Dover In Motion ready to take a bite of the apple

Hightstown, NJ — No matter the season, Dover In Motion (Dover Dan-Keystone Sadie) gives harness racing co-owner/trainer Jamie Macomber a warm feeling.

An apple-eating machine in the barn, Dover In Motion has been devouring the racetrack since returning in October from a 10-month layoff because of an injury. The 5-year-old male trotter has hit the board in 13 of 15 starts, winning nine and earning $147,760. His victories during that span included a track-record-equaling 1:52.1 score in December at Hollywood Dayton Raceway, a triumph that was part of an eight-race winning streak.

For his career, he has won 19 of 40 races, including an Indiana Sire Stakes championship at 2, and banked $586,670.

“He’s a good boy,” said Macomber, who owns Dover In Motion with M & M Racing. “He loves his job. I’ve never trained a horse that loves his job like this horse. Sometimes during the winter when it’s cold he jogs last and he’s just one of those horses where you don’t mind going with that last one because he’s such a pleasure. He’s perfect in every way.

“He’s handsome; he’s big and strong. He eats perfectly, he sleeps, he takes care of himself like no other horse in my barn. He plays just as much as he needs to entertain himself. He’s amazing.”

Honeycrisp apples are Dover In Motion’s favorite treat. He will eat several pounds of them a week.

“He loves apples,” Macomber said. “I’d bring a Honeycrisp apple to work every day. I’d take a bite out of it as I walked out of my office, and he’d hear me eating it and come out with his ears up and his eyes open. He knew he was getting half of it.”

She added, with a laugh, “Then I just started buying him his own bags. I figured he deserved more than half an apple.”

Dover In Motion raced from this past October to mid-February, then was turned out for a month to freshen up for the stakes season. On Saturday, he will face seven foes in the $145,150 Arthur J. Cutler Memorial for older trotters at The Meadowlands.

He heads to the race off back-to-back second place finishes in the Open at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. In the most recent on May 11, he was beaten by a half-length by millionaire mare M-M’s Dream, whose time of 1:51.1 equaled the track record for a female trotter. The record was established by Jiggy Jog S, one of Dover In Motion’s Cutler rivals, in last year’s Breeders Crown Mare Trot final.

Dover In Motion came home with a :25.4 last quarter.

“To get beat by (M-M’s Dream) is no shame in his game,” said Macomber, who is based in Indiana. “It was probably one of the best starts of his career. It’s the straightest he’s ever been, the fastest last quarter he’s ever come. That’s what I feel like he comes home when I’m training at Hoosier. He’s a beast in the stretch.”

Dover In Motion will start the Cutler Memorial from post one with David Miller in the sulky. He is 6-1 on the morning line. Jiggy Jog S is the 2-1 favorite. Returning champion Venerate is the 7-2 second choice.

After the Cutler Memorial, Dover In Motion will head to Harrah’s Philadelphia for the Maxie Lee Memorial Invitational on May 26. Other stakes engagements this season include the Maple Leaf Trot, Charlie Hill Memorial, Dayton Trotting Derby, and Breeders Crown.

“He’s a horse that will always make me smile,” Macomber said. “He’s so handsome to look at, always has his head over the gate, it’s a good feeling. We are totally blessed.”

The Cutler Memorial will air on Fox Sports 2 as part of a 9-11 p.m. (EDT) broadcast on the network. Racing begins at 6:20 p.m. at The Meadowlands. For free TrackMaster programs for the Big M, click here.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA