Captainryanmichael seeks biggest win of his career

“I’m not the kind of person that’s a glass half-full guy because I always knock wood — which is my head,” the horse’s breeder and co-owner said. “But I would hope to think he’s as good as anybody in there. If he gets the right trip and the right mind. . . .”

Held is hoping he has gotten in that state of mind after a few ups and downs this season.

Tim Tetrick drove the colt to victory in 1:51.3 in the W.N. Reynolds Memorial at The Meadowlands on Sept. 3, and second in 1:52 in a Kindergarten leg Sept. 10. But on Oct. 15, he went off stride in a conditioned race at Harrah’s Philadelphia.

“We thought he would do well at (Philly),” Held said. “(Driver) Dave Miller pulled the plugs on the turn and spooked the horse. He didn’t do that on purpose, of course you don’t expect the horse to be spooked. But he lost it a little bit.”

Thus, trainer Joe Pavia Jr. worked with the horse on pulling the plugs, and everything was fine. At least until his next start, again at Harrah’s Philadelphia, in a division of the John Simpson Memorial.

“But then Tim (Tetrick) was with him, and he did the same thing,” Held continued. “So, we’re hoping he’s not going backwards and had one day in the sun and that was it. He went back to The Meadowlands and went back to his old self last week. He had the big, long stretch once you pulled the plug there, and he didn’t shy away or do anything stupid about it. He just behaved.

“Tim gave him a perfect drive, of course, but he did really win very easily, so we’re optimistic. But I don’t take anything for granted.”

Captainryanmichael is by Captaintreacherous out of Pucker Up. Held has a piece of the horse along with Pavia and Tom Maloney. Held and Pavia have been best friends for over 30 years and Joe was given the training duties.

“He said, ‘You know what, I’m not sure about your homebreds but I like this one,’” Held said.

Pavia likes it for several reasons. One of them being that the horse is partly named after his 11-year-old son, Michael. “Captain” comes from Captaintreacherous while “Ryan Michael” is Held’s 10-year-old grandson. The fact Michael is Pavia’s son’s name made it even nicer.

And while Held noted that the horse is nice, he is quick to point out the colt has an attitude.

“He’s a friendly horse, a nice horse, but he’s a stud horse so you have to be careful,” Held said. “Joe does fine with him, but each week as he gets racier, he gets a little more difficult to handle. He’s full of himself.”

As for his mindset on the track, the horse seems to enjoy a target.

“I think he’s much better from behind,” Held said. “I think that’s what Tim and Dave Miller think. Even when he was qualified, the idea was to race from behind and learn how to pass horses. He does have a desire. He likes to race and pass horses.”

He enters the biggest race of his career in good health, thanks to Pavia’s gentle handling.

“That’s half the battle,” said Held, who looks at Hammering Hank and Early Action as two of the biggest challengers in a talented field. “The speed and what they have inside to want to do it — and he wants to do it — and to stay healthy are the big things.

“Joe’s done a great job of keeping him healthy. Joe doesn’t want to push horses; if anything he’s very conservative so we end up having a racehorse for the next week and the next year and so on. We didn’t put him in a lot of early races even though he was eligible. We waited for him to tell us he was ready.”

Tetrick will be in the sulky Saturday, and the two have formed a nice bond.

“But what horse doesn’t have good chemistry with Tim Tetrick?” Held said with a laugh. “People have said he has a lot of raw speed and that’s great. The second part of that is learning to race and do your job.

“It’s a really big help to have guys like Timmy or Dave on the horse. They come off and, Joe being a driver, takes what they have to say and makes some changes to him. Tim asked to make a few more changes this weekend so hopefully he’ll be better.”

Either way, Steve is happy he “held” on to the horse after breeding him.

“I respect all the other animals that are in the race,” he said. “But I do like my horse. I wouldn’t trade him.”

The Meadowlands hosts four Kindergarten championships for 2-year-old pacers and trotters on Saturday’s 13-race card, which begins at 6:20 p.m. (EST). For complete entries, click here. For free full-card TrackMaster past performances, click here.

by Rich Fisher, for the USTA