Harness: So Surreal becoming a stallion to watch after Sire Stakes triple

When checking the results of major 2-year-old races on the Grand Circuit the names of the stallions are the same: Captaintreacherous and Somebeachsomewhere, maybe some Sweet Lou, Bettor’s Delight, Sportswriter or American Ideal. Yet, with the Sire Stakes season over in many states, who would've expected to see So Surreal sitting second in average earnings per starter.

The 2-year-old sons and daughters of Captaintreacherous have earned north of $2.5 million, more than those of any other stallion, but it is another son of the great Somebeachsomewhere which is making a name for himself.

So Surreal, on the strength of a trio of wins at Batavia Downs in the New York Sire Stakes finals, has seen his progeny average $18,947 in earnings (as of 9/23), finishing second behind his brother Captaintreacherous by just under $2,000. The pair of Somebeachsomewhere-sired horses have a sizable lead over Western Ideal at $16,112.

“It’s the biggest night of his life,” said Cameo Hills Farm owner Steve Jones after watching Hickfromfrenchlick compete the hat trick for So Surreal on NY Night of Champions. “Ray (Schnittker) is the one who said that this horse was worth a shot to be a stallion in the state. He had tremendous ability and is tremendously bred. I think he is going to be a serious factor in New York for a long time.”

Cameo Hills Farm bred all three winners. To have three New York champions is impressive, to do it from just 45 foals is amazing. Just compare that total to American Ideal, who had 109 foals in 2017.

The Fun Marshall kicked off the fun for Jones and a happy group of owners that included trainer/co-owner Richie Silverman and fellow owners Mary Kinsey Arnold, Edward Mcenery and Michael Gluckman. She went wire to wire for driver Scott Zeron to win by SIX lengths. Then came a pair of winners out of the Ray Schnittker barn. Cigars And Port led at every call and set a track record with his 1:54 final clocking for owners Schnittker, Nolamaura Racing LLC, Ted Gewertz and Steve Arnold. Finally, Hickfromfrenchlick upped his winning streak to five with a 1:54 score for Schnittker, Nolamaura and Thomas Spatorico.

“All three came out of Goshen. We bred all three of them,” said Jones of the winning horses. “They are all families that we have owned and supported. We bred the mare of Cigars And Port, we bought the dam of The Fun Marshall from Hanover Shoe Farms and we bought the dam of ‘Hick’ from the mixed sale at Harrisburg.”

The Goshen Yearling Sale was up nearly 16 percent in 2019 bolstered by the Cameo Hills Farm consignment. Stop Starting, a colt by So Surreal topped the day at $95,000 and the farm sold another by that stallion for $75,000.

“I read somewhere that someone said it is a sale of culls. It is certainly not. There were some very nice horses in it. The people who were there and bought them were smart enough to figure that out and I’m very happy for them,” said Jones, who can see a bright future for So Surreal if his New York Sire Stakes success turns into more support from quality broodmares. “If he gets the quality mares, we’ll still put some at Goshen and we’ll put some at Lexington. I think the horse is well on his way.”

Wonderful night at Batavia

New York Night of Champions marked my first visit to Batavia Downs, a track that opened in 1940 and with Roosevelt long gone, the oldest lighted harness track in the United States. It was a positive experience but what I took away most was how the new slot facility and hotel was incorporated into the operation and unique features of the old grandstand that would be a welcome addition to all tracks.

When walking in the front door visitors are provided a choice of whether to proceed straight into the casino area or upstairs to the track portion. This reminded me a bit of the entrance at Woodbine Mohawk Park where left takes you to the casino and right to the track. One of the more interesting elements of the design is that the corridor that connects the hotel to the casino and track area has numerous windows and seats that overlook the track. This allows fans of the sport to watch the races or casino-bound people passing by to be enlightened that racing is going on outside the oxygen-pumped depths of the slot areas.

When you make it to the enclosed grandstand, it immediately takes you back to tracks like Monticello and Pompano Park, with a large area with indoor seating and an ample dining room for those that want a good meal with their racing action. The maître d said the dining area was sold out and seated for 370 people. That’s a restaurant crowd we don’t see at the track very often.

My favorite part of the dining and grandstand area was more stylistic than anything else. On the bottom floor of the tiered dining room is a bar with seats that face the track. What a great concept, having a place where people can grab a drink and watch the action rather than hidden away viewing the races on a TV monitor. Ideally, every track in the country would have a 50 to 100-foot enclosed bar with seats facing the on-track entertainment.

Similar to the bar seating, the dining room was full of tables setup so all of the seats actually pointed towards the track. What a great idea! Rather than people sitting facing each other and having to twist their necks to the left or right to watch the warm-ups, post parade, or the race itself, the tables are half ovals placed against a wall so all of the seats face the racing.

Overall, the evening was clearly a success. A good crowd showed up and people generally seemed happy. Track GM Todd Haight and New York Sire Stakes Executive Director M. Kelly Young did a fabulous job making it a night to remember for everyone in attendance.

The only slight negative I could find was seeing seven of the eight finals won in wire-to-wire fashion, but that’s racing in a state that is dominated by half-mile tracks. Still, that fact took nothing away from the night and we’ll certainly look forward to 2020 when Yonkers Raceway plays host to the best of New York.