Muscle Mountain a possibility for Yonkers International Trot?

Harness racing superstar Muscle Mountain’s (Muscle Hill) demolition job a fortnight ago at Addington Raceway, where he broke his own national record for 1980m, coincided with my first-ever visit to Yonkers Raceway, home of the $1 million (US) Yonkers International Trot.

I was left speechless watching the Greg and Nina Hope-trained gelding, who we all knew was a freak. What struck me, however, was the thought that he might somehow still be on the up. 2:21.8 for the sprint distance with a 1:55.2 mile rate is, simply put, quite astonishing when you consider he never saw the marker pegs and was under a hold at the finish.

MUSCLE MOUNTAIN REPLAY

It got me thinking that given this horse is almost peerless over the short course and quite possibly the best we have ever produced in terms of sheer speed, how would he stack up in a race like the International Trot run over a distance that is only 20m or so further?

The 2022 edition was run in warm weather on a Saturday afternoon on the beautifully cambered half-mile track at Yonkers. As the name suggests for our Down Under audience unfamiliar with the race, it is truly an international affair pitting the best of North American trotting with some of the best talents from Europe whose connections are brave enough to accept the invite and compete for the rich stake on offer.

The most recent winner was the Norwegian trotter, Cokstile (Cocktail Jet), who came from off the pace with the hot speed being set up by Anke Svanstedt and Ecurie D to win easily in a time of 2.23 for the mile and half journey, which on paper was 1.2 seconds slower than Muscle Mountain’s recent national record.

While the stopwatch would indicate that Muscle Mountain may well be the perfect horse to put New Zealand trotting on the map and contest such a feature, it got me thinking. Would the Hope family and his owner Ian Dobson consider an invite to such a race, or would it be left up to speculation as to whether he would be competitive?

“We would jump at it if we got an invite to the race,” said his co-trainer, Greg Hope.

“It would obviously be up to Dobby (Ian Dobson), and I know at his age he is just happy to see the horse racing so well here, and while he wouldn’t be up to traveling himself, I dare say if he could get an invite, he would be up to the challenge as well.

“I don’t think the smaller track there would be a concern. He would be super on a half-mile track where he can fly the bends and would get around as smaller track as you put him on because he is just so beautifully gaited. I’m not saying he would turn up and win because there are no certainties in racing, but we would love the chance to show how good he is. He’s a once-in-a-lifetime horse,” he said.

Muscle Mountain’s ability to fly the mobile with his customary gate speed is a weapon that would have him incredibly well suited to North American conditions where a lot of racing only has the one front line.

Hope believes Muscle Mountain has the potential to go places no down under trotter has dared go before and trot a sub 1:50 mile.

“I’ve got no doubt he would be able to trot 1:49 under suitable conditions. He sat parked over 1700m at Ashburton (mile track) a few years ago and went a 1:53 mile rate without really being urged, and he has come a long way from there and has just kept on improving to be fair. While he is better than most horses over the long distances, I mean he has broken 4 minutes for two miles, he is far better suited to running races over 2600m or less.

MUSCLE MOUNTAIN 1700M NATIONAL RECORD REPLAY

“Personally, I think he is only getting better. Just in his temperament at home, in the past, we could only really jog him if we had leaders on, so he knew it was going to be a jog day. If you put him in the cart on his own, he would go good for a round, and then you would be swinging on him, trying to hang onto him. I can jog him down the beach now and things like that, so he is just like any other horse now, really,” he said.

Given he ran second in last years Dominon Trot, the holy grail of NZ Trotting, I posed to hope whether the October timing of the race would concern him given it would likely rule out a chance at redemption.

“We have been lucky enough to win a Dominion with Monbet (Love You) and he won every major group race here in New Zealand. They are once-in-a-lifetime horses, and being such an out and out speed horse, it would be an exciting prospect and I don’t think the Dominion would be something we forgo an invite for and have a go at,” he said.

North American followers should note that Paramount Legend (Father Patrick), a three-year-old currently in work with Svanstedt Stables was a runner in last year’s Peter Haughton Memorial making him the first NZ bred trotter to appear in the feature, is a close relative of Muscle Mountain, being out of half-sisters.

It is one of the best families in the NZ studbook, and an invite from the Yonkers Raceway team for Muscle Mountain might give everyone the chance to realise it is one of the best trotting families in the world, bringing new meaning also to the name, International Trot!

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink