Armbro Operative - 3CP
bay colt, by Cam Fella
Owners
David McDuffee & Tom Walsh
It started out with a group of eleven three-year-old sophomore pacers forced to bide their time for two days after a Nor’easter caused the cancellation of their Breeders Crown elimination. And it all ended with a short field of seven going postward in the final just five days later. What made the final field unique was that trainer Brett Pelling had the responsibility of training three of the entrants, and each had their own merits on which they could stake claim to the championship.
Pelling’s night was set into high gear earlier on the program, as his trainee Mystical Maddy won the Breeders Crown Three-Year-Old Filly Pace. And his chances in the Three-Year-Old Colt Pace looked extremely promising, as he was sending out Little Brown Jug winner Armbro Operative, Adios Pace victor
Electric Yankee and Nude Beach, who outperformed his stablemates the week before when he finished second in the Breeders Crown elimination. Electric Yankee and Armbro Operative didn’t fare so well in the elim, finishing sixth and seventh, respectively behind Oye Vay. The Pelling Stable came up all smiles after the post position draw, as Armbro Operative, Nude Beach and Electric Yankee, in that order, drew the inside three post positions.
America has been called “The Land of Opportunity” and Pelling, a native of New Zealand, certainly agrees. Using many training tactics from his native land, as well as the techniques adopted in the United States, Pelling found a combination that gives him his characteristic method of training for toughness rather than speed on the racetrack.
Pelling refined his knack for winning. In 1988, his first full year of training a public stable, he took the training title at Freehold Raceway. From 1990-92 he was untouchable at The Meadowlands, winning the title all three years. In 1995 he captured the Meadowlands Pace and the North American Cup, a pair of million dollar races, with David’s Pass. Until this evening though, he had never won a Breeders Crown, but before the night was through, he would have two championships to add to his laurels.
When the wings of the starting gate unfolded, Jack Moiseyev showed no respect for the strong contingent inside of him, as he sent Oye Vay to the front from his number five post position. Along the inside Armbro Operative, under the guidance of Mike Lachance, comfortably sat in second, with his two stablemates right behind. Things began to change though, after a 28.1 first quarter.
Joe Schwind pulled Electric Yankee at that point, followed closely by Ross Wolfenden and Nude Beach. With Oye Vay and Armbro Operative on the inside, the top foursome began to draw away from the rest of the field, while passing the half in :56.2. The field closed ranks approaching the 1:24.4 three-quarters, but it was there that Electric Yankee and Nude Beach began to tire and fall from contention.
Trainer | Driver
Brett Pelling | Mike Lachance
Lachance’s patience with Armbro Operative along the pylons paid off, as he had clear aim at the leader turning for home. With relative ease, Armbro Operative drew clear to win by three and onequarter lengths, stopping the timer at 1:54.1. Oye Vay was game in the stretch, but a furious rush by Jac’s Choice, handled by Peter Wrenn, made it too close to call with the naked eye for place honors. In fact the camera couldn’t tell either, and the two were declared in a deadheat for second.
For owners David McDuffee and Tom Walsh it was a delightful sense of deja vu watching Armbro Operative capture the Breeders Crown. In 1994, their pacer Magical Mike was successful in the Crown Final after a victory in the Little Brown Jug. Two years later, Armbro Operative took the same route to the top of the class.
Though Armbro Operative went on to demolish the remnants of the sophomore pace division in the Progess Pace at Dover Downs, but year-end honors went to Hot Lead whose prolonged streak at the Meadowlands kept him focused in voter’s eyes.
Armstrong Bros. was rightfully named “Breeder of the Year” by Sports Eye racing paper for the strong showing their performers continue to produce on the racetrack. They rank second in earnings in the Crown standings, with purse numbers of $4.2 million and 11 trophies won by the “Armbro” army.
Cam Fella has been an outstanding sire in the sport of harness racing, but medical difficulites caused his retirement in 1996. In the Breeders Crown series, Cam Fella has sired, with Armbro Operative’s victory, the winners of six championships, and, as a broodmare sire, he has four trophies to his credit, all from the offspring of Beach Towel - three from Jenna’s Beach Boy and one trophy earned by Paige Nicole Q. Though he will be missed from the stallion ranks, his legacy will live on long after his last crop races.
Purse $425,000
Yonkers Raceway, Yonkers, NY - October 26, 1996
Extras
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