Harness: Workmanlike Bettor's Wish knows how to win

It looks like it’s going to be a battle of ‘Old School’ versus ‘New School’ in the coming weeks of the sophomore colt stakes campaign. Such is the case following the methodical victory of Bettor’s Wish on Saturday (5/25) in the $300,000 Art Rooney at Yonkers and the “under wraps” performance of Captain Crunch in a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes division on Sunday (5/26) at Harrah’s Philadelphia.

Bettor’s Wish, a son of Bettor’s Delight and thus a great grandson of Cam Fella, seems to be the quintessential pacer that appears to go only as fast as he needs to. In an era where high speed is in abundance, Bettor’s Wish has won three times without breaking any track records. He’s done so easily and convincingly but without the 25 and change quarters we’ve come to expect from elite talent.

It’s still very early in the sophomore season but there is indeed something to admire in Bettor’s Wish’s workmanlike approach to the racing wars.

Trainer and part-owner Chris Ryder spoke volumes of his horse without saying a whole lot. “He’s just a very easy horse to be around. Very intelligent,” Ryder said on Tuesday. “He does what he has to do and wants to go by other horses.”

It’s a simple strategy no doubt, and in the Rooney what caught my eye was just how easily Bettor’s Wish went by a very solid horse in Blood Money to take command of the race into the final turn and inevitably draw clear. Six months from now the quality of his rivals may be called into question, but prior to Saturday Blood Money and Air Force Hanover were more than credibly Top-10 types.

Its not just Bettor’s Wish that is Old School, but Ryder’s vision of the past has much to do with his purchase and his progress. “It’s just a great old family,” Ryder said of the dam side of Bettor’s Wish’s pedigree. “It’s the Three Diamonds line and it keeps producing. There may be some generations where its kind of light but it keeps coming back.”

Indeed Three Diamonds has enjoyed a brilliant career after her racing days were over but that doesn’t explain how Ryder was able to pluck this colt for $20,000. “I was willing to go $40 to $50,000,” Ryder said. “He was an Ontario bred at a Kentucky Sale and had just one testicle and that one wasn’t very big.”

While Ryder has been able to purchase $300,000-plus yearlings in the past, he’s always looked to the bottom of the market to find something worth pursuing. In Bettor’s Wish he’s tapped an impressive bottom line pedigree with the aging but still incredibly potent Bettor’s Delight.

“I haven’t had many Bettor’s Delights,” Ryder said.

Ryder will continue to remain Old School with his sophomore prodigy and skip this week of racing instead training on Saturday (6/1) before sending Bettor’s Wish to Ontario on Tuesday to get ready for North America Cup trials on June 8.

“We’ve had some big offers on the colt,” Ryder said, “But not high enough for us to sell.”

While Bettor’s Wish brings ‘Old School’ style and older bloodlines to the 2019 racing wars, Captain Crunch arrives as the first generation of Captaintreacherous. Last year he battled many of his technically ‘half-brothers’ in a contentious Pennsylvania Sire Stakes program. After a few rounds of action this year, Captain Crunch appears to have gained traction and a good deal of separation from the elite in the Quaker State.

The respect factor is always in play but Captain Crunch wasn’t sleeping on the job as he methodically put away Sire Stakes rivals on Sunday and drew off in a 1:49 2/5 mile well in hand. Time again isn’t the full measure of Captain Crunch’s victory since Southwind Ozzi (1:48 4/5) was the fastest of the three Sire Stakes division winners. Southwind Ozzi is not eligible to the North America Cup or Meadowlands Pace and therefore will have to prove himself in Sire Stakes competition solely.

Captain Crunch has been through the high-speed wars and has gained stature and he along with a resurgent Workin Ona Mystery will join Bettor’s Wish heading northward for the North America Cup. It will definitely be a generational battle that really puts the “improvement of the breed” adage to the test. There’s a significant amount of older bloodlines in Bettor’s Wish yet he seems more than capable of going as fast as necessary to get the job done.

For Ryder it’s been a long dry spell between top sophomore pacing talent. “It definitely feels good to have a colt of this caliber again,” said Ryder. “He’s got to do a few more things in order for me to compare him to the best I’ve had.”

Ryder reacted with more certainty when speaking about Bettor’s Wish’s driver Dexter Dunn, who he was most instrumental in supporting his arrival on these shores. “I’m not surprised at all by his success,” Ryder said of Dunn. “He’s a great talent and he knows when to be aggressive and when not to be.”

Ryder is currently training 33 horses with half of them 2-year-olds that will likely be unveiled in the coming weeks. “We’re not going with any of them this week but you’ll see them in two or three weeks,” Ryder said without wishing to reveal any names at this time.

There are some other potential bright spots in Ryder’s stable including the pacing fillies Stonebridge Soul and Abigail Dawn, both entered on June 1 in Pennsylvania All Star competition at Pocono. “Abigail Dawn had some soreness issues as a 2-year-old,” Ryder said. “She’s gotten over that this year and has been solid.”

As for Stonebridge Soul, the daughter of Somebeachsomewhere has a victory in two seconds thus far during her sophomore campaign. One of the second place finishes was to division leader Warrawee Ubeaut in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes competition.

The stakes season is setting up nicely, Bettor’s Wish has won three times with his fastest a 1:51 4/5 effort at Yonkers. Captain Crunch has two sub-1:50 miles to his credit.

The feeling is Bettor’s Wish will go as fast as he needs to go.

Will it be fast enough?