Finding Nehi…errr Niatross

He was a strapping colt with a harness racing gait that stretched further than from here than to downtown Cincinnati.

As he was always clad in coolers of his trainer’s colors of purple, Marie – his caretaker for his entire two year racing career – would call him “Nehi.” It was her play on that grape-flavored soft drink and his actual name.

The two-year-olds that Spring of 1979 were beginning to take shape as new faces and budding stars began to emerge. I had journeyed up from the Meadowlands to Montreal rubbing a pair of colts that were owned by a Canadian businessman and did “the Circuit” between Blue Bonnets and the old Greenwood in Toronto.

With a couple of wins under his belt already the Columbia George colt made everyone take notice when he became the North America season’s leader on a 5/8ths mile track with his first pari-mutuel win in 1:59f besting a select field including Jerry Smith’s 1/2 mile champ Storm Damage.

And when he defeated Dr. John Hayes’s Tyrant and a Jack Kopas quartet of entries in the Count B at Greenwood in an all-time Canadian record, I was both humbled and proud. As I was already enjoying the sights and sounds of mon deu Canada, it was a pleasant surprise.

“They say that Galbraith has a good one,” said Odell Short as he helped me load my gear onto the truck for the ship south to Vernon, NY. Odell knew about good horses as he was up in Toronto for the Canadian Pacing Derby with a three-year-old named Abercrombie who would sport a record p4, 1:53m and $984,391.00 earned.

“Yeah?” I asked skeptically. “What’s his name?”

“Niatross,” answered Odell with an emphasis.

“Niatross,” I said to myself. “Well, let’s see that fastball called Niatross” as the van rolled off.

Vernon Downs in those days definitely earned its “Burnin’ in Vernon” tag and the colt was scheduled for four trips in the evening. A little ‘show and tell.’ When he went his last mile by himself breaking sticks in 1:59.1m he became the talk of the Circuit as they announced it to the fans that Friday night.

Johnny Barker, who had rubbed Triple Crown winner Super Bowl including his championship year of 1972, came up to me the next day.

“You know Tom,” said Barker. “I always believed that the horses take on the personality of their groom. I always wanted to win and Bowl always wanted to win.”

“You’re right,” I agreed with him. “They do,” I added as I motioned towards the colt. “This fella here run off with two local fillies last night, got marinated, and didn’t show up at the barn until 8:30 this morning!”

And I gave him a classic grin.

He just turned and walked away. “You’re unbelievable.”

But still no matchup between Niatross and Dodo Bird.

After an easy win at Syracuse in an overnight we would ship down to Liberty Bell for a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes. Niatross demolished his division as my colt finished a beaten favorite 6th. To this day I still scratch my head.

It was a rough next few weeks with a lot of questions and very little answers but after the end of the month rolled around and with determined voracity and a trip to Johnny Long’s blacksmith shop to check angles etcetera, we had been adamant that there was nothing wrong with him while Niatross took the $862,000 Woodrow Wilson that month easily.

Undaunted Dorado was a $15,000 supplement to the $204,000 Kentucky Pacing Derby at Louisville, Kentucky in a real test of faith.

And who should be in there as well but the undefeated Niatross along with Whamo, Tyler B, Skip By Night, Denali… stop! Stop! STOP! Are we going to get a check?

That Saturday Louisville had written a two-year-old Invitational as a prelude to the Derby. Charlie Clark and Whamo had opted to sit it out and trained him a good mile instead. I meandered over to the kiddies stand and joined a 37-year-old Ivan Suggs (his two boy Kurt and Duke were 10 and 8 respectively) to watch him go.

We had our watches on the World Champion son of Flying Bret and both got the same time.

“Two minutes,” said Ivan as he glanced at his watch.

“Yep,” I agreed.

Niatross jiggy-jogged that night in 1:59. Dorado, after not racing for close to a month, paced in ‘59.3h and was third. He handled the turns “extremely well.” I was happy. The little horse was back.

The next week in came the papers and TV and ESPN as the race was really hyped-up. Even the truckers along the interstate were squawking about the match-up between Niatross and Whamo over their CBs.

Our midweek training trips came and were captured on ESPN as they interviewed several of us. Then the draw. Niatross and Whamo were on the far outside.

I always said that being in the middle of a news frenzy was tantamount to traveling in the eye of a hurricane. There’s a storm swirling all around you but it is best just to stay focused.

Marie Carson, a college girl fresh out of school, handled the incessant publicity shots of Nehi with a grace and demeanor of a seasoned professional as she did throughout the big horse’s career.

The warmups, the crowd surging by the fence as you went by, the call to Post Parade.

Word came that 50% of Niatross had just been sold for three? Five? Six million dollars? It turned out to be $2.5 million. But the strain on Clint Galbraith’s face was evident.

And as the colts went out one by one the stanzas of My Old County Home wafted throughout the grounds. And then it was out of our hands.

“The Starter calls the pacers… the pacers move in behind the gate for the $204,000 Kentucky Pacing Derby.”

And they were OFF!

And at that moment, so wasn’t the sound system.

Silent running.

And a million things that could go wrong flashed briefly in my mind.

But in 1 minute and 58.3 seconds and a deafening roar of the overflow crowd the race was over.

My charge had parked Whamo with Niatross three wide to the quarter as Whamo took the lead and continued to rim Niatross to a half in: 57.4 where the 1-9 favorite grabbed command and brought us home.

And the undefeated Niatross had prevailed once again. Dorado finished second as Whamo finished back. It would be Whamo’s last race as well.

Later in the week Marie shared a video of the race with the group of us. An unbelievable performance by any horse let along a two-year-old with only 8 starts under his belt.

We shipped the short trip to Lexington as the whole of the Grand Circuit was abuzz about the race.

As I walked into the track kitchen for coffee the next morning Hall of Famer Frank Ervin was saying to future Hall of Famer Ned Bower that they “think he (Dorado) can beat him (Niatross).”

“I don’t think so,” I thought but I admit I did succumb to the hype and seeing the colt’s attitude, did ponder the possibility.

Niatross won the Bluegrass in hand in 1:58.1m.

The next matchup was the International Stallion Stake in 11 days.

Our training trips that week had hundreds of watches on them and caused a stir with a last half in ‘57.4.

Race day was a bit cool and overcast.

And we were about to finally find Nehi.

Two straight heats of challenging Niatross put everyone in their place as he captured the trophy for fun and remained undefeated as he took the victory in 1:56.2m.

The veteran horsemen who numbered throughout the grandstand and paddock agreed that he could have beaten the three-year-olds in the Tattersalls that day who went in 1:56.1m …and they were not a bunch of slouches either.

A Legend was born.

To watch the Legend Of Niatross, click here.

We finished out the year a bit more in touch with reality and headed into the Winter break to await the uncertainty of the upcoming Season.

And to watch Niatross’ Summer of 1980 …I heard you went up to Saratoga.

Coming up next time.

by Thom Pye, for Harnesslink