Ellamony - Mare Pace
brown mare, 5, by Cam Fella
Owners
Charles A. Juravinski
It's rare these days for any horse to compete for four years, reach $1 million in earnings, and never start in the Breeders Crown series. Yet Ellamony, a homebred daughter of Cam Fella, owned and raced by flamboyant Flamboro Downs Racetrack owner Charles Juravinski, did just that. In 1995 that would change.
By September, Ellamony had stacked up 16 wins in 20 starts and more than $320,000, and the Breeders Crown at Northfield was hers for the asking. A Crown win was needed to slam the door on divisional honors for Ellamony, who like wine, cheese and wisdom, was improving with age.
The five mares that assembled to challenge Ellamony were highly credentialed. Leading the field was two-time Breeders Crown champ Shady Daisy. The popular mare, owned by Ohioans Ron Jackson and his daughter Tamela, as well as trainer Lou Bauslaugh, was facing a partisan crowd for what was touted to be her last year of racing.
Like Ellamony, Camourous was a daughter of Cam Fella, and held the deep respect of all the trainers, drivers and owners who had the fortune of having her in their stable during the five-year span of her racing career. She was so valued as a race horse that during the winter of 1994 at The Meadowlands she was claimed five times (for $62,000-$70,000). That year she went to post an astonishing 48 times. Gray and hard as the steel her coat resembled, Camourous had more starts than any of the veteran campaigners in the field. The "Old Gray Mare" was making her 135th lifetime start, having hit the board a remarkable 90 times, always making a minimum of $100,000 in each year she raced. Her current owners, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniabased concern of JBC Howard LoCastro & Reale, had high hopes that with national leading reinsman Dave Palone in the bike Camourous would give them the much coveted Breeders Crown crystal.
Trainer | Driver
Stephan Doyle | Mike Saftic
The three remaining entrants included 1993 freshman Crown champion Electric Slide. Owned by Lou Guida, whose "race ‘em if you got ‘em” philosophy has resulted in 20 Breeders Crown champions and close to $7 million in purse money. No horse trained by Bob McIntosh can ever be ignored, and the presence of red-hot Luc Ouellette in the bike, hot off his first Crown win at Delaware, Ohio the day before, was a also a factor. However Electric Slide had just seven starts coming into the race and none were impressive against a juggernaut like Ellamony.
The family partnership of Bittle, Bittle and Keller, who had sent out Crown champion Yankee Cashmere in 1994, were represented in this event was Lovin Yankee, who'd been stabled at Northfield for several weeks, prepping for the event. Bob Glazer, a native of Cleveland whose Peter Pan Stable enterprise was managed just miles from Northfield Park, had entered Panhattan. A daughter of 1987 Breeders Crown champion Kentucky Spur, Panhattan displayed early season form and consistent effort, though Glazer was just hoping for a decent piece of the $250,000 pie.
The race was merely a practice session. Even Camouorus, perfectly positioned by Dave Palone, could not get closer to Ellamony than her sulky wheel. The valiant Shady Daisy, with fill-in driver Jack Moiseyev subbing for Mike Lachance, injured in a Jug day spill, closed stoutly for third. The Crown, and subsequent year-end honors finally belonged to Ellamony. Juravinksi, who'd enjoyed the Crown winner circle before as part of the many partnered Goalie Jeff syndicate could now bask solo in the achievement of the daughter of his unraced mare Ceremony. Driver Mike Saftic was enjoying his first Crown win, as was trainer Steve Doyle.
Purse $250,000
Northfield Park, Northfield, OH - September 22, 1995
Extras
| Speed Records |
