Red Bow Tie - Open Pace
bay gelding, 4, by Raging Glory-Cheers Lauxmont, by Royce The
Owners
Siegel, Scharf, d'Elegance & TLP Stables
The open pacing division of the Breeders Crown has yielded eight divisional championships in 14 years of classic pacing battles. Others have been tremendous upsets that still retain historical significance. The 1998 edition attracted ten pacers with conglomerate earnings of $8.2 million from the most powerful stables in the sport, and the air in the Meadowlands front paddock awaiting post time was alive with tension borne on the humidity of a summer night.
Bob Glazer of the Peter Pan Stable has topped the owner standings in the sport for three straight years, culminating 1998 with a record $4.5 million in purse money. He hates to see a race go the gate without one of his horses, and on this night he had two outstanding representatives – Noble Ability and Bad Bert. Both were top class performers at The Meadowlands, with nearly $1 million earned between them.
Western Dreamer made harness racing history in 1997 by winning the Cane, Messenger and Little Brown Jug, to become the first pacing Triple Crown winner in 14 years. He was also the first Triple Crown winner to return to the racetrack since Rum Customer in 1969. However, his peers showed him little respect, and Western Dreamer had to work to record five wins this season. His victories did include the Battle of Lake Erie and a free-for-all in Canada that lowered his mark to 1:49.4.
Dream Away, a son of two-time Crown winner Artsplace, had taken the 1997 Meadowlands Pace, won the Adios but been disqualified to fifth, and taken eliminations of the Messenger and Little Brown Jug. He closed with year just shy of $1 million in earnings, but astonishingly was winless on the year in 1998. He was runner-up in six of his seven starts and was looking to break through in the Breeders Crown. The second-place finisher in the Meadowlands Pace, At Point Blank, also could not get any numbers in the win column in his sophomore year but came back at four with renewed vigor for the Monte Gelrod stable. At Point Blank entered the Breeders Crown with a four-race win streak.
Armbro Emerson showed his heels to a celebrated field of superstars in the 1987 Crown pace at Roosevelt Raceway, and ten years later was comfortably ensconced in an Ontario stallion barn. One of his richest sons, Master Barney, had banked more than $600,00 and was attempting to duplicate the feats of his pop.
Up against the big stables with the stranglehold on the leading trainers standings were the one-horse operations like Andy Kovath and Milan Smith. Kovath’s Tune Town was a six-year-old son of Big Towner, a stallion with a reputation for siring long-lived hard-knocking pacers. In Tune Town he’d outdone himself, as the defending divisional champion was regarded as the Energizer Bunny of the racing world.
Hi Ho Silverheels was $1,800 yearling purchase whose bankbook had swelled to more than $1.1 million in his five years of racing. Owned and trained by former Hollywood stuntman Milan Smith (who’d renamed the colt after his good buddy actor Jay Silverheels, who was Tonto to Clayton Smith’s Lone Ranger. “Hi Ho” had started in the 1996 Crown event at the Meadowlands, and finished a flying third to Jenna’s Beach Boy. The seasoned veteran had slowed a step in his vintage years, but entered the Crown with a 1:50.1 invitational win at Hoosier Park fresh under his belt, where he’d equaled the track record of 1:49.4 earlier in the month.
Unbelievably, the aforementioned pacers were the supporting players. The real ammunition came in the form of Red Bow Tie and Pacific Fella. Red Bow Tie was top-drawer three-year-old of 1997 who went through the Harrisburg Sale ring and brought the good but not eye-popping price of $147,000, allegedly due to his fragile hooves.
A partnership of Cliff Siegel, David Scharf and the d’Elegance and TLP Stables went in together on the purchase and he was turned over to Monte Gelrod. Red Bow Tie came out on opening night of this year’s Meadowlands meet (Dec. 26) and blasted through a 1:53 mile. The flimsy-footed gelding had earned his owners back more than $250,000 and they were willing to gamble one-fifth of it, $50,000 to supplement Red Bow Tie to the Crown. Only one supplement had ever won a Crown race and very few even made back their supplement fee.
Red Bow Tie had clashed repeatedly throughout the season with Pacific Fella, a tall, big-boned son of Cam Fella driven by Cat Manzi and trained by his cousin Ed Lohmeyer.
Trainer | Driver
Monte Gelrod | Luc Ouellette
Pacific Fella led the group in earnings on the year with close to $600,000, and had easily handled most of the field at his leisure. His slate of wins included the Freehold Cup, legs of the Classic and Graduate series, Dan Patch invitational and Pacing Classic final. Red Bow Tie had turned the tables on him in a leg of the Classic series, but the Crown would truly decide the division. Pacific Fella was named the public’s choice at 7-5. On the Meadowlands website where the most discerning of harness racing cognoscenti dwelt, he also garnered 22% of the vote in a Breeders Crown cyber-poll.
Their final confrontation was to occur two weeks before the Breeders Crown in the Pacing Classic Final. But at the eleventh hour, Red Bow Tie was scratched sick from the $275,000 Pacing Classic, with a bout of colic. He was taken to the University Of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Clinic in the early morning hours for treatment. He did require surgery, but remained at the clinic for a few days for monitoring.
The supplement amount of $50,000 came due while Red Bow Tie was at the horse hospital. The owners had to make a tough decision, but left the entry in. Their horse would have to race the biggest race of the season off a 29-day lay-off.
If driver Luc Ouellette, in the midst of a sensational year, had any doubts about the fitness of his mount he never let them show. He stepped on the gas immediately and barreled Red Bow Tie through a quarter in 26.2. From that point he practically lolled on the front end, daring the field to challenge through a relatively easy middle half of :57.1. The move came surprisingly from Dream Away and John Campbell, who rolled up on the outside hoping to pick up cover as they moved forward. None came, and Manzi elected to keep Pacific Fella tucked on the rail third.
From the three-quarters the end result was predictable. A horse as versatile, speedy, and determined as Red Bow Tie was not going to let anyone by after such a nice breather. Ouellette tapped him with the whip and he dug down and held off Dream Away in 1:50.1, relegating that one to yet another second place finish. Oddly, Dream Away would end his year with 11 starts and no wins but seven seconds.
Pacific Fella raced up for third but was clearly not himself and was retired soon after the race. Red Bow Tie returned to win the US Pacing championship the following week, the Des Smith Classic and the Prix d’Autoumne as well as his divisional honors, Pacer of the Year, HTA Pacer of the Year, and the hearts of all who watched the courageous horse bounce back from adversity.
Purse $340,000
The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, New Jersey August 1, 1998
Extras
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