Breeders Crown: Rich bloodlines throughout 2-Year-Old Filly Trot

It's a rarity no doubt, but among the dozen Breeders Crown championships to be contested this coming weekend (October 28-29) at Woodbine Mohawk Park, there is a specific contest that captures the competitiveness of the breed, along with bloodlines that ooze past Crown champions. The juvenile trotting filly event (race eight on Friday) not only has a cross-section of gifted first-year trotters that have excelled at different times this season, but a bevy of impeccable bloodlines that in themselves trace the steps of the Breeders Crown directly to its very first race.

Considering the inception of the Crown in the early autumn of 1984 at The Red Mile, this year's probable betting choice - Special Way - packs a pedigree that goes way back to the first champion Workaholic, who took the final of the 2-year-old trotting colt event in Lexington and kicked off a series that has elevated the sport exponentially over the last 38 or so years.

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Special Way's performance on the racetrack has been quite incredible since a pair of "learning" efforts at the Meadowlands in July saw her lose a couple of races while closing brilliantly in the stretch. Special Way has captured six straight races since, as driver-trainer Ake Svanstedt has shown the daughter of Walner to be just as good on the front-end as she indicated when coming from off-the-pace. Perhaps the best example of her gait and power came in last week's elimination race on October 21 where she effortlessly put away the pace-setter Mambacita in the stretch and closed out her mile with a 27 2/5 final quarter while under wraps. Yes, it was just an elimination race, but it was another statement race for a filly that appears not to have come close to her bottom to date.

From a pedigree standpoint Special Way hails from the immediate family of 2008 Crown juvenile filly champion Honorable Daughter and is out of a Muscle Hill-sired mare Special Hill, who captured a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes event as a 2-year-old, her only year as a racehorse. Special Way is one of six fillies in the field of 10 from the sparkling second crop of Walner. Walner himself was a 2-year-old Crown champion in 2016.

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Hometown favorite Righteous Resolve has been brilliant in her own right north of the border this year, and the John Bax-trained filly seems poised to make a mark on Friday night. Much as Special Way has been dominant in her last six starts, Righteous Resolve proved decisively that she's not only the best filly in Ontario but perhaps well beyond when she captured the Peaceful Way on August 27 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. As convincing as that victory was, her effort in Grand Circuit competition in the Champlain (Sept. 15) was even better as she flashed 27 second third quarter speed in a blowout career-best 1:53 1/5 clocking. It's hard to put times into perspective, given the 1:52 miles trotted by some in Lexington this year, but it seems fair to say that Righteous Resolve could have easily gone that fast had she raced at The Red Mile this year.

On the pedigree side, Righteous Resolve stands alone as the only horse in the field not sired by a previous Breeders Crown champion. It wasn't for lack of trying that eventual International Trot winner Resolve didn't wear the Breeders Crown. Resolve finished second in 2015 and in 2016 in the Crown Open Trotting events and then was unplaced in the 2017 contest. While Righteous Resolve's dam Motown Muscle has been a phenomenal producer from her first four foals, a victory in the Crown would certify her among the elite worldwide.

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That Special Way and Righteous Resolve have never met heading into Friday's contest adds intrigue to an already compelling event, but the return of Instagram Model, along with her now-recovered original pilot Scott Zeron, adds another layer of mystery to the prized field. Instagram Model showcased her enormous talent with a dramatic victory on Hambletonian Day at the Meadowlands in the Jim Doherty Memorial. With Andrew McCarthy subbing for Zeron, the Chapter Seven-sired lass cruised to a 1:53 career-best effort while taking down the lion's share of the $355,000 purse. Instagram Model has won all of her starts since the Doherty, with her most recent a Reynolds Stakes triumph for catch-driver Jeff Gregory at Tioga Downs on September 23. Eleven years ago at Woodbine it was Gregory who picked up a late catch-drive behind the 3-year-old Chapter Seven, Instagram Model's sire, to guide him to the first of two Breeders Crown wins for trainer Linda Toscano.

Instagram Model's maternal line has strong ties to the Crown as she's the second foal from 2011 Crown 2-year-old filly champion Check Me Out. Instagram Model will be one of two fillies representing the past champion as her uncle King Of The North goes for the Breeders Crown 3-year-old colt and gelding trot title on Saturday (October 29).

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The most expensively priced yearling of 2021 entered in this division is Walner Payton, a $510,000 purchase with a maternal family that enjoys an incredibly rich history of Crown success. Walner Payton is the second foal from Lonely Lady, a full sister to the 2016 sophomore colt Breeders Crown champion Bar Hopping. Of course, Bar Hopping has gone on to an impressive stallion career that includes the top trotting mare Bella Bellini among his most accomplished offspring. Walner Payton's maternal side extends back to another early star in the Breeders Crown series, namely JEF's Spice, the 2- and 3-year-old filly champion in 1985 and 1986. Though unable to defeat Special Way when the two competed in Kentucky or in last week's Crown elimination, Walner Payton has shown to be a "stayer" in the stretch, and that may prove to her advantage should the pace be accelerated by others.

Mambacita, one of two daughters from 2018 3-year-old colt and gelding Breeders Crown winner Tactical Landing in this field, has been battling the top fillies all season long and can be excused for her third-place finish in last week's elimination as Yannick Gingras was in the bike for the first time and put her on the lead. Mambacita also hails from the same maternal family as Special Way, with the original Crown champion Workaholic a close descendant of her dam Bill's Lady.

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There were no Muscle Hills, Chapter Sevens or Walners when the Breeders Crown began in 1984, but thanks to the champions that have come before, the breed has come a long way over time. On Friday the Breeders Crown 2-year-old filly champion will have to earn the title against a group that not only has the talent but the family history to back up a claim towards greatness.