A glance at the two-year-old pacing colts

As the Mane Attraction continues with efforts for eligible voters to select the leaders in their various harness racing divisions, we continue with the two-year-old pacing colts and geldings.

There looked to be about a dozen juveniles deserving a look in here and this expose’, hopefully, will give the voters an unprejudiced look at their credentials.

Again, this Mane Attraction is not endorsing any horse but, rather, is posted so all voters can make intelligent decisions in an important part of harness racing history.

Here’s the “dirty dozen” ranked shown by earnings for the 2023 season through Breeders Crown night.

Better Is Nice (Bettor’s Wish) showed serious talent this season with seven wins in 11 starts and was never off the board until one of the most important nights in the sport—Breeders Brown night. With his biggest payday in the $400,000 Kentucky Sire Stake Final in 1:50.3—his seasonal mark—he also showed remarkable sprinting power by powering home in a scintillating :25.4 to win a KYSS event two starts prior.

In his Breeders Crown Elimination, he was off-the-pace early on but rallied home in :26.2 to score in 1:50.3 before a 10th place finish in the Crown, which was won by Gem Qualify in an upset. Better Is Nice finished his campaign with $510,120, which was tops in his division.

Captain Albano (Captaintreacherous) was an ultra-consistent performer with a 7-2-0 scorecard in nine starts, good for $445,680 and performed the fastest winning time of all juvenile pacing colts and geldings with a 1:49.2 win in the $87,000 Bluegrass at The Red Mile. By the way, his last three-quarters in that event was 1:21.1. His first major win was in the $252,000 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Final, covering that Pocono Downs event in 1:50.2.

While he did show some versatility winning from off-the-pace, it appears that he liked joining the fray from the get-go, enjoying many of his wins in the garden spot. On BC night, he made a confident quarter-move to the top, reached the top in :54.2 (his fastest) but, despite his :27.1 kick home, was out-kicked in the final yards and finished second.

Gem Quality (Captain Crunch) won $438,940 in his initial season and compiled a very respectable 4-1-1 scorecard in his eight starts and saved his best performance for the Breeders Crown, in which he used his fastest final quarter of his year—:26.1—to mow down the leader in the final stages, earning $350,000 for his 1:50 effort. He began his season with success in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes events, traveled up north of the border to Woodbine-Mohawk with a solid performance in the Metro warm-up (3rd) but an unlucky draw in the $717,800 Metro Final dulled his chances and he became a “1 percent-er.”

He gave a strong hint in the Breeders Crown Elim by taking charge and opening some daylight but got tracked down by Better Is Nice. Of course, he made up for that in the final with a brilliant performance at both ends of his mile.

Captain’s Quarters (Captaintreacherous) got a late start to the juvenile parade and his season was an abbreviated six weeks with five starts with a pair of wins, one second and two thirds in those starts. Beginning his career with a win in a NW1 event, he found his best stride in the $717.800 Metro at Woodbine-Mohawk with a 1:49.3 performance—this after a quarter move to the front and carving up panels of :55.1 and 1:22.1 along the way. His entire five race career was up north of the border.

Clever Cody (The Panderosa) had success in the U.S. and up Canadian way with much of his success in the Ohio Sire Stakes program, winning at Northfield, and Scioto Downs with his biggest payday in the $300,000 Ohio Sire Stakes Final at Scioto. From there, he went north and took his 1:50.4 mark at Woodbine-Mohawk in the Metro warmup before a respectable third in the Metro, timed in 1:49.4 to Captain’s Quarters.

Boston Rocks (Boston Red Rocks) A hard-luck colt that was in so many photos that they “almost ran out of film!” He had a very respectable 4-5-2 scorecard in a busy 13 starts, good for earnings of $352,922 but was in photo finishes in the $156,000 NYSS event at Yonkers, the $87,000 Bluegrass at The Red Mile and the $71,000 International Stallion Stake in Kentucky. He got the better end of the photo in the $225,000 NYSS at Yonkers. In the Breeders Crown, heavy traffic prevented being in the top five and he, too, wound up a “one-percenter!” Yes, his mark is “only 1:54..1, but he was a fast closing neck away from a mark of 1:50.1.

Captain Luke (Captaintreacherous) began his career at The Meadowlands and immediately showed promise ripping off a qualifying mile in 1:53.3—:26.1 before earning minor checks in the Kindergarten at The Big M. Traveling north of the border, he picked up checks up at Woodbine-Mohawk in Stakes and was a solid fourth in the Metro before moving to Lexington with similar results in the International Stallion Stake. He just missed in his BC Elim by a head, closing in :25.4. A winner of $332,109, he saved his best performances until the end of his campaign, winning the $454,000 Governor’s Cup at The Meadowlands in his last start, using a :26.2 closing kick home to win in 1:51-his two-year-old mark. In the BC Final, he was shuffled to 10th turning for home, closed in :26.3 and, of course, was a “one-percenter!”

