Yankee Cashmere - 2FP

bay filly, by No Nukes

When Charles "King Kong" Keller roamed right field for the New York Yankees in the company of Joe DiMaggio and Tommy Heinrich, he could not have imagined how the next 40 years would unfold. Upon his retirement from baseball, Keller bought a horse farm in rural Frederick, Maryland, and began breeding standardbreds for a sport he had come to love as much as baseball.

Keller could not have guessed that by starting Yankeeland Farms he would shape the destiny of his children and grandchildren. Nor could he have known that producing the likes of the legendary Fresh Yankee, TV Yankee, Modern Yankee and Yankee Bambino, named for the great Babe Ruth, would lure his children into furthering the Yankee land legacy, yielding such wonderful pacing fillies as Choice Yankee and Yankee Co-ed.

Charles Keller Ill owns an accounting firm in addition to running the Yankeeland operation. His son Charlie IV, and nephews Dan and Brett Bittle, are also integral parts of the Yankeeland management team. Brett is the trainer of the Yankee land Racing Stable, though he first obtained a degree in agriculture from the University of Kentucky before taking on the responsibility of the racehorses.

Yankee Cashmere carried the Keller hopes into the Breeders Crown, after 14 entrants precipitated two eliminations. Despite a dull ninth-place finish in the Three Diamonds final, Yankee Cashmere rebounded the winner of her elimination in 1 :57.

The most highly regarded filly of the division, Efishnc, won the other in qualifying contest in 1 :56. Trained by Bruce Nickells, who has a virtual monopoly on the distaff pacing Crowns, Efishnc represented an attempt at an incredible seventh Crown trophy for Nlckells. Co-owned

by Nickells, car dealer John Howard and his former beauty queen wife Vicky, and commu-nications magnate Vince Lo Castro, Efishnc had the earnings edge of $470,480, the recognition of having won the Sweetheart, the fastest time of 1 :54.2 and the redundancy of hall of fame driver Ron Waples in the bike. It's understandable that she would be pulverized in the wagering.

Both Efishnc and Yankee Cashmere are daughters of No Nukes and their Crown confrontation was expected to be atomic. Efishnc had drawn the more desirable post five on the Woodbine mile oval, while Yankee Cashmere and pilot Pete Wrenn would be starting from the seven hole.

Les Sises set a crackling pace demanded by her driver Joe Hudon, forcing everyone else with designs on the top to look for a rail spot instead. Perhaps Hudon was emulating Ted Jacobs and Eager Seelster in the Crown contest prior, hoping to steal the race before the rest of the field could foil those plans. If so, it was not going to work against these fleet fillies. The :26.4 opening quarter yielded to a much softer panel, with Les Sises recording a half-mile time of :56.1.

Waples scraped together cover for Efishnc and moved out past the half. Les Sises held control past the three-quarters in 1 :25.4 but would begin to struggle when faced with the interminable Woodbine homestretch. Those who had wasted their energy In pursuing her were now tiring; those fillies who had been conserved on the rail were ready to commence their rallies.

Waples fanned out to find pacing room but suddenly did not need it as Efishnc's stride flattened out. She would only salvage a fifth-place finish. Hattie, a diminutive daughter of Abercrombie from the iron-sided pacing mare Albaquel found herself in the lead and under the violent exhortations of D.R. Ackerman, worked to keep it.

A bay blur came hurtling from the rear of the field, from so far back as to appear not even in the same race as Hattie. As Peter Wrenn bent to his work, Yankee Cashmere came skimming down the middle of the racetrack, dashing Hattie's hopes with a two-length lead. Owner Richard Staley has been amply rewarded by progeny from his former stakes champion Albaquel, whose son Ever So Rich won an elimination of his 1988 Crown event. The Cheerleader's Town Cheer was third for the familiar driver/trainer team of Doug Brown and Stew Firlotte, the duo responsible for Town Pro, the first pacing filly to win consecutive Crown titles.

Peter Wrenn graduated from the foremost driving ranks of Hazel Park and Pompano Harness Track, has been welcomed in the Garden State and with opportunities from the Bill Robinson stable among others, has proved he can go to the top level of profession. The win was his first Crown.

Thirty-year-old Brett Bittle is one of the youngest trainers ever in the Crown archives, and certainly his entrance through Yankee Cashmere's eye-popping victory made it even more memorable. They may not have been wearing pinstripes, but in the winners circle, the Keller boys did King Kong proud.

Owners

Keller III, Keller IV& Bittle

Trainer | Driver

Brett Bittle | Peter Wrenn

Purse $427,000

Woodbine Racetrack, Toronto, ON -

The 1994 Breeders Crown Final for 2 Year Old Filly Pacers from Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, ON won by Yankee Cashmere

Extras

| Chart |