Eight Indiana-sired male and female trotters and pacers will continue their quest for Breeders Crown trophies in 12 championship contests worth $7.2 million on Friday (Oct. 27) and Saturday (Oct. 28) at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. The eagerly anticipated action commences at 6 p.m. each evening.
This is the third time (2017 and 2020) the Anderson oval has hosted harness racing’s most lucrative event, with Indiana horses displaying a distinct homefield advantage.
On Friday, freshman trotters and pacers take centre stage with four divisions being contested as Races 10-13. Noblesville will be the first horse from Indiana to make an appearance in the $700,000 Breeders Crown division for freshman male pacers, which is carded as Race 11. The son of JK Endofanera-Happiness is trained by Ron Burke and will be in rein to Ronnie Wrenn Jr. He is 30-1 on the morning line.
Noblesville has a record of 11-4-2-0 and has earned $214,934 in purse money. The colt was fourth in his elimination and has not missed a cheque in his career. He was second in the Indiana Super Final last month. He races as a homebred for Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi.
“I was thrilled to make the final,” said Burke. “He drew post 10, and I think that’s a good spot. We’re probably racing for a cheque, but it’s just fun to be in it, ready to go.
“He trained down like a real nice colt. He’s a beautiful animal. He just needs to find a little more speed to go with the top-top ones.”
Two horses will represent the Hoosier State in the $700,000 division for two-year-old male trotters. Kyle Wilfong and Dashing Danny will start from post position seven while Musclefantastic and driver/trainer Robert Taylor will line up in position 10.
Dashing Danny hails from the barn of Jeff Cullipher and has a record of 16-9-5-0 with $174,087 in the bank. The son of Dover Dan-Sashay was fourth in his elimination and was second to Musclefantastic in the Indiana Super Final earlier this month.
The gelding is owned by his conditioner and Pollack Racing. Dashing Danny was bred by Steve Stewart and Black Creek Farm.
“He raced good,” said Wilfong. “I didn’t know what to expect racing open company like that, but he showed he belonged. He was trotting hard on the end still. With a little bit of luck all the way around, we could have a shot.
“This is my first Breeders Crown. It’s a good feeling. It’s kind of like a job well done for the year to make it to this point, and then to advance to the final is the icing on the cake.
“[It’s] good for Indiana to have your one-two [Super Final] horses make the Breeders Crown final.”
Musclefantastic sports a resume of 10-3-1-1 and has earned $180,865. The son of Muscle Massive-Busybeingdreamy was fourth in his elimination and was bred by Perry Bontrager.
“I thought he was pretty good,” said Taylor. “We had a little issue with a foot after the [Indiana] Super Final last week, so we had to take it easy with him, but I was really happy with him. He trotted all the way to the wire.
“It’s been an up-and-down season. He started off really good, but we had some bumps in the road. He got sick one time, then he made a break in the Madison County because we drew [post] nine. He shied from the outside fence; he’d never had the nine-hole before. But I always thought the colt had some ability. I told the owners that if we took our time with him, I thought he could show us late in the year what he can do. And he’s been doing it. He’s coming through at the right time.
“This is my first time [in the Breeders Crown]. The closest I had been to getting into a race of this magnitude was the Canadian Trotting Classic back in 2009. We were third in there to Muscle Hill with Southern Rocketop. To be able to race at your home track when the Crown comes here, it’s just an awesome feeling. I give a lot of credit to my owners, Kyle and Jill Hupfer. They’re very supportive. It’s going to be an exciting week for us.”
Dashing Danny and Musclefantastic are each 30-1 on the morning line.
On Saturday night, five additional Indiana stars hope to shine in the Breeders Crown races for sophomore male and female trotters and pacers and their elder counterparts.
Two-time Indiana champion M Ms Dream will begin her bid for a Crown from post position three with driver David Miller and is the second choice on the morning line at 3-1 behind divisional leader Jiggy Jog S (Dexter Dunn, post position one, 3-5) in the $400,000 Open Mare Trot. The showdown is race eight and kicks off the Breeders Crown races that evening.
Trained by Ron Burke this season, M Ms Dream was second by a head to Refined in their elimination. The four-year-old daughter of Swan For All-Trading Places has been an outstanding performer on the Grand Circuit this season with a record of 13-7-2-2 while earning $563,144. Her resume stands at 34-25-3-3 and she has earned more than $1.3 million in her three-year career.
Two of M Ms Dream's victories were in the $410,250 Hambletonian Maturity over males and Jiggy Jog S and the $131,250 Dr. John R. Steele Memorial.
