CR Commando - 2CT
bay colt, by Royal Troubador – Airborne Gal, by Spellcaster
Owners
Carl & Rod Allen Stb & Niss Allen
Two-year-old colt trotters are the apples of every breeder’s eye, as their potential seems unlimited from the first early races of the season through the serious contests of fall. With 14 freshman entered in the Breeders Crown Colt Trot, divisional honors were at stake along with bragging rights between two first-crop sires, Victory Dream and Pine Chip.
Victory Dream had two sons, Raffaello Ambrosio and Self Possessed, both handled by trainer Ron Gurfein who had guided the stallion to a 1994 Hambletonian victory. Winner of the Valley Victory at Garden State Park, and tops in money in the division was Starchip Entrprise who along with Peter Haughton winner Enjoy Lavec represented the sire Pine Chip, a double Breeders Crown winner.
Add Canadian champion Armbro Scorpion from the Bob McIntosh barn (which had taken this same event in 1995 with Armbro Officer), Angus Hall, GV’s Whiteface and San Pellegrino (a son of Valley Victory, Breeders Crown champion of 1988) and it was truly a ‘breeders’ Crown.
CR Commando had scored a convincing 1:57.1 victory in his Breeders Crown elimination one week prior. The robust bay colt ticked off quick fractions with a 27.4 final quarter. Self Possessed, with Mike Lachance at the lines for trainer Ron Gurfein, stalked the winner at every call, but could come no closer than one length at the wire.
Angus Hall placed a new world record on the books in his Crown elimination heat, winning in 1:54.4 for driver John Campbell and owners Lynda Stewart (wife of trainer Bob Stewart), Mimi Lenenberg, Jerry Semer and Allister Stables. Angus Hall flew home from fourth at the top of the stretch to edge out the tempo-setting Starchip Entrprise and Jim Doherty by onehalf length. That time of that elimination surpassed the previous mark of 1:55.3 that was set by the great Mack Lobell in 1986 at Lexington’s Red Mile.
Bob Stewart had sent sophomore trotter Conway Hall (and full brother to Angus Hall) to Italy for the Orsi Mangelli, but he himself stayed behind, knowing Angus Hall needed work schooling behind the starting gate. The time spent with the youngster at Colonial Downs obviously paid off.
The match-up seemed set, the landing strip of Colonial Downs the perfect setting.
Trainer | Driver
Carl Allen
Called by Allen, who is also the colt’s owner, breeder and driver as, “the best in 31 years that I’ve ever had,” CR Commando collected his Breeders Crown victory on November 14 in near wire-to-wire fashion. Allen was confident prior to the Crown Final that his colt had the edge in both soundness and speed, with the rail post position as an added advantage.
The Royal Troubador youngster followed Jim Doherty and Starchip Entrprise, who had bolted to the top from the seven-hole in the first furlong, but then Allen took “command” and tripped the timer in :27.1, eased to a :56.3 half, followed by a :27 third quarter (1:24.1) with a steady drive to the wire. He was never challenged by rivals San Pellegrino, who finished second or the hard-trying Breeders Crown elimination winner Angus Hall, who ended up third, both some three and a half lengths back.
Self Possessed got away fourth from the gate and then was parked from the half on, and managed to finish a respectable fourth. Starchip Entrprise made a couple of breaks late in the stretch and ended up fifth.
CR Commando epitomized a Breeders Crown champion, winning the final test of his twoyear- old campaign in a world-record clocking of 1:53.2 at Colonial Downs. The apple of trainer Carl Allen’s eye, the freshman standout won six of 12 races in 1998, displaying blistering speed that led to him win division honors as Two-Year-Old Colt Of The Year by a landslide.
The time of 1:53.2 was more than a second faster than any freshman had trotted before, and the new world champion was remarkably fresh, wringing his neck and tossing his head about after his impressive performance on a cold, damp night at one of North America’s newest trotting venues.
CR Commando acquired the third Breeders Crown trophy captured by the Allen’s Golden Cross Farm in Ocala, Florida (two from 1995 Horse of the Year CR Kay Susie, and almost ten years ago, with Royal Troubador in 1989) and also is the fourth freshman divisional champion to be conditioned by the Allens, along with pacing filly CR Daniella, Royal Troubador, and CR Kay Susie. It also gave Carl Allen his second Breeders Crown victory as a driver. Interestingly, CR Commando and San Pellegrino produced an exacta price of $99.60.
CR Commando’s could not match his sire, Royal Troubador, who had paid a hefty exacta price when, coupled with secondplace finisher Meadowbranch Eddy in 1989 at Pompano Park, the pair paid $272.80, the highest exacta price ever in the history of the Breeders Crown two-year-old colt and gelding trot. CR Commando also set new records for each of the fractions in this division, thanks to Colonial’s one-turn configuration. The former record for a three-quarter time, set by King Conch, was 1:27.1 in the 1991 Breeders Crown at Pompano Park) and was shattered by CR Commando, who reached the three-quarters in 1:24.1.
CR Commando gave Carl Allen his second win in this division, tying him with trainer Per Eriksson, who won the event in 1991 with King Conch and in 1992 with Giant Chill.
Purse $390,700
Colonial Downs, New Kent, VA - November 14, 1998
Extras
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