Harness: Gimpanzee steps into the spotlight in 2020

It’s kind of amazing that a horse could have won Breeders Crowns as a freshman and sophomore and still go under the radar. Yet as Gimpanzee approaches his 4-year-old racing season the son of Chapter Seven still gets spoken of in also-ran fashion. Just last week his former stablemate Greenshoe, who he defeated in the Crown as a sophomore, was remembered for “his loss” in the Crown when compared with the Prix d’Amerique winner Face Time Bourbon.

Such has been life for Gimpanzee throughout his brilliant career both at 2 and 3. Yet trainer Marcus Melander appears to now be able to focus all of his attention on a single horse. “Gimpanzee is coming back great,” Melander said.

There is early talk that Gimpanzee may go to Sweden this spring for the Elitlopp and Melander didn’t exactly shut the door on those expectations. “If we get an invitation we will have to consider it. He’s got the Graduate and Hambletonian Maturity just for 4-year-olds on his schedule,” said Melander. “We’ll have to see.”

Gimpanzee has quietly earned $1.7 million during his two-year career and there’s plenty available to him in 2020. “We’d certainly like to point him towards the International Trot,” said Melander. “He’s great on the half-milers.”

For Melander, who won the International in 2018 with the upsetter Cruzado Dela Noche, Gimpanzee represents a horse that has excelled for a pair of years over the half-mile track and added to his Sire Stakes resume with a victory in the 2019 Yonkers Trot.

With Greenshoe’s book filled for 2020 and stablemate Green Manalishi S likely to see more action in Sweden this year, Gimpanzee won’t have to share the headlines inside or outside the Melander stable. “Green Manalishi S is still here training back,” said Melander. “I’m training him down and he may get a qualifier here and even a race. He’s eligible to stakes in Sweden but they don’t start until September.”

While lacking the overall flash of Greenshoe, Gimpanzee’s exploits in the 2019 Breeders Crown victory at Woodbine Mohawk Park where he both left the gate and attacked without cover, would have gotten him higher marks had Greenshoe not been in the race. A victory in the Matron at Dover was followed by a fourth-place finish against older foes losing by just over a length in a 1:50 mile.

Ironically, the horse that didn’t get enough attention in 2019 may be the one that everyone talks about in 2020. Though his stable is dominated once again by 2 and 3-year-olds, Melander has a different perspective as he prepares his horses to qualify in late March. “It’s not the same with the 3-year-olds,” Melander said. “The biggest difference this year is that I believe I have more 3-year-olds in the barn that will be stakes horses.”

That’s not just a quantity over quality observation by Melander. Returning this year will be the brilliant Hypnotic AM. The powerhouse filly that captured last year’s Jim Doherty Memorial at The Meadowlands on Hambletonian Day breezed through the New York Sire Stakes but faltered late in the year in the Breeders Crown. “I don’t think she was at her best by that time in the year,” Melander said of the daughter of Chapter Seven. While Melander and the sons and daughters of Chapter Seven have had their way in the New York Sire Stakes program for the last few years, the trainer has set the bar a bit higher for Hypnotic AM in 2020. “She’s definitely a Grand Circuit filly. Of course we’ll race in the Empire Breeders and some Sire Stakes races.”

Melander’s 3-year-old colts in 2020 are much less distinctive than last year’s “Three G’s” but should most certainly not be overlooked come stakes season. “I think Capricornus is the best of them right now,” said Melander. Capricornus is a son of Cantab Hall that earned nearly $200K as a juvenile. “He finished within a half-length of Real Cool Sam at The Red Mile,” said Melander. Three weeks later in the Breeders Crown, Capricornus would fade to eighth after being used in the early stages. “We had high hopes for that race but he got sick on us.”

Capricornus has an interesting pedigree in that he’s the first foal from the Glidemaster mare Oh My Darlin. Oh My Darlin is a half-sister to the $1.1 million-winning Cedar Dove. Cedar Dove’s first foal was last year’s Hambletonian Oaks champion When Dovescry.

Melander also has Rome Pays Off, a son of Muscle Hill that finished second in the Breeders Crown, training back for his sophomore season.

There’s always a chance that a sleeper will emerge from the stable and the trainer pointed to Hollywood Story as one with potential. “He only made two starts at the end of the year but showed promise,” said Melander of Hollywood Story, a son of Muscle Hill that also happens to be a half brother to the budding Open campaigner Southwind Chrome (1:50 1/5).

With 66 horses in training, Melander’s stable numbers are similar to a year ago. Of that group a full 44 are 2-year-olds. “I’ve got some nice ones,” Melander said without naming names. “I don’t want to jinx myself.”

“I have some great owners that have purchased some very nice horses,” Melander said, summing up his juvenile collection.

While Melander always sets expectations high, he’s realistic about his 2020 outlook. Last year the stable earned $5.3 million with Grenshoe and Gimpanzee a large part of the equation. “I’d like to keep on building,” said Melander, hopeful that Gimpanzee’s 4-year-old campaign could bolster the earnings total from his predominantly younger stable.

The news that last year’s Breeders Crown champion and International star Bold Eagle will campaign in North America this year didn’t catch Melander off guard. “I think that division is a little thin this year,” said Melander. “You have Atlanta and Manchego and hopefully Gimpanzee. I think it’s good for Bold Eagle He’s an older horse and it will probably do him some good not having to race at a distance.”

From strictly a fan’s perspective, the trotting world has never been as universal as it is today.