It’s Charlie Clark time

Yes, it’s Charlie Clark time!”

Us “old-timers” know what this means…you “young folk” probably won’t.

Charlie Clark was both a thoroughbred and harness racing trainer…and known for developing our two-year-olds in a hurry.

He would have been celebrating his 100th birthday this July.

I often think of him when I see what two-year-olds have become in this modern age of speed.

One of my favorite Charlie Clark two-year-olds was a Flying Bret colt by the name of Whamo, who could have been two-year-old pacer of the year in 1979…had it not been that he had a classmate by the name of Niatross.

Whamo was 8-for-14 that year and had a 8-2-3 scorecard winning $316,803 to go along with a “Q” mark of 1:57.1 at Vernon Downs, when that great New York track still had that three-quarter mile oval with that chute…lotsa :27 quarters back when they were very fashionable.

In the Woodrow Wilson Pace at The Meadowlands, I believe he was favored over Niatross in the wagering, finishing second.

Whamo was great and got a few headlines…Niatross was great PR and got most of ‘em.

Charlie Clark had some really excellent performers from the early 1960’s to the mid-1980’s, including Arabesque, Starlight Way, Linger Awhile, Tamerlane, The Great Gatsby and the aforementioned Flying Bret.

During his career lasting over a quarter century, he never drove in as many as 150 races in a season but was always a high percentage driver with “batting averages” consistently in the “high” 3’s and “4’s” with an occasional “5” in the mix.

I thought of Charlie Clark when I saw the first two-year-olds of the season pop up—Lu’s Darling (Rusty’s For Real) and Woody’s Girl (Rusty’s For Real).

They were in a Rosecroft Raceway qualifier on April 30 and almost finished in a dead-heat—Lu’s Darling a scant nose in front of Woody’s Girl—Lu’s Darling fourth and Woody’s Girl fifth…in 2:05… 41 3/4 lengths back of a three-year-old winner.

So why Woody’s Girl and why Lu’s Darling?

Well, they are the first juveniles I have noticed, and their trainers are exact opposites when it comes to our grand sport.

Lu’s Darling is trained by Jerry Nock and Woody’s Girl is under the guidance of Kasey Bendix.

Jerry and Kasey never seem to get (m)any headlines…yet Jerry has just celebrated his 80th birthday and has been in the harness racing game for close to a half century—and THAT, in itself, DESERVES A HEADLINE and ACCOLADES.

Kasey is a relatively new component to our grand industry—this being her fourth season but, finally, got a few headlines courtesy of Fancy Like That (Rusty’s For Real) the star of the stable with the filly winning seven of nine as a two-year-old last season and $71,500 to go along with a mark of 1:54.2.

The filly has a pair of wins this semester, as well, the latest being in the Maryland Sire Stakes in 1:54.4.

But, as the season progresses, headlines are more difficult to achieve so, Lu’s Darling and Woody’s Girl get the “first call” just for showing up.

Of course, these days, success is measured mostly by the “Benjamins” which makes Land Grant’s million-dollar season so special as the first two-year-old to achieve that lofty plateau…and that was way back 44 years ago!

The year 1984 was special as both Nihilator ($1,361,367) and Praised Dignity ($1,194,715) both vaulted over the magic million mark in their two-year-old season.

Yet the two-year-olds are still chasing the 1986 record of Redskin when he won $1,407,263.

The only filly on the million-dollar list is Snow White, the amazing trotting filly that won $1,252,646 as a two-year-old to go along with an amazing mark of 1:52.4.

But the wars of racing can be difficult and, just when Snow White, then three, was rounding into her, hopefully, two-year-old form when she had a tough journey in the Hambletonian Oaks and a tougher one in the Colonial, which ended her racing career.

Yes, the wars of racing can be tough on everyone—both human and equine.

Of course, winning is important, too, and “times” have changed as those current records go back over 40 years!

Of all the two-year-old trotters and pacers that have won 20 or more races in their juvenile season, the vast majority—over 70%—won less than $50,000 with the extreme examples being the gelding Timely Beau (24 wins and $3,572 in 1977) and Rusty Long, also a gelding, with 20 wins and $1,243 in bounty, also in 1977.

No headlines for them…except here in this Mane Attraction!

And then there’s the pacing filly C.A.Gano, who made a reported 95 starts as a 1977 two-year-old, earning $982 with a mark of 2:17.2h over the Oskaloosa, Iowa half-miler.

Others on the million dollar two-year-old list include last year’s trotting sensations T C I and Karl…and the filly Venerable etched her name on the select list in 2021, as well.

The all-but-forgotten I Am A Fool gained entry on this select list of 16 back in 2003 with the trotting filly Poof She’s Gone enshrined in 2009…Remember?

Fortune Teller back in 1982…in only nine starts and, of course, Artsplace still needs no introduction 34 years after joining the million-dollar list back in 1990.

That same year, Die Laughing and the grand filly Miss Easy vaulted over $1,000,000 as a two-year-old with Jereme’s Jet achieving entry to the list in just seven starts in 2005 and the trotting filly Venerable edged over the plateau in 2021.

While speed has become the essential component in earning power, Caviart Camden, tied with the gelding Elver Hanover and the filly Warrawee Upbeaut as the fastest two-year-old pacers ever at 1:48.3, did NOT reach $100,000 in earnings—$84,635—leading to the question “Which is more important—speed or earnings?”

While Warrawee Upbeaut did race through the age of five with sub-1:50 performances every season, she never eclipsed her two-year-old mark but compiled very impressive lifetime earnings of $1,849,213 as one of the best ever…especially at ages two and three.

Elver Hanover is still performing on the track with his best showing ever at two still intact.

He was a terror on the track sweeping through stakes in Ohio in 2019 before rolling into The Red Mile where he etched his name on the record books in the Bluegrass.

Caviart Camden is also still racing but his best performance ever was as a juvenile when he was known for his :26.1 final quarter sprints home.

Yes, the 2:10 two-year-old list of yesteryear has become the 1:50 two-year-old list of today…and 1:50 may not be good enough in the near future to be even in that list.

Heck, the top 30 list only travels down to 1:49.2 making it even tougher for the upcoming crop featuring hundreds and hundreds of two-year-olds like Lu’s Darling and Woody’s Girl to get the headlines, or, even more important, the “Benjamins” in today’s world of speed.

So, this Mane Attraction gives the headlines to LU’S DARLING and WOODY’S GIRL and their respective trainers, JERRY NOCK and KASEY BENDIX.

Hopefully, this will be the first of many headlines for both…but I doubt it!

May the horse be with you!

by John Berry, for Harnesslink