Harness: Inside the rookie class of the Burke Brigade

Leading trainer Ron Burke first made his reputation in the sport winning overnight races. It hardly seems some 20 years since his stable began making an annual trip to Florida to break and train babies for the coming 2-year-old season. Burke’s brigade of youngsters is now making the trip north and the Hall of Fame conditioner is more than pleased with the group that will join the ranks of racehorses in less than a month.

“I’d say this is the best group of horses I’ve ever had,” Burke said when looking at the scope of what is currently 90 freshmen making the journey with promise of big days ahead.

“It’s much different trying to figure out the pacers,” Burke said, somewhat predictably. “I know that over half of them will go in (1:)55, it’s just that you have to go in (1:)52 now.”

Such has been the change over the years, but the advanced speed hasn’t changed Burke’s outlook at all as he tries to separate the cream of his crop and move towards baby races, likely first at The Meadows and then at Gaitway Farms in New Jersey this June.

“It’s hard to put my finger on one or two,” Burke said. “I’ve got about six Sweet Lou fillies that I absolutely love.”

Burke’s affection for both sons and daughters of Sweet Lou is understandable since the retired champion was one of his best horses of all time and now is rapidly rising the ranks in stallion competition, something not lost on him.

“I think he’s [Sweet Lou] proven himself at this point. The best thing about him is that he’s starting to get the better mares and that’s made a huge difference. He can cross with the best mares by Bettor’s Delight and Somebeachsomewhere.”

For Burke and his partners, breeding to Sweet Lou has been a rewarding prospect each year as homebreds with stakes ability are now an integral part of a stable made up primarily of yearling purchases. “It’s funny when you look at yearling prices. We’re always trying to figure out just what our homebreds would have brought had they gone through the ring,” Burke said, noting that his group has assembled quality racemares over the years that have now turned into stakes-producing broodmares.

Not surprisingly it’s the homebreds that Burke singled out first when assessing his Sweet Lou fillies that could be set to take center stage in 2023’s Grand Circuit stakes races.

“I’d have to say that at this point the fillies out of Sassa Hanover [Lou Lou] and Lucy’s Pearl [My Girl EJ] are the top two,” said Burke. Lucy’s Pearl is the dam of Lous Pearlman, Burke’s first Little Brown Jug winner.

“I’d have to say winning the Jug with a horse that you bred is something special,” said Burke of the 2021 Little Brown Jug triumph.

My Girl EJ is the fourth foal and first filly from the 100-percent producing Lucy’s Pearl, herself a winner of over $341K on the racetrack.

Sassa Hanover earned more than $1.2 million for Burke and has seen both of her first two foals make the races, with Lou Lou the first filly as well and third foal.

While the homebreds may take center stage here, Burke had high praise for another filly named Sweet Gal, a full sister to last year’s Breeders Crown champion Ammo.

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On the colt front it wasn’t a homebred but a moderately priced colt that grabbed Burke’s attention. “At this point I’d say that Swiftly Lazar is my best pacing colt,” said Burke, referring to the Sweet Lou son that commanded just $45,000 at last year’s Harrisburg sale. He’s out of the $1 million-winning Cam Swifty, which on face value would make the purchase price seem a bargain. However, Swiftly Lazar is the 13th foal from the dam.

Burke’s expansive stable has set up operations across the country and ventures to Ontario as well with stakes horses. Burke has had incredible success with the Ohio Sire Stakes program and hopes to continue that road in 2023, primarily with pacers but with a handful of trotters as well. Among his 90 2-year-olds in training are 11 by Downbytheseaside and that’s no accident.

“Downbytheseaside has already proven himself,” said Burke, who guided the millionaires Sea Silk and Bythemissal to Ohio Sire Stakes championships in 2022.

Burke pointed to a pair of Downbytheseaside colts and couldn’t separate Outer Banks or Riptide at this point as the one that might achieve more once racing for money commences. Outer Banks was a $50,000 purchase from the Lexington Selected sale last fall and Rip Tide was a $100,000 purchase from the Ohio Select auction. Rip Tide is yet another example of Burke buying Burke, if you will, as the colt has a maternal line that has the trainer’s imprint directly on it. Rip Tide’s dam Sweet Chrome was a Burke and partners homebred that was a stakes winner at 2. The mare was by Sweet Lou and out of another Burke prodigy in Camille, the daughter of Camluck Burke purchased following her 3-year-old season that would go on to earn more than $1.275 million as an elite-age pacing mare.

It’s pedigree that matters in a big way to Burke nowadays, especially when making the call on staking decisions.

“When it comes to staking, I’m more likely to look at pedigree than anything else,” said Burke. “You see these races each year and predominantly the same families are winning them.”

It’s a tough call to make for certain but Burke believes that in most cases the better-bred horses are the ones that rise to the occasion and money spent otherwise is generally misspent.

Burke’s experience with young horses has changed his outlook on some horses over the years and he reflected upon the changes he’s made along the way that have helped his psyche as well as provided a path for a horse’s better future.

“I’ve started to accept the fact that horses can have a bad day,” Burke said, understanding that it’s not always the end of the line when a 2-year-old doesn’t train as well as expected. “It’s a different story of course when they keep having bad days but sometimes it’s just one day.”

Pedigree played in Burke’s thinking on the trotting side as he spoke glowingly of Classic Landing (Tactical Landing-Classical Annie), a $100,000 Lexington Selected purchased colt that’s showing plenty of promise.

“He’s out of a sister to the dam of Southwind Frank,” Burke said, noting his former trotting pupil and current stallion.

Also of note on the trotting side was Absolutely Hanover, a daughter of Bar Hopping and full sister to the multiple stakes winner of a few years ago Manon.

In discussing the differences between judging his pacers and trotters, Burke pointed to the training miles and what they indicate.

“If [trotters] can go in 1:55, I know they’ll be stakes horses,” said Burke, who already believes there are a few that match that criteria as they truck north.

The 2-year-old Iam Independent is a daughter of Triumphant Caviar who Burke put in his top group as well and is pointed towards the Ohio Sire Stakes program.

On the “having a bad day” list so to speak was Kinesiology, a Walner-sired filly that Burke was fond of until a recent hiccup in her training.

If there is a sleeper in the group, Burke was quick to point to an Indiana-bred son of JK Endofanera that has shined during winter training. Noblesville is his name and don’t be surprised if you are hearing more about him this year. He’s the first living foal from the mare Happiness, who Burke campaigned to stakes wins as a sophomore in 2015.

The road for all trainers of 2-year-olds is about to begin and Burke’s brigade once again appears poised to be present and productive in all regional sire stakes programs and on the Grand Circuit as well with a diverse collection of colts and fillies, trotters and pacers, and a team that will have them very prepared on race day.