About a year ago Joe Bongiorno and the New Zealand import Typhoon Banner appeared ready to go in separate directions. Bongiorno seemed frustrated with his career in New Jersey and for a moment pondered a move out west to Ohio to explore a catch-driving career in a new location with a smaller stable to build on. Typhoon Banner, a son of Bettor's Delight, was also grappling to find direction at the time. An expensive purchase in 2023, the gelding had struggled to gain traction at Yonkers and seemed destined for lower classes, well below all expectations. Much has changed in less than a year for both Bongiorno and Typhoon Banner, and perhaps the thrill of winning some big races, combined with a stable with high potential, has spurred Bongiorno into a much more positive position as the 2025 season gets underway. Bongiorno, who stayed put in New Jersey, became the listed trainer for the Bongiorno stable in 2024 and recently returned to the sulky after a brief injury that kept him from driving. Time changes all and Bongiorno's prospects now look great. He was more than excited about what has been accomplished and what could come ahead in 2025. "I'm very grateful to the owners for letting me do what I did with Typhoon Banner," said Bongiorno when asked about the impressive change in the horse's performance in the second half of the season. "He wasn't doing what we had expected of him, and he started to lose weight," added Bongiorno of the early troubles Typhoon Banner suffered through in the beginning of 2024. "I was able to back off with him and give him some time," said Bongiorno. "He had some bad draws, got some money off his card and was able to drop in class when we took him to Pocono." No longer concerned with the price tag but more worried that the Typhoon Banner they purchased was not the one that had been racing in mid-conditioned levels at Yonkers, Bongiorno was hopeful that a move to the five-eighths track, combined with plenty of class relief, would help turn Typhoon Banner's season around. For the stable and the horse, Bongiorno's decision was the turning point for Typhoon Banner, and the results were more than impressive. After losing his first five races of the year and spending time on the shelf a few times with minor ailments, Typhoon Banner regained winning form in May with an easy wire-to-wire win for catch-driver Matt Kakaley in 1:51 against non-winners of $4,800 last five foes, a class well below the non-winners of $30,000 he had raced with upon arrival in North America. By late June, Typhoon Banner had become competitive with higher classes at Pocono, and when Bongiorno returned to the sulky to drive him in late June he was a different horse. The result was a wire-to-wire win in 1:50 1/5 that earned him a trip to the top class a week later. Bongiorno had been cautious about leaving the gate early with Typhoon Banner, but by the summer of 2024 had the confidence in him. "I like to be cautious with horses coming over because sometimes they can get too hot," Bongiorno said, revealing a strategy that certainly has paid off nicely for Typhoon Banner. With Bongiorno unavailable, Ridge Warren guided Typhoon Banner to a career-best 1:48 4/5 performance on July 6 at Pocono. The victory signaled a return to top form and a reemergence at Yonkers. With newfound confidence Typhoon Banner won two of his next three races over the half-mile track, including a 1:50 3/5 win in a $39,000 Invitational that got noticed by a few different race secretaries. Typhoon Banner was invited by Rick Kane to a $100,000 Invitational at Pocono on Sun Stakes day, but the prospects were bleak once he drew post eight in a field that included world champions Ruthless Hanover and Allywag Hanover. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter "I was really impressed with him that day," said Bongiorno of the sixth-place finish behind Ruthless Hanover in the 1:48 mile. "We were stuck behind horses with no place to go but in the stretch he had plenty of pace." That race likely turned the switch on for Bongiorno and gave him the confidence that would lead to a dramatic late-season run for Typhoon Banner. Invited on August 24 to the $100,000 Kane Invitational at Batavia against another stellar field, Bongiorno did what he's been known to do best, and that is leave explosively and circle horses. Typhoon Banner had not shown that kind of early foot since his arrival stateside, but on that night quickly got a spot in front before allowing Coaches Corner and Jason Bartlett to regain. Inevitably the trip didn't work out as Typhoon Banner encountered traffic problems, but a third-place finish was more than could have been expected racing some of the best horses in North America. Another Invitational win at Yonkers put Bongiorno in a situation he would have to navigate. "After the win at Yonkers I knew he was going to get invited to the MGM Grand Prix Series, so I decided to give him some time off," Bongiorno said. Perhaps it was a sign of maturity, not just for the horse but for the trainer-driver to be patient and not overwork the horse despite being in top form. That decision was critical since Typhoon Banner would face a host of time-tested warhorses in the MGM Grand Prix Series and somehow emerge as the champion. With Bongiorno sidelined with a minor injury, Matt Kakaley, who had driven the horse successfully at Pocono earlier in the year, picked up where he left off by engineering consecutive wins in the mile and a sixteenth final preliminary and then the $250,000 finale in December. Typhoon Banner finished the season with nine wins and $276K in earnings, numbers that seemed inconceivable last March. "We're giving him some time off now and getting him ready," said Bongiorno. "I think we'll stake him up a bit." More than likely the veteran pacer will be nominated to the MGM Borgata Pacing Series that starts in March at Yonkers. With a stable of 65 under his authority, Bongiorno has been filling the entry box at the Meadowlands as he awaits the re-opening of Yonkers on January 20. He's got a solid group of 2-year-olds in training, and while it's still a bit early, is happy with the core group. He seemed excited about the prospects of a returning 3-year-old to action by the name of Go Go Grasshopper. "He just got beaten in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes final by Papi's Rocket, one of Ronnie's (Burke) horses," said Bongiorno. "I had to race him pretty hard that day, and then we found out he scoped really bad afterwards. "We quit with him after the race because he wasn't staked to anything else but we're going to stake him heavily this year," said Bongiorno of the son of Sweet Lou who captured two of his four Pennsylvania Sire Stakes preliminaries and was second to eventual Breeders Crown champion Louprint in their only encounter. "We gave him three months off and he's back in training now," said Bongiorno of Go Go Grasshopper. As excited as Bongiorno is about the future of his stable, he was bubbling over about his first child, a 3-month-old boy named Parker Joseph. From the uncertainty of a future just 11 months ago, Bongiorno now appears on course for a big year in 2025 both personally and professionally.