The mare is owned by Eleven Star Stables, Frank Baldachino, and Hillside Stables. M Ms Dream was bred by Mervin Miller and was previously trained by Henry Graber Jr.
“I wasn’t happy with her,” said Burke. “We’ll go back to the drawing board, change a couple things. I’ve really not changed anything on her, and now I’m thinking maybe we need to.”
Helpfirstedition (pictured above) will be the next Indiana product to place his hooves upon the track. The only supplement from 185 entries to the Breeders Crown is in the $672,000 Breeders Crown division for sophomore male trotters. The son of Helpisontheway-She Knows Swagger will start trotting from post position five in Race 11 with regular driver John DeLong in the bike for trainer Melissa Essig. The gelding is 5-1 on the morning line and captured his elimination in dominating fashion after exhibiting the same form in annexing his Indiana Super Final.
Owned by Ervin Wickey, John Graber, Lester Schmucker (a.k.a. Running Wild Stables) and John Schmucker, Helpfirstedition was bred by Martin Wickey. Unraced at two due to injury and surviving a barn fire, Helpfirstedition broke his maiden in his debut in April of this year. His record is 19-8-7-2 and has collected $394,875 in purse money.
“My wife said I was stupid [on supplementing the gelding for $72,000',” said Lester Schmucker. “I thought we were home free when we hit the top of the stretch. I can’t describe the feeling [of winning the elimination and making the final].
“We supplemented him after the sire stakes final because we felt he deserved the chance to race against these horses. We’ve always thought he was talented, and he survived a barn fire and an injury with lots of rehab. We are so thankful to be here and feel he has a real shot.”
Essig’s second Indiana elimination victor is Kobes Gigi. The four-year-old daughter of JK Endofanera-Twin Oaks Tess will be steered by Dunn and is 5-2 on the morning line in the $400,000 Open Mare Pace.
The mare will leave from post position five. She is owned by Leander Schwartz and Black And White Stable.
Kobes Gigi was bred by Harvey Fry and is no stranger to Hoosier Park as she finished second in the Indiana Super Final as a three-year-old. She has been extremely competitive on the Grand Circuit in a career where she has amassed a record of 50-14-15-4 and earned $568,512. She was trained earlier this year by Richard “Nifty” Norman.
“I was very pleased with her,” Essig said after the elimination. “She’s had a lot of bad luck, and she finally got a great trip and showed us what she’s really made of. We’d been racing her in an open bridle and Dexter said she was kind of [looking around] in her last start, so we put cups on her with slits and he said she was on her ‘A’ game.
“She gives her all. She’s a gutty girl.”
Coach Stefanos will vie for his Breeders Crown in the $600,000 contest for sophomore colt and gelding pacers. The son of Tellitlikeitis-Watch N Be Watched is 8-1 on the morning line in Race 13. The gelding is trained by Erv Miller and Trace Tetrick, who has won Hoosier Park’s driving title for 10 straight years, will have the driving duties.
Coach Stefanos has finished second in the Indiana Super Finals the last two years. He has a record of 24-8-1 and accumulated $625,920.
The gelding was bred by Victory Hill Farm and is owned by Kenneth Duffy, D & M Trading II and John Stefanos.
“That was his best performance and it’s what we needed to go into the Breeders Crown [final],” Miller said about Coach Stefanos’ 1:50.3 elimination victory. “If we have a little luck and he comes back to that this week, we’ll have a shot at it. He was stellar.”
Ponda Warrior will be last but certainly not the least of the Indiana Breeders Crown contingent. This year’s Dan Patch Invitational winner is 12-1 on the morning line in the $600,000 Open Pace. The four-year-old stallion and driver Wilfong will begin pacing their mile from post position four in Saturday’s 15th and final race.
The son of Rockin Image-Sweetnsinful is an Indiana champion and was fifth in the Breeders Crown at age three. Ponda Warrior is trained by Jay Hochstetler, who is having a career year, and is owned by his conditioner, Finkelberg Racing and South Of The Tracks Racing. He was bred by Pond-A-Acres.
The gelding has earned $729,656 and sports a resume of 36-12-10-5. He was third in his elimination.
“He’s the horse of a lifetime,” Hochstetler said in the winner’s circle after the Dan Patch triumph.
Harrah’s Hoosier Park hosts all four Breeders Crown finals for two-year-olds on Friday. The remaining eight finals, for three-year-olds and older, are Saturday. First post time for both the Friday and Saturday Breeders Crown cards of harness racing at Harrah's Hoosier Park will be 6 p.m. Live video for both nights will be available through the Standardbred Canada website.
(USTA)