Harness: Remembering 2019's thrilling moments

Another harness racing stakes season has come and gone, and so that means it’s time for the annual look-back at the best races and moments in the sport for the year. Hopefully you see your favorite race or maybe one you had missed that you can check out now that you’ve heard about it. Rather than rank these events, these are listed in chronological order of when they happened.

Early season battles in the glamour boy division

The Pepsi North America Cup at Woodbine Mohawk Park and the Meadowlands Pace at the Meadowlands featured great competition among the 3-year-old colt and gelding pacers.

The Pepsi North America Cup had three different leaders in the first-half of the race (Captain Crunch, Bettor’s Wish, and Workin Ona Mystery), with Captain Crunch, steered by Scott Zeron for trainer Nancy Johansson, rebounding from a break in his elimination to win bravely from first-over.

Many of the same horses came back in July for the Meadowlands Pace, and it was an even better race. Captain Crunch made front in the second quarter and battled with Bettor’s Wish, who was two-wide at every call. Bettor’s Wish continued to persevere on the outside into the lane, where he was joined by closers Workin Ona Mystery and Best In Show, and it would be the latter, driven by Brian Sears for Linda Toscano, getting up for the 27-1 upset in a driving finish.

Summer of speed at The Big M

The world records for mare trotter and mare pacer fell and the all-age world record for a pacer was tied at the Meadowlands as the track was blazing fast through July and August. In the Graduate Series finals for 4-year-olds on July 6, Atlanta rallied from off-the-pace to win the trot for Yannick Gingras and Ron Burke in 1:49 1/5, eclipsing Hannelore Hanover’s previous world record for a female trotter of 1:49 2/5.

Later that same night, eventual TVG Open Pace winner Always A Prince blazed through wicked panels of 25 3/5, 52, and 1:19 1/5, and then Lather Up, with Montrell Teague in the bike for trainer Clyde Francis, came ripping out of the pocket in the lane and went on to win in 1:46, joining Always B Miki as the fastest Standardbred in history.

On Hambletonian Day it was Shartin’s turn to shine as she burned rubber to a 1:46 4/5 triumph for co-owner/driver Tim Tetrick and trainer Jim King Jr. in the Lady Liberty to become harness racing’s fastest-ever female, taking over from 3-year-old Shebestingin, who clocked a 1:47 effort at The Red Mile.

A battle at Batavia

You probably didn’t think you’d see one of the best races of the entire year going into the pair of New York Sire Stakes divisions for 3-year-old male pacers on August 4 at Batavia Downs, but that’s exactly what happened in the first of the two splits. Hickfromfrenchlick (Matt Kakaley/Ray Schnittker) battled with Shake That House (Tyler Buter/Chris Oakes) early, seated him, then hooked up with him again as Buter popped the pocket going into the third turn.

Hickfromfrenchlick resisted him again, then held off another Oakes trainee in Buddy Hill (Marcus Miller), who had followed his stablemate’s cover, dropped into the pocket on the final bend, and then angled to the passing lane in the stretch, to win by a hard-fought quarter-of-a-length in a track record-equaling 1:51 2/5.

The Ewart Memorial delivers again

The Jim Ewart Memorial at Eldorado Scioto Downs has become one of the must-see races on the calendar in recent years, and the 2019 edition for open pacers was no different. Filibuster Hanover was the first leader, clocking a 25 2/5 opener, and then his Ron Burke stablemate This Is The Plan moved around him to the front, followed by Western Fame. This Is The Plan and Western Fame hooked up in a cutthroat duel through middle-half panels of 52 4/5 and 1:20 and continued their fight around the far turn and into the lane.

Western Fame finally wore down and overtook This Is The Plan in mid-stretch and appeared like he might take a heroic victory, but the closers got rolling late, and somehow McWicked (Brian Sears/Casie Coleman), who appeared to be flailing on the far turn and in upper stretch from third-over, summoned all his reserves to re-rally and get up for the decision by a nose in 1:49. Western Fame and a charging Donttellmeagain dead-heated for second while Courtly Choice sprinted home for fourth in a race where the top six finishers were separated by less than a length.

“He showed a lot of guts that night, no doubt,” said Coleman. “He definitely looked tired and done, but then he just did what he does best and dug down deep and somehow found a way to win. That horse is 200 percent heart and just refused to lose that night. He knows where that wire is and gave all he had to get there.”

A rivalry begins in the Metro

The first of four showdowns in eliminations and finals between 2-year-old colt pacers Papi Rob Hanover and Tall Dark Stranger this year came in their Metro elimination at Woodbine Mohawk Park where Papi Rob Hanover led, but Tall Dark Stranger (Yannick Gingras/Nancy Johansson) forged by determinedly in the lane to get up and win. Tall Dark Stranger then came back to take the final the next week after he led early, released favored Capt Midnight, popped to the outside nearing three-quarters, grabbed command in the lane, and held safe over a rallying Papi Rob Hanover, who started from post nine.

Papi Rob Hanover (David Miller/Brett Pelling) got the better of Tall Dark Stranger for the first time in the Breeders Crown elimination, which was again at Woodbine Mohawk Park, and then their rivalry reached a new level in the final as they dueled through the stretch and Papi Rob Hanover edged by for a narrow win. However, an objection was lodged by Gingras for stretch interference, and it was allowed, reversing the placings and giving Tall Dark Stranger the Breeders Crown trophy.

Caviart Ally & Shartin throw down one more time in TVG Mare Pace

Harness racing’s other great rivalry in 2019 was in the open pacing mare ranks between Shartin and Caviart Ally. While Shartin had the better of it through the summer, Caviart Ally turned the tables late in the season, culminating with her 1:48 3/5 win by a nose in the TVG Mare Pace at the Meadowlands on November 23.

“Probably one of my mare’s most hard-fought races (but not my favorite race) was when she was nipped at wire in her last race in the TVG,” remarked Shartin’s co-owner Joann Looney-King. “It was no crime to be second with ten hard racing months behind you. The other great battle was when Brett Pelling instructed Andrew McCarthy to own the track because it wasn’t necessarily ours every week. Well, in the Betsy Ross we thrilled the fans! Andrew parked us the first quarter in 25 2/5, then pulled up in our face with a second quarter in 30 seconds. My mare deuce-pops, they race like hell the last half, and we won.

“Ally has been a tough competitor. I admire her from afar and admire her great talent.”

Six Pack goes out a winner

The TVG Open Trot featured a compact but elite field with the likes of multi-time world champion Six Pack, stakes winner Guardian Angel AS, the red-hot and fastest trotting mare of all-time Manchego, and two-time Breeders Crown champion Gimpanzee. When the dust settled, it was Six Pack, who was making his final career start, getting up in the lane after taking advantage of a nifty drive by trainer Ake Svanstedt to prevail in 1:50.

“Winning the TVG with Six Pack was a huge relief. After almost a full season of bad posts, we finally drew well and he raced super,” offered winning co-owner Tristan Sjoberg. “I also felt vindicated, on behalf of the horse, as he finally got to show that he was the best open trotter on the continent. As the saying goes, you are only as good as your last race and retiring in such style was befitting for such a great horse. Mixed emotions about him going to stud, as I prefer racing to breeding, but it was the right decision by the horse and that always takes precedence.”

That’s the list for 2019, though this piece would be incomplete in not bringing up Bold Eagle’s win in the Breeders Crown Open Trot and JK First Lady’s victory in a thrilling edition of the Three Diamonds on TVG night as honorable mentions. Best wishes to everybody in harness racing through the remainder of the holiday season, and see you in 2020 for more great races and competition.