Legendary Hanover (Huntsville) came out of the “gate” like gangbusters winning his first six starts up north of the border with two of those wins in 1:50 flat, the first in the Dream Maker at Woodbine-Mohawk featuring a final half in :54 and the other in the Champlain with a :53.4 final half and kick home in :26.2. After a win in the Metro warmup in 1:51, he was second in 1:49.3—just a half a length short—to Captain’s Quarters in the $717,800 Final.

On to the Breeders Crown eliminations at Hoosier Park, he paced his fastest final quarter of his season—:25.3—but was just too far out of it turning for home (10 lengths) to get to the winner and finished second, setting up his Breeders Crown race and a chance to vault to the top spot in earnings in this division. Leaving from post nine, he got in a war of sorts during a :26 opener but that sting proved too much and he finished ninth against Gem Quality. Being a “one-percenter” in that event, Legendary Hanover closed out his campaign with $303,114.

Storm Shadow (Bettor’s Delight) also spent the beginning of his career in Canada and peaked as his season went on. He gave a big hint in the Metro at Woodbine-Mohawk finishing fifth showing severe pace—:26.2—coming home and then went on a three-race winning streak beginning at Flamboro downs in Ontario Sire Stakes action and, in his next start at Woodbine-Mohawk, used a stout rally late to capture the $219,000 Ontario SS Final-his biggest payday. He ran his streak to three in the Breeders Crown Elimination, using g a :26.1 finale to score in 1:52 and did get third (but no threat to the first two) in the BC Final, vaulting his seasonal bankroll just a “ns” short of $300,000.

Noblesville (JK Endofanera) had a busy season with 15 starts with four of them being winning efforts, the fastest in 1:51.3 at Hoosier Park. He showed promise in his very first start when he won a NW1 event in the slop at Hoosier Park in 1:54.1—:54.3—:26.1 and a Sire Stakes event in 1:51.3, which turned out to be his mark for the season. He finished fifth in the Fox Stake at the Indy Fairgrounds and finally found the winner’s circle again at Hoosier Park in mid-September.

A game second in the $116,000 Elevation at the HoP, he came back to win a SS event there leading up to a game second place effort in the $250,000 SS Final. He made the $700,000 Breeders Crown Final after finishing fourth in his elimination but a second tier post doomed his chances, though he did kick home in :27 to earn the fifth place check—$31.500. He closed out his season with a fourth in the Matron at Dover Downs, followed by a fifth in the Governor’s Cup preview at The Meadowlands and, with the 10 post, a ninth in the final.

Newsroom (Always B Miki) looked unbeatable when the wings opened on his season winning the Tompkins, sweeping the Kindergarten—the final in 1:50.1—and the New Jersey Classic at The Meadowlands in 1:49.4 before moving on to Hoosier to hold on in the $116,000 Elevation in 1:51.4—:26.4. On to Lexington for the Bluegrass, he cut serious panels and got caught near the wire by Captain Albano in a 1:49.2 mile. He did come back to win the International Stallion Stake at The Red Mile, holding off Boston Red Rocks by a head in 1:50.1 but, in the Breeders Crown Elimination, his :25.4 opener proved to be a bit too much by the time they reached the wire as he finished third.—three lengths away.

In the BC Final, he moved into contention turning for home but finished seventh. His final two starts for the season were at at The Meadowlands, where he was second in the Governor’s Cup preview and seventh in the final to Captain Luke.

Funtime Bayama (He’s Watching) spent his entire season of seven starts up in Canada putting together a four race winning streak in Stakes events at Woodbine-Mohawk and Flamboro Downs. His fastest performance was a 1:50.1 win in SS action, finishing with a 4-2-1 scorecard in seven starts and $182,767. The gelding’s last start was in the $219,000 SS Final where he was bothered a bit early, made a quarter move to the top but was caught by Storm Shadow, and Crush Kill Destroy and finished third.

For those that used the win column as a barometer, Dance In Style (Dancing Yankee) won 10 races in 15 starts on the Ohio Fair Circuit, good for $67,996 with this gelding taking a mark of 1:55.1 at Delaware, O-HI-O.

Rock The Hill (Racing Hill) also won 10 races in 13 starts, with this gelding also taking his mark—1:55—at Delaware, Ohio during Jug week. He banked $25,951.

Comparing this year’s class with others in the past in the earnings column, the richest five two-year-olds on the pace in history are Redskin ($1,407,263 in 1986), Nihilator ($1,361,267 in 1984), Fortune Teller ($1,313,175 in 1982), Praised Dignity ($1,194,715 in 1984) and Artsplace (1,180,271 in 1990).

As far as wins go, Laddie Boy holds that mark with 27 wins in 37 starts as a two-year-old back in 1980. He made $74,916 that season.

The fastest two-year-old mark remains at 1:48.3 by Elver Hanover (2019) and Caviart Camden (2021)…both geldings.

“May The Horse Be With You”

by John Berry, for Harnesslink