Papis Pistol fires for DePinto

For much of this season, harness racing trainer Sam DePinto told people that his 2-year-old male pacer Papis Pistol (Papi Rob Hanover) was going to put it all together one day and go a big mile.

This past Saturday, Papis Pistol won a division of the Kindergarten Classic Series at The Meadowlands in gate-to-wire fashion in 1:49.3.

“That was the one,” DePinto said with a laugh. “I told my partners, I know this horse will pace (1):48, (1):49 this year. I know he will. But until he does it, and he finally did it and I don’t look like a fool.

“I didn’t expect him to do it on the front end, I thought he would do it off a helmet. That really surprised me. That was even more special. It was 51 degrees and there was a wind blowing. It wasn’t like a perfect night. But every quarter was 27 (seconds) and a tick and he did it very comfortably. He’s a good colt. He’s definitely one of the top ones.”

Only five freshman male pacers have gone faster than 1:49.3 this year. On Saturday, Papis Pistol will look to put it all together again when he faces nine rivals in the $148,500 Kindergarten Classic Series final for 2-year-old male pacers at The Meadowlands. The colt will leave from post six with driver Andy Miller and is the 6-5 morning-line favorite.

Papis Pistol led the series in points, with two wins and a second among four starts in the five preliminary rounds. Manolete, who was second in points with a win and two seconds among four outings in the series, is the 5-2 second choice in the final. He will leave from post eight with Scott Zeron driving for trainer Bruce Saunders.

“I think we have a real good chance,” DePinto said. “If (Papis Pistol) races like last week, he’s going to be tough to beat. Manolete is a good colt. You can’t count him out. It should be a good race.”

Papis Pistol is a son of Papi Rob Hanover-Bang Bang, and his family includes the likes of millionaires Kikikatie, Kissin In The Sand, Heston Blue Chip, and Sunfire Blue Chip. The colt was bred by Anthony Perretti Farm, Joseph Davino, and Brad Shackman. He is owned by Shannon DePinto, Chris Arvanitis, and Anthony Perretti.

From early on, DePinto believed Papis Pistol was a talented colt.

“I’ve been doing this my whole life,” DePinto said. “I’m 69 and I started when I was 13. I was fortunate enough to have some good horses along the way, and he compared to those horses when I was training him. You can just tell when you train a good horse versus an average horse. You can feel it. I knew when I was training him that he was a special horse.”

Papis Pistol won his career debut, which came in the Kindergarten, before second-place finishes in the second leg of the Kindergarten and a division of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes. From there, his campaign went through some ups and downs, including making a break in the final of the Metro Pace after finishing third in his elimination. He also made a brief break in the final of the Breeders Crown, where he finished sixth despite a :26.1 last quarter.

“He had some kinks in the road, but hopefully they’re all behind us now,” DePinto said. “I think it’s been more mental with him. He still acts like a baby. He likes to go out and go up on his hind legs. I feel like the Lone Ranger sometimes sitting behind him. He’s just very playful. Once he gets that he’s a racehorse, he’s going to improve on what he’s doing right now. (Last week) he came back, and he couldn’t blow out a match. He had his ears up and his nostrils weren’t even moving. It was like he was saying, are we going to go another heat here, what’s going on?

“That’s what I like about this colt, he doesn’t get tired. He’s got a great set of lungs. He’s got a big motor on him, and he’s a beautiful colt. One night we’re going to knock a big one off. We’ll get our turn. If not this year, next year.”

For this season, Papis Pistol has hit the board in seven of 12 races, winning three and earning $85,283.

“The other miles he was putting in, they weren’t shabby; he was pacing in (1):50, (1):51,” DePinto said. “He just wasn’t where Andy could really drive on. Andy did a great job with him. There were a lot of times where Andy would just steady him a little bit, he couldn’t really give him his head and let him go full boat.

“Now, he’s perfect. Last week he was great gaited, smooth. Andy could do anything he wanted. I was really pleased with that.”

The Big M will host all four Kindergarten finals for 2-year-old pacers and trotters Saturday. First-race post time is 6:20 p.m. (EST). For free programs, visit the track’s website.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA