Harness racing: Enough Talk, 9, starts up for Kleinhans on Friday at Meadowlands

In a sport where the premier horses often hang up their harnesses after only a couple of good seasons, it is rare to find top horses still racing against the divisions elite year after year. Enough Talk is one of the exceptions to the rule. When he steps onto the track at the Meadowlands for a qualifier on Friday, the 9-year-old will embark on his seventh year of racing while trying to recapture past glory.

Owned, and more often than not trained by Peter Kleinhans since March 2008, Enough Talk has seen the highs and lows of racing at the top level. The trotter sports one of the strangest patterns of success in harness history. Since his career debut in 2006 (he did not race at 2), Enough Talk has been one of the best trotters in the sport during even years and far from it in odd seasons.

The numbers do not lie. In 2006, 2008, and 2010 he won 25 races and earned $1,697,729. In 2007, 2009, and 2011 he had 7 victories and a bankroll of just $150,880. Those with baseball knowledge from the 1980s can draw comparisons to sometimes ace pitcher Brett Saberhagen, who was dominant in odd years (61 wins in 1985, 1987, 1989) and average in even seasons (26 wins in 1986, 1988, 1990).

One can only hypothesize the anomaly that is Enough Talk’s career and wonder if he realizes that the calendar reads 2012.
“He’s sound and feeling good as far as I can tell,” said Kleinhans. “My second trainer Orjan Torstensson is taking care of him because I spend most of my time in New York City with my kids. He hasn’t had any missteps and he schooled in (1):57 and change the other day.”

Even Kleinhans admits that he has no idea what to expect from Enough Talk at the advanced age of 9. Can he regain his past glory and return to the form that saw him capture older Trotter of the Year titles in 2008 and 2010?

During his poor 2011 year Kleinhans even tried handing the lines over to a new trainer. “He wasn’t going for me so my racing manager Anthony Altomonte and I thought it was worth a shot trying a few other guys,” said Kleinhans.

He did not show any improvement and his 2011 season was cut short - 8 starts, 0 wins.

With an even year, Kleinhans hopes for the real Enough Talk to show up. “I don’t expect him to be the star that he used to be, but he should be much better than he was last year,” he said. “We paid him into everything but first he will have to win at the non-winners of $6,500 level. If he is bad, we will retire him.”

Kleinhans is listed to qualify the son of Enjoy Lavec and may elect to sit in the bike for a race or two during the year.
For Kleinhans, who has 15 horses in his barn, the sport has taken more of a back seat in recent years as he focuses his attention on family. Eight of his horses are 2-year-olds by his former stable standout Wearable Art and he admits that he will pare that number down.

“I’m not going to leave the game, but the days of having nine 2-year-olds are over for me,” said Kleinhans, 46. “I’d like to have five or six good horses.”

Kleinhans recently purchased 50 percent of two Thoroughbreds (Romin Robin and Rogue Victory).

“I was on vacation in Florida handicapping some races and thought they were good-looking animals, so I wanted to find a way to make it happen,” he said. “It was a one-time thing.”

Most people would not know that Kleinhans has 311 training wins since 1991, and 42 driving scores since his first drive in 1988. Pretty impressive numbers when you consider he never sent out more than 258 horses in one season or drove in more than 89 races in a year.

His best seasons, however, coincide with Enough Talk’s successes. Those came in 2008 and 2010; even years. Hopefully Enough Talk can read the calendar.