elimination assured him a berth in the final. Speedmonster had raced solely in New Jersey state-bred contests prior to his Crown start.

The most curious contestant to make the final was Cantario Farm's Armbro Nash, with just three starts, a sole third place finish and a meager $1,534 (Canadian no less) io_ earnings. Armbro Nash was consigned to the Harrisburg sale shortly following the Breeders Crown and it was hoped that a creditable Crown performance would increase his value.

The second elimination was a pole to pole display by a son of Ontario sire Worthy Bowl. The chart-callers description of Eager Seelster as "quite fresh crossing the wire" aptly described all the connections of Eager Seelster as well as the colt himself. Trainer-driver Ted Jacobs was a precocious starter, training his first horse at age 15. His confidence in himself and his horses resulted in excellent success on a regional level. The group of owners, John Fielding, a cosmetics manufacturer, Vito Leo, a photographer and four Toronto businessmen who raced under the nom de course of the Four Stud Stable, were in racing for a lark and trusted in Jacobs to provide them with one.

Eager Seelster raced only in his native province, and with just five starts looked like a youngster who was· starting to put it all together, winning his last two matches in improving fashion. Following him into the final after their elimination was the Michigan-owned Royal Leer, whose smart 2:00.1 display in the International Stallion Stakes earned him a start in the Crown; the homebred Dr. Fabe, who'd made a racing loop from Ontario to New Jersey and back again; Pan Of La Mancha, bearing the secret weapon of Sonny Patterson in the bike; and Serene Sovereign from the always-dangerous Jimmy Takter stable.

It made sense for the crowd to choose King Pine as the favorite. Just three weeks earlier, his older brother Pine Chip had been retired after two Crown titles and $1.6 million in earnings . Chuck Sylvester had just upset Victory Dream and Bullville Victory in the Breeders Crown sophomore trot with Incredible Abe, and Mike Lachance had already won two Crown titles in two weeks. The whole group appeared to be on a roll.

But the partisan crowd was not going to let native son Ted Jacobs get away too much of a longshot. Eager Seelster's wire to wire elimination exhibit could have been interpreted as a gauntlet thrown down to the outsiders. There have been six sets of eliminations in the 11-year history of the freshman colt trots, but only twice have they produced the following week's winner.

So it was. Jacobs bombed out of the gate with the intent of seizing the lead and not relinquishing it. He met with resistance in the form of Doug Brown and Dr. Fabe, and had to work for the front past a :28.2 quarter. Jacobs then slammed on the brakes, demanding the field come to him while giving his colt a bit of a breather after the fight for the front. First to do so was Bill O'Donnell driving Whiteland Cumin, who trotted up to him to force the pace.

In the midst of the mile, King Pine met with nothing but trouble. Right out of the gate, one of his shoes went flying and by the time Lachance steadied him, he was forced to pull to the outside if he wanted to be in any sort of position. A second shoe went soaring off and by deep stretch a third had gone missing and King Pine collapsed into a gallop.

Eager Seelster was unaware of this drama, as it occurred behind him. The colt dealt almost gaily with Whiteland Cumin and then moved to avoid a surprisingly quick Arm bro Nash. whose attempt to narrow the length lead of Eager Seelster was to no avail.

Jacobs, who knew his colt was the measure of his Crown peers, was vindicate<!. The time of 1 :58.3 was a new track record and the ecstatic bunch of owners would carry the victory with them throughout a long cold winter.

The startling runner-up, Armbro Nash increased his bankroll from $4,194 to over $100,000 in under two minutes. His Crown performance raised him in the sales ring the next month to an astonishing $270,000.

King Pine, shedding his footwear all over the track, was disqualified and placed eighth for finally giving up and running across the wire. To this day the colt is still plagued by that problem, and has yet to fulfill the legacy of his sibling Pine Chip. Tomas Bertmark's Earthquake was moved up to third in King Pine's stead.

Eager Seelster was named the best of his class in Canada, his exuberant owners taking home an O'Brien award to add to their Crown crystal.