Harness: Lucas Wallin embracing a more patient approach in 2024

For trainer Lucas Wallin 2023 was the most successful year of his career conditioning a stable of trotters. The 31-year-old’s barn earned more than $1.7 million with 44 trips to the winner’s circle. The trajectory of Wallin’s career has been on the upswing but that doesn’t mean he expects to follow the same program going forward.

“We’re about five seconds behind where we were last year with the babies,” said Wallin discussing the 24 juveniles he’s training among a stable of 38. “I’ve decided to go more slower miles with them but just not as fast to this point.”

It’s a minor tweak to the operation but one Wallin hopes will have a major impact as he focuses on the stakes season to come.

“I was very happy with the performance of my 2-year-olds last year. They started out well but didn’t finish the season as I had hoped,” said Wallin. “I want them to be good all the way through to the end.”

Wallin does not believe that the change in strategy will change when his juveniles hit the track this season.

“They will be ready when they are ready,” said Wallin, with no specific timetable but an understanding that each horse is different with its own specific clock.

The broad success last year for Wallin in the 2-year-old ranks has him feeling more than optimistic that there will be a big victory or two this year in major stakes races. The trotting filly Soiree Hanover is a prime example, and though she’s still a few months from racing as a sophomore, Wallin had glowing reviews.

“She’s been good from the first time we trained her last year,” said Wallin of Soiree Hanover, a daughter of Walner that was among the tops in the 2-year-old division, with Grand Circuit victories in the Jim Doherty Memorial and International Stallion Stakes to go along with a close second-place finish in the Breeders Crown. Soiree Hanover earned $607K in her first season.

Soiree Hanover would break stride in the Goldsmith Maid final at The Meadowlands in November, the final start of her season. Wallin suspects that maybe a few less starts could have made the difference for the filly, but it’s easy to conclude the change in his program this year could be a result of the less-than-satisfying ending to her campaign.

Another filly that Wallin believes has the talent of Soiree Hanover but not the bank account is Dolce Amara.

“She won a Sire Stakes at The Red Mile but then got very sick on us,” said Wallin of Dolce Amara, a daughter of Muscle Hill that made but five starts as a freshman.

Dolce Amara earned nearly six-figures, with her biggest payday coming in the $400,000 Kentucky Championships where she finished third behind Date Night Hanover. It’s easy to understand why Wallin might have high expectations for Dolce Amara since the filly is bred almost identically to the $2.1 million winner Bella Bellini.

On the male side of the ledger, Duke Of Walner is returning for Wallin and he too could be an example of a horse that started the year with lofty expectations but didn’t finish it as planned.

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“He’s more powerful this year,” said Wallin of Duke Of Walner, a colt that had talent last year but couldn’t carry it through the entire season.

Another of Wallin’s dual-eligibles, Duke Of Walner campaigned both in New Jersey and Kentucky last year and notably finished third to Karl in the $400,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes final at The Red Mile in September. Beaten less than two lengths in that affair, Duke Of Walner lacked the finishing kick in his last three starts. Wallin’s optimism about Duke Of Walner suggests the colt has matured and will be both mentally and physically ready when Grand Circuit racing commences for him in a few months’ time.

There may be a few sleepers in the group of sophomores and Wallin does not like to over-promote what hasn’t happened yet. The colt For July is a prime example of Wallin’s reserved nature as though the Greenshoe-sired half-brother to Cuatro De Julio has shown talent training and on occasion in a race, Wallin feels that the jury is out until he can do it consistently on the racetrack. Nevertheless, For July was able to break his maiden with a 1:58 1/5 score at Harrah’s Philadelphia in November, cause for just a bit of optimism.

“His stamina is better. He needed to get stronger in his mind and body,” said Wallin of For July.

Mosquito was a multiple Kindergarten leg winner for Wallin last year. Though a touch on the small side, Wallin feels he’s coming back well this year with more maturity and likely will find his way onto the Grand Circuit at some point.

“This is definitely the best group of horses I’ve had since I began training,” said Wallin of the entire stable. “The owners have been great. The stable is larger, and we have more quality on paper and how they look on the racetrack.”

Wallin anticipates taking a few of his returning sophomores to The Meadowlands this weekend for training over the mile surface.

“I’ll probably come back the following week and qualify them,” said Wallin.

The expectation is for some of Wallin’s 3-year-olds that didn’t race as 2-year-olds to get some experience this spring.

With a wide-breadth of talented freshman working their way slowly towards their first season on the racetrack, Wallin did manage to single out a couple that could be at the head of the class, though each is at a different point in training.

“We’ve got a Chapter Seven colt that I really like,” said Wallin. “He’s Swedish-bred out of Darling Mearas S, the mare that Ake [Svandstedt] raced here a few years ago.”

Darling Mearas S took a sub-1:50 mark racing in an overnight race in between starts against Manchego and Hannelore Hanover. The Cantab Hall-sired mare has license to produce a champion or two.

The Rogue Prince, the first full brother to Breeders Crown champion King Of The North, is another high on Wallin’s list of 2-year-olds in training. He’s a few weeks behind the others due to some minor issues but Wallin feels confident that the $375,000 Lexington Selected purchase will emerge later this year.

With a goal of having his horses strong towards the end of the season Wallin’s stable could be poised for their best year yet in 2024.