British pacer set for U.S. success

Ayr Corleon made a name for himself in harness racing overseas and will be looking to do the same now in North America.

A 5-year-old male pacer bred in Great Britain and owned by Ireland’s Robert Barry, Ayr Corleon at age 3 was a three-time Group 1 winner, including a Breeders Crown, and British Harness Racing Club award recipient. Overall, the son of BHRC Hall of Fame stallion Hasty Hall out of the Western Ideal mare Sold Out had 10 victories, three seconds and a third in 19 races in Great Britain and Ireland.

Late last fall, Ayr Corleon landed in the U.S. and the stable of trainer Per Engblom. He won a qualifier in 1:56.1 on Dec. 21 at The Meadowlands and made his North American debut two weeks ago at The Big M, where he finished second by a neck in 1:52.2. He returns to action Saturday at The Meadowlands, where he is the 9-5 morning-line favorite in a $15,500 conditioned pace. He will leave from post eight with Jason Bartlett in the sulky.

“He qualified OK and he raced really good his first time,” Engblom said. “He raced in (1):52 his first start and I hope he takes a step forward from that. It was a really good mile.”

Engblom, who finished second in wins (357) and third in purses ($7.35 million) among trainers in North America last year, was contacted through Facebook to see if he was interested in training Ayr Corleon.

“He won a lot of races and the people I spoke to said he’s a nice horse,” Engblom said about the gelding, who was bred by Ryan O’Neil of esteemed Ayr Standardbreds in Scotland. “We trained him for a month or so before we started to tighten him up, and he’s responded well. Obviously, he’s got to learn our types of tracks and our style of racing, but so far, he’s been adapting very well.

“He’s got a lot of strength and stamina. He lacked a little bit of speed, but I think that has been coming very well with our training and the faster miles he’s been getting. He’s got a little bit of a mind of his own, but he’s super nice to be around. He’s very pleasant.”

Engblom will take his time with Ayr Corleon to give him the opportunity to transition into his career in the States.

“Plan A was to get him to the races and see how he develops and adjusts to our style of racing,” said Engblom, who set a career high for purses in 2024. “I think we’re filling those shoes pretty good, but we’ll see.

“It feels like The Meadowlands is a really good place for him right now because it teaches him a little bit of speed. Then we’ll see down the line where we take him and race him. Right now, I’m really happy to race him at The Meadowlands. He’s a big, strong horse. With his size and his gait, there is no better place out here in the east than The Meadowlands to develop a horse, I think.”

Racing begins at 6:20 p.m. (EST) at The Meadowlands. For free Big M programs, visit the track’s website.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA