Harness: Takter talks Red Right Hand and other potential stakes starters

Nancy Takter was watching Peaky Blinders when she purchased a yearling by Captaintreacherous in 2020. The popular British show was a hot property on Netflix at the time.

"He needed a new name, and I was watching the show and thought of Red Right Hand," Tatker said, revealing the show's lead-in theme music sung and composed by Nick Cave.

Much like Peaky Blinders, Red Right Hand would be missing in action through 2021. For the show, the hiatus was COVID-19 related. For the horse, it was a combination of bad luck and perhaps some tough competition.

"He just kept drawing bad post after bad post," said Takter of the now 4-year-old. "It was the kind of thing where he'd be too far back to get in the race. Maybe he didn't belong in some of those races."

The cold hard facts about Red Right Hand were obvious. By year's end he had not lived up to the caliber of horse he gave strong indication he would be as a budding 2-year-old star in 2020, capturing a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes event in his very first start.

Time has a way with some horses, and in the case of Red Right Hand, the tail end of 2021 and beginning of this year has allowed him to get his act together in a major way.

"I think right now it's a matter of having confidence," said Takter. "I give [driver] Scott Zeron a lot of the credit for that because when we took him over to Yonkers Scott took him off-the-pace and got him under control."

Early last October, Red Right Hand was racing against division-winner Perfect Sting in Kentucky without getting a check. Upon leaving the Bluegrass State, he shipped to Harrah's Philadelphia, and that's when things started moving in the right direction.

"I think the addition of Lasix, something he was not allowed to race on in Kentucky, made a big difference," said Takter.

With Lasix, Red Right Hand would win three of his next five starts with Dexter Dunn aboard. One victory came in 1:50, in a division of the Simpson where he defeated Whichwaytothebeach.

Yet, the biggest change for Red Right Hand came when the horse set foot on the Yonkers half-mile track at the end of 2021.

"We'd never put him on the half," said Takter. "He got around the five-eighths, but he was a bit snaky, and we weren't sure how he would do."

Red Right Hand won his last two starts as a 3-year-old over the Westchester County surface and just kept improving. This year he's captured his first three starts at Yonkers while moving through NW8, NW15000L5, and NW20000L5 competition to the point where he will face off against Open rivals on Monday [February 14].

"Scott [Zeron] definitely thinks he can go with the open pacers," said Takter. "It's a big step up, for sure."

On February 1, Red Right Hand put in a sparkling mile, scoring in 1:51 3/5 over a non-winners of $20,000 last five group at Yonkers. It was his fastest half-mile track victory but better yet "He finished with the plugs in," said Takter of the mile.

Just a 4-year-old, Takter refused to get ahead of herself and crown Red Right Hand good enough to compete in the coming Borgata Series that kicks off in March at Yonkers.

"It's too much to ask racing a 4-year-old against older horses in that series," said Takter. "We're going to give him weeks off in between races, and I'd like to have him ready to race in some of those Kentucky Sire Stakes events at Oak Grove."

The series begins on June 7, giving Red Right Hand plenty of time to build even more confidence. Prior to the Kentucky Sire Stakes, Takter hopes that Red Right Hand's half-mile track prowess might give her the upper hand in the Confederation Cup at Flamboro Downs, slated for May 22.

Takter did suggest that the 5-year-old No Lou Zing would be nominated for the Borgata Series. The son of Sweet Lou has regained top form and appears to have the talent to handle the half-mile track as well.

With 68 horses under her care, Takter has been rather busy of late, especially with the clock ticking and stakes payments around the corner. Some 38 2-year-olds are in training, and while she hinted that there could be a champion in the mix, it was clearly too early to speculate on the subject.

"One thing I will say is that collectively this group is doing much better than any I've had in the past," said Takter. "I've only had two OCD's removed this year, usually we average around 10."

Takter has had her share of champions over the last few years. With the first crop of Captain Crunch due this fall, we asked about her personal and professional opinion from what she's seen.

"They're just beautiful horses," said Takter. "Just like he was." That of course is the positive, on the other side of the ledger is what works for the business. "It's going to be tough picking out the right ones," Takter said.

While there is always the potential for favoritism when looking at yearlings that are close relatives to horses you've trained, Takter thinks more can be gained from understanding the specific quirks related to an individual or breed.

"I didn't train Father Patrick, my dad did. But Father Patrick had a tough mouth, and you had to know that. It helps when training one of his sons and daughters because they have inherited that trait too," Takter said.

► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter

Looking at some of her 3-year-olds preparing for the coming season, Takter was hopeful that a Muscle Hill-sired trotting filly named Breach would emerge this year as a force.

"I thought training down last year that she was as good or better than Selfie Queen and look how fast Selfie Queen turned out," said Takter of the Muscle Hill-sired filly that scorched the Red Mile in 1:51 2/5. "I trained her [Breach] in 1:58 last year at the Meadowlands," Takter said. Breach took a 2:00 mark in her lone baby race.

On the pacing side, the Always B Miki-sired JK Miki Mantle, the third foal and first male offspring of 2014 Horse of the Year JK She'salady, suffered a bone bruise last year that sidelined him.

"We're going to bring him back early and get him some starts," said Takter of the gelding that made just one baby-race start at the Meadowlands last year, a solid second-place finish. JK Miki Mantle will be heavily-staked.