Johnny Bear's Northern Dancer win a family affair

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Ashlee Brnjas said she had seen the replay of Saturday’s Grade 1 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes too many times to count by the time training ended here Sunday morning. Brnjas and her father, John Burness of Colebrook Farms, recorded their first Grade 1 win when Johnny Bear won the Northern Dancer, nailing the heavily favored European shipper Hawkbill on the wire.

Burness owns Johnny Bear with the bear Stables of Danny Dion.

“I still can’t believe it,” Brnjas said. “My dad puts so much into the sport. He truly is my best friend. We fight all the time, but he’s never had a win like that. I’m so happy for him.”

Brnjas said Johnny Bear came out of Saturday’s Northern Dancer in good order, but no firm plans have been made about the horse’s next start. The Grade 1, $800,000 Canadian International over 1 1/2 miles on turf here Oct. 15 would seem like a logical next target, but Brnjas said a trip to Del Mar for the Breeders’ Cup Turf could also be on the table.

“Everybody’s throwing different ideas at me,” she said. “I guess I have to discuss it with my dad and discuss it with [Dion] and go from there. The horse is clearly on the uprise.”

Johnny Bear was the sales topper at the local yearling sale in 2012, bringing $275,000 from Burness and Dion. Brnjas said it took a while to get the now 6-year-old gelding into top form and described the process to this point as a roller-coaster.

“When we got him, he was lovely with a beautiful stride, but he was short and stocky,” she said. “He would sleep and sleep to the point where I would pull bloods on him because horses shouldn’t sleep that much. I was a little bit concerned. But I did a lot of research on the English Channels and they said he’ll come around. That’s what they do.”

Brnjas said she started to see improvement in Johnny Bear this past winter at Tampa Bay Downs. Johnny Bear was winless in six starts last season, and Brnjas said she had to convince her father and Dion not to run the horse for a $25,000 claiming tag over the winter. Johnny Bear would go on to win two of his three starts at Tampa Bay Downs last winter, and has now won three starts this season at Woodbine, including his first stakes wins in the Halton Stakes on Aug. 30 and the Northern Dancer on Saturday.

“He’s a little more lively now,” Brnjas said. “He’s one of the calmest horses I’ve ever trained. He’s a cool character. He kind of fell off form a little bit. They said to run him for $25,000. I said, ‘He’s just coming into his own, don’t lose him for $25,000.’ You would lose him and someone else would get the rewards from what he’s become. He’s developing more into a racehorse as opposed to where he was before. I think he’s kind of figured it out now.”

With the Northern Dancer win, Johnny Bear improved his record to 7 wins from 33 starts. Brnjas said it was an emotional victory.

“To have him go out and have my dad there and have him win, it was pretty special,” she said.