Harness: Million-dollar purchase Damien gets a moment in the spotlight

When seven figures are paid for a yearling trotter it's hard to keep a low profile. That has mostly been the case since last October 1 for the most expensive Standardbred yearling Maverick, as trainer Tony Alagna's crew has continued to feed photos and videos of the $1.1 million colt, the second foal of Designed To Be and full brother to Greenshoe. Training has continued with regularity in Florida and the magnificent-looking Maverick has in fact looked the part of a would-be champion.

Closer to the metropolitan New York region, trainer Marcus Melander has managed to keep a much lower profile with his $1 million yearling named Damien. The son of Muscle Hill, a full brother to International star Propulsion, sold as HIP number 105 at the Lexington Selected Sale, some 61 HIPS removed from the aforementioned Maverick. Though technically $100,000 less expensive, Damien came out of Kentucky with equal expectations.

Melander has maintained a very low profile himself over the winter, but that changed a bit the other day when he posted a video on Twitter showcasing the athletic and powerfully built Damien on the track in flight.

"I was driving him (Damien)," said Marcus Melander. "My brother was next to me and we decided to film him. It was a nice day and I thought he looked pretty good in motion."

Melander wouldn't go so far as set Damien apart from the rest of his 2-year-olds at this point. "We've got a lot of nice ones I would say and he's with them. He's got speed and he's easy to drive," said Melander.

A close look at the video shows Damien fitted with cotton earplugs, but Melander said he does that with pretty much all of his yearlings. "He's playful and has a lot of energy off the track," said Melander of Damien's exploits in the stable. As for his progress from the outset, Melander suggested that there haven’t been any bumps in the road and the equipment Damien wears is pretty much standard fare.

As for putting Damien out there for all to see, Melander just thought the time was right. "I mean, if he didn’t look good out there we wouldn't have posted it," said Melander bluntly.

Fortunately for many racing stables, the 2-year-old season is a few months down the road and thus the youngsters schedules have not been impacted. That’s not the case for the 3-year-olds, since depending on when action resumes, they may have altered schedules. In Pennsylvania, Sire Stakes races have already been delayed and that’s going to change the focus for many.

"We had a group of 3-year-olds that hadn’t raced much at 2 that we were looking to have qualified around now," said Melander. "With no racing, we decided to back off on them for now. They will be ready to go when racing starts up again."

At this time most of the racing world is in a holding pattern, but just a glimpse of a single 2-year-old going around the track is enough to spark excitement. It was just a few short years ago that 2-year-olds like Greenshoe hit the racetrack for the first time and ushered in the "next generation" of the trotting sport. His sire Father Patrick was a welcome addition to the stallion ranks and extends a potent male line. As for Damien, he is by the leading trotting stallion Muscle Hill and has a pedigree that is unmatched in modern times. Along with Propulsion, his dam Danae has had three of her first six foals trot in 1:53 or better. That group includes the $445K stakes winning D'Orsay and the $800K winner Dream Together, who is fondly remembered for her 1:51 3/5 score on Hambletonian Day in the 2018 Steele Memorial for driver Bob McClure and trainer Luc Blais.

Damien is the third live foal from the dam when mated with Muscle Hill, thus the high sales figure and expectations that follow.