Bergman: A special Breeders Crown 3-year-old Filly quartet

In the rich history of the Breeders Crown there has never been a field assembled with the overall speed, depth and talent that will show up this Saturday night in the $500,000 final for 3-year-old trotting fillies. That was assured last Saturday when all four of the division’s heavy hitters managed to reach the final, with Atlanta and Plunge Blue Chip by virtue of convincing victories, and Manchego and Phaetosive by meeting the requirements of a top-four finish.

If anything, by the last week in October the wear and tear has shown on a few of these. While Atlanta and Plunge Blue Chip were able to come out of Kentucky’s two-heat Futurity and keep their form, Manchego, the Hambletonian Oaks winner that went undefeated last season including a Breeders Crown triumph, was content sitting and finishing third. Phaetosive and trainer-driver Trond Smedshammer looked good on the track and did what they had to do, unless of course you happened to be an unfortunate soul that bet on the daughter of Explosive Matter to win.

So what we have in a final is the rewards of victory and I guess the justice for not showing up. Plunge Blue Chip and Atlanta will start inside from posts one and three respectively in the nine-filly field while Phaetosive and Manchego will line up next to each other. Fate’s reward was posts seven and eight respectively for that pair and while it may just be a starting point as Hambletonian president John Campbell would often say, for this duo it’s the worst of all handicaps.

While last week’s eliminations were contested on an off track, anyone who witnessed the races would conclude that the surface held up extremely well and was likely not a reason to excuse performance. That said, the effort of Hambletonian winner Atlanta was the most encouraging of the group. Following her two-heat performance on the first Saturday in August at The Meadowlands, the daughter of Chapter Seven didn’t look to be the same horse for nearly a month. Fast forward to October and the two heats at the Red Mile, while obviously not as intense as the Hambo, didn’t have the same impact on her follow up this past Saturday. What showed from the outset in Atlanta’s Breeders Crown elimination victory was her quickness at the start and her ability to settle and control matters. Obviously, with both Manchego and Phaetosive in the field, driver Scott Zeron wanted to save as much energy for the second half as possible. That neither rival could get closer to Atlanta than I was sitting trackside at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, was expected given the $25,000 purse when compared with the final at twenty times the value.

Of the four fillies, Atlanta appears to have a preference for the Pocono surface. Her elimination victory aside, Atlanta had two ridiculously impressive qualifiers over the track in June and July and one that included a 26-flat final quarter. That’s a rarity for trotters on a mile track but unthinkable on a five-eighths surface.

It’s hard to say what is at stake in this Breeders Crown division, as Atlanta’s resume beating the boys gives her a leg up on the other fillies. At the same time, a victory against three other would-be champions could be enough to elevate her to overall Horse of the Year stature.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet as the race has not been run and Plunge Blue Chip and company will have a say in the final results. Trainer Ake Svanstedt has proven his mettle in North America and this year his standout sophomore trotters have been battle-tested and continue to race at an extremely high level. Though Plunge Blue Chip defeated Atlanta in her Kentucky Futurity filly elimination heat, the daughter of Muscle Mass took herself out of contention with an untimely break in the final. The miscue could have been a sign of a lot of things, but her return to action last Saturday and another stellar performance is a credit to Svanstedt and his team and certainly a credit to the Plunge Blue Chip who methodically went overland and crushed her rivals in a respectable 1:53 3/5 clocking.

Plunge Blue Chip drew the inside track but that may only serve to protect her from yielding to seven other rivals with Atlanta’s quickness likely to overpower her when the gate accelerates.

The key for Plunge Blue Chip and Svanstedt may be in how many other horses attempt to leave and whether he cares to protect the pocket or not. While Atlanta’s presence on the inside track could discourage some, the chance for a pocket trip in a $500,000 contest may be incentive enough for others in the field. Most notably, the recent $300,000 purchase Impinktoo, a solid second-place finisher behind Plunge Blue Chip from well off the pace in her elimination. Trainer Ron Burke’s charge was facing open company for the first time. She had caught many an eye at the Red Mile when she beat late-closer company in a world-record setting 1:49 4/5 clocking. With the draw putting Impinktoo in post nine, an early move may be the only chance she’s got.

While we were able to garner much from the victories and second-place finish of the aforementioned trio, the same cannot be said about Phaetosive and Manchego, at least from what they have done lately. Phaetosive has been managed perfectly by trainer Trond Smedshammer. That said, a strategy of only racing from off the pace can only get you so far. The sacrifice in today’s speed-laden sport is a handicap for sure. When you have a horse with Phaetosive’s talent you can overcome it on most occasions. Perhaps Smedshammer had those thoughts in mind when he made the decision to call on driver George Brennan to take the lines on Saturday. Can we instantly assume that Brennan, known as the ‘Minister of Speed,’ will rewrite the normal race script for Phaetosive? Just as important, can Phaetosive in fact leave the gate and at the same time battle and beat the best?

Then you have Manchego. As great as she’s been throughout two seasons on the racetrack, her last few starts leave something to be desired. While sitting third around the track to Atlanta last week gets her into the final, she’s going to need to be much better this time given the outside draw. With Hall of Fame trainer Jimmy Takter in her corner we have reason to believe she will be better. A victory by her from this spot would give her the division title, but Atlanta’s quickness and brilliant turn of speed gives her the edge in this epic confrontation.