Harness: Cleary gaining recognition on the East Coast

It’s a sport where even if you succeed it’s sometimes hard to get recognized. Trainer Robert Cleary has been going under the radar for the last few years but it’s hard to keep a quality trainer down. Last year Cleary’s stable cleared the $1 million mark in earnings as the trainer tallied 59 wins with an astonishing UTRS average at 43 percent.

The numbers were impressive for such a small stable, with a bulk of the earnings coming from the rugged Rodeo Rock, who earned more than $350K in 2019.

As for his success, Cleary said, “It’s a good feeling for sure. It’s fulfillment of something we’ve set out for and it means we’re making progress.”

Key to Cleary’s remarks is the fact that he gives credit to the caretakers and all of the help that managed to push his stable above the seven-figure mark for the first time. Along the way, Cleary’s small stable has grown, with 17-head to train.

Last year Cleary also had some Irish imported pacers with U.S. blood to bolster the stable and once again in 2020 the stable is off to a fast start in part due to an import.

“Friends of mine in Ireland sent her to me and thought she’d do well here,” Cleary said when speaking of the recent arrival Blackwell Ruby (IR), a pacing mare with American bloodlines but experience racing in Ireland.

Blackwell Ruby made her U.S. debut in 2019 at The Meadowlands and has since moved to Yonkers where she’s captured two straight in 2020.

Her first start was a nose victory for Yannick Gingras on December 20 at The Meadowlands. “We really didn’t want to race her on the front end,” said Cleary. “Yannick said she wasn’t tired at the end of the mile but got kind of lost on the lead.”

Cleary moved Blackwell Ruby to the half-miler at Yonkers and she’s looked the part of a developing mare that could do extremely well over the long season. “I think she’ll turn into a solid mid-ranged condition horse,” said Cleary. Blackwell Ruby most recently captured a non-winners-of-4 event at Yonkers coming from off the pace and winning with something in reserve.

Pedigree is always key to performance and sometimes the names aren’t immediately recognizable to the masses. Case in point would be Harambe Deo, the 5-year-old by Woodstock who arrived in Cleary’s stable midway through the 2019 campaign. “When I got him they told me that he had raced well at the Fairs in Ohio and that he might do at Yonkers,” Cleary said.

So Cleary sent Harambe Deo to Yonkers and gave him a go. “He really struggled on the turns at Yonkers,” said Cleary. “So we made some adjustments and brought him over to The Meadowlands.”

While the owners may have been looking to benefit from the lucrative condition system at Yonkers, Cleary managed to do even better in bringing Harambe Deo to The Meadowlands for the fall and into the winter. In less than five months of racing, Harambe Deo has earned roughly $88K and has captured two of his first three races in 2020.

“I think he’s a solid winter horse,” said Cleary, who is obviously happy with how Harambe Deo has performed but reserved about long-term expectations. “I think this is pretty much the level he’s going to be at.”

For the record, Harambe Deo’s bloodlines may not strike a chord in the Northeast but his sire Woodstock is a son of Rocknroll Hanover from the immediate maternal family of Artsplace. Harambe Deo is a full brother to the $340K winner Bye Bye Felicia, with the brother-sister tandem being among the best sire Woodstock has sent out during his brief stallion career.

Cleary is most definitely looking forward to the return of Rodeo Rock. “He’s back training right now,” said Cleary. “He was very sharp in last year’s Levy Series then had some health issues during the summer.”

Rodeo Rock captured two preliminary legs of the Levy and was a solid second in the final, though far behind race-winner Western Fame at the wire.

Despite the summer issues, Rodeo Rock returned and had a solid year-end campaign. “He won two of his last four races,” Cleary said. “We just needed to give him a break.”

Perhaps the success Cleary has had with Rodeo Rock, the pacing mare Oceania, as well as Rebel Rouser in 2019, led owners to believe he was an expert in training sons and daughters of Rock N Roll Heaven. Clearly those three performed at a high level last year and could have led the way for another in 2020 with the arrival of Rockin The Aces. Last year Rockin The Aces earned $77K and was solid in the New Jersey Sire Stakes program. Cleary has him back in training and is excited about his prospects.

Another sophomore to be on the lookout for is Tito Rocks. “He showed some promise last year,” said Cleary of Tito Rocks. a gelded son of Sweet Lou that campaigned in Pennsylvania as a juvenile.

Tito Rocks was second in a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes event at The Meadows last August and made just five starts before Cleary wisely decided to end his freshman campaign and look ahead. “I should have both of those 3-year-olds ready for the spring,” Cleary said.

It’s way too early in the year to be singing the praises of the 2020 2-year-old crop but don’t be surprised if a star or a few are among the eight juveniles Cleary is currently conditioning. Of course expectations always run high, especially when purchase prices escalate to $280,000 as they did with the American Ideal-sired half-brother to Rodeo Rock.

While there’s always pressure when developing an expensive yearling or two, Cleary understands a lot depends on the people you train for. “It’s great to have owners that support you and I have that.”

With his impressive success rate, expect Cleary to have quite a few more owners in the years to come.