George
Reider reports that the 3-year-old pacer Looks Don’t Count didn’t get that name
by accident, but appearances aside he can now officially be called a stakes
winner after capturing the first added-money contest of the season for his
division last weekend.
The
homebred son of Little Steven, who is out of the Denali mare The Beast’s
Beauty, races for Reider and Rick and Marlene Thomas and rode a garden trip to
his first trophy presentation with James Kennedy handling the lines.
It
was the second win in five starts for the pacer. His 1:57 final clocking was a tick slower
than the 1:56.4 mile he recorded when earning his graduation papers back on
March 23.
As
far as the moniker goes, Reider explained how it came to be.
“He
was given that name because when he was born he had a big Roman nose. He’s grown into it quite nicely, though.”
The
bay gelding is a half-brother to the multiple stakes winner Just Plum Lucky,
who also campaigned for the Thomas/Reider team.
“As
far as looks go, they couldn’t be more different,” George related. “Just Plum Lucky is on the small side and
he’s on the very large size. They do
have one thing in common and that’s speed, which is something all good horses
need.
“Looks
Don’t Count is just like a big kid and everything is still a game to him. He’s very green but getting more professional
with every start. James has done a great
job driving and I couldn’t be more proud of all the connections. This is so much fun, I can’t wait to see how
it all plays out.”
