Vernon Downs: Grand Circuit trotters expected to shine in Big Apple

A pair of talented 2-year-old trotters with their sights set on major accomplishments on the Grand Circuit in 2027 are standouts in two of the four $250,000 Big Apple finals on Friday evening at Vernon Downs. The action kicks off at 5:05 P.M. (EDT) and also includes divisions for 2-year-old pacers of both sexes.

Grade 1 stakes winner Ocean Storm is the 2-1 morning line favorite in the colt and gelding trot division, while the undefeated Kountry Plunge is 7-5 in the final for filly trotters. Fans will want to get a good look as neither horse will be seen at the Breeders Crown at Scioto Downs in the coming weeks.

For Ocean Storm, he burst on the scene with a victory in the Grade 1 $410,400 William Wellwood Memorial at Woodbine Mohawk Park on August 29 and has won two of his three starts since, including in the elimination round of the Big Apple in 1:53, a full second faster than the other elimination. The only recent loss for the son of Chapter Seven came in the Mohawk Million when he was trip-compromised from post nine.

"He came out of the [Big Apple elim] really well," said trainer Cam Capone from the Lexington Selected Sale. "From what I understand, he trained really good [on Tuesday]. It should be a good situation."

"Good situation" may be an understatement for those that watched the colt cruise home by more than five lengths in his elimination win with Brett Beckwith motionless in the bike. To the naked eye it is also obvious that Ocean Storm is not the biggest trotter around, but he does have loads of natural ability.

"He's actually really compact, and he's really a nice build. It keeps him really sound, and that's kind of what I'm shooting for when I go back to Chapter Seven trotters," said Capone.

► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter

Already a winner of $264,392 in six career starts, Ocean Storm has an interesting ownership group that includes ADH Holdings LLC., Paul Kautz, Meadowlands CEO Jeff Gural and LeTROT President Jean-Pierre Barjon, who bred the horse.

"I won leading trainer at Tioga, and I talked to [Jeff Gural] fairly often. He'd come down to the paddock and talk to me. And then I'd call him on the phone here and there. I ran the horse by him. He liked the breeding, liked the horse, and he took a quarter. The whole partnership, honestly, is great," said Capone.

Ocean Storm will likely be closer to 2-5 than 2-1 when the gate speeds away for the fourth race on Friday. The morning line favorite is actually Gios Hope from post eight with Jason Bartlett driving for trainer Marcus Melander. Also by Chapter Seven, that colt won his elimination in 1:54.

For Ocean Storm, who is not eligible to the Breeders Crown, Friday will be the last start of the year.

"He's done for the year." He'll have seven starts, and then it's actually going to work out good because we've got the Oak Grove Derby, like May 15th, I believe it is. And then we're going to have to figure out how we're going to go about it, which race is in between that race and Jeff's [Gural] new race for the millions [Meadowlands Trot]. So, now we're going to have two shots to get [a million-dollar win]," said Capone, eluding to the Hambletonian as the other one.

Two races after Ocean Storm wraps up his year, Kountry Plunge will put her perfect six-for-six record on the line in the 2-year-old filly final. Also a daughter of Chapter Seven, she is the New York Sire Stakes champion in her division and has never left the state. That fact won't change in the near future as trainer Ake Svanstedt confirmed that she will skip the Breeders Crown and aim for the Goldsmith Maid at the Meadowlands on November 14.

"She is a Grand Circuit horse, yes, but there's good money in New York and now we have the Big Apple, so instead of going to Lexington, we went there. And then we have Breeders Crown, but I think we will skip it and go for the Goldsmith Maid," said Svanstedt. "It's a lot of traveling for her also. And she has raced six times now, and after Friday it will be seven. One more race after that is enough for her. There is so much money next year, so you need to be careful."

Kountry Plunge won her elimination race without breaking a sweat in 1:54 1/5 with Brian Sears making a cameo appearance in the bike after driving her once previously on September 4 at Vernon Downs. After a multi-year absence, Sears has been driving selectively since late July.

"I met him at Pocono," said Svanstedt about Sears. "He was a little bored and he wanted to do something. He started driving for some friends, and then I asked if he wanted to drive a horse for us. He's a good driver and I feel good to have him in the bike."

Sears will leave from post five with Kountry Plunge in the Big Apple final. Jula Florence, the other elimination winner (1:55 1/5) in the field, has post one with Tyler Miller driving for trainer Julie Miller.

The two pacing finals go as races eight and nine, with Cowboy Candy the 2-1 morning line choice in the filly split for trainer Aaron Lambert and driver Jason Bartlett, and Rose Run Cowboy (Bartlett and trainer Ron Burke) the 2-1 choice in the male division.