What happens when a horse you purchased proves to be even better than you expected? Trainer Robert Cleary found out what happens when Irish-bred Oakwood Ardan emerged as a force early last season, racing up the class ladder at the Meadowlands from the beginning of January and eventually finding a path into the Canadian Pacing Derby. "We thought he was a good horse when we purchased him," said Cleary, who started the Sweet Lou-sired 5-year-old in non-winners company. For Cleary, who has become a master of bringing horses from his native Ireland to the States over the last few years, the arrival of Oakwood Ardan was quite typical. Horses racing in Ireland have a short season and quite often young horses that can be purchased have minimal earnings, making them prime candidates for exportation. With so many class levels to race in North America, horses like Oakwood Ardan can earn out before ever reaching the top classes. Early on Cleary knew that Oakwood Ardan was quite different than the others. "He just showed extreme speed," Cleary said. As for racing style, Oakwood Ardan gained a solid reputation for racing from off-the-pace and passing horses in the stretch. He was a throwback, if you will, to an era when closers regularly won at the Meadowlands. "He just likes chasing horses better and wants to go past them," said Cleary, explaining the style and the success that came from it. Oakwood Ardan would win his first two starts in late 2023 and then go on a rampage through the winter that forced his connections to reassess their strategy. As wins and earnings piled up suddenly, there were limited options of where to race and who to race against. Though staked sparingly, Oakwood Ardan would find himself on the short end when earnings were a factor in determining eligibility to some races, but he did make it into the Canadian Pacing Derby on August 31. "How many horses have raced in non-winners of 2 in January and then found themselves finishing third in the Canadian Pacing Derby?" said Cleary, posing a question that likely has few names on its list. Cleary tried to continue with Oakwood Ardan right through the Breeders Crown, but an off-the-board finish in the Crown trials at the Meadowlands ended a long season in late October. Despite the easy competition Oakwood Ardan had to deal with upon arrival in late 2023, Cleary had the horse campaigning for a full year with limited rest, and the results near the end of the season suggested the horse had lost his edge. Given the fact that Oakwood Ardan surprised Cleary with his talent and ability to tackle the best horses in North America, it's hard to blame him for how the season turned out. "He just got tired," Cleary said. "We put him through a long campaign." With lessons learned and now a much firmer knowledge of the enormous talent, Cleary has come up with a more sensible strategy for 2025, and one he hopes will not only put his horse into the big races this year but allow him to achieve well beyond the $174K he banked while winning nine of 16 races in 2024. "You won't see him until the summer," Cleary said, responding to a query of his plans this year. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter With the big races on the docket in the summer and beyond, Cleary wants to have his horse in top shape when the big money is on the line. The trainer has shown the ability over the years to win at a high percentage and much of that has to do with not over-racing horses and putting them in classes where they can win. Most of his imported horses have fit the lower classes upon arrival and tacked on wins while still competing below their talent level. For Cleary, every year seems to find him with more and more talented horses arriving from overseas and working their way up the class ladder. In late 2024 another Irish-bred "Oakwood" made the scene at the Meadowlands and gave the impression of déjà vu for followers of the Cleary stable. Oakwood Heymiki was a bit more accomplished when he debuted at the Meadowlands for Cleary, as his 1:49 2/5 victory on November 1 would suggest. He would go on to finish the year with four wins in five starts, with his last race on December 28 his lone defeat, a neck loss to current Meadowlands kingpin For Once Inmy Life. While Oakwood Heymiki's form indicated he may have as much ability as Oakwood Ardan in 2025, the 5-year-old son of Always B Miki has moved on from the Cleary stable. "We sold him a few days ago," said Cleary, who indicated Oakwood Heymiki was now in the Virgil Morgan Jr. stable. While Cleary has benefited nicely from finding and importing horses from Ireland and Great Britain, others, notably leading trainer Ron Burke, have also entered the fray and have begun finding other prospects. This is of no surprise to Cleary. "You've got two of the best stallions in North America breeding mares over there now," said Cleary, pointing to Sweet Lou and Always B Miki, the stallions directly responsible for the budding stars mentioned above. Cleary tries to pry the best horses he can and says that there are key factors that go into his decision making. "I like the fact that they are lightly-raced when they are younger," said Cleary, who understands this is pretty much the opposite of how horses are trained and raced in North America. Another aspect to the unknown of what horsemen are getting when they purchase from Ireland or Great Britain is the fact that these horses have only raced on small tracks. Cleary is training 32 currently, with 13 babies all looking good at this time of year. He has a couple 3-year-old pacers returning to action with Makes Sense, a Breeders Crown finalist, prepping for battle. "We'll stake him moderately," said Cleary of the son of Papi Rob Hanover who was a stakes winner at 2. Then there's Rider Hanover, a Captaintreacherous three-quarter brother to world champion Ruthless Hanover that could have a promising future. "We qualified him just once and stopped with him," said Cleary of the $90,000 Harrisburg purchase in 2023 and first foal from the dam Rockaroundthetrack in five years following the arrival of Ruthless Hanover.