The brothers
and their parents Ron and Sandy Allen co-owned Fool’s Goal, the
triple-millionaire who finally hit his best stride at age seven. The
family is hoping to strike gold a little sooner this time with Top Billing in
the $58,650 Spring Survivor Trot final on Saturday night at the
Meadowlands. Top Billing is eligible to the $1.5 million Hambletonian on
Saturday, August 4.
The colt
heads a strong Julie Miller stable entry rated at 4-5 on the morning line in
the second race. He will start from post five with driver David Miller,
while his stable mate Trouble drew post six with Julie’s husband, Andy, driving.
Unraced at two, the three-year-old son of Andover Hall is two-for-two lifetime,
winning both starts in 1:55.2.
Top Billing
was a $22,000 Harrisburg Hammonton , NJ
“He happened
to have a good yearling page and turned out to be a good looker,” Doug Allen
recalled. “He could also trot in the field and when we went to the sale
we were surprised he didn’t go for $100,000 or more. He had just gotten
hurt before the sale. He had an injury to his eye. He had a cut and
stitches. Maybe people were concerned it might have been an issue down
the road. He stood correct, was average in size, and he was in our price
range. I’m kind fond of Andover Halls.”
Top Billing
was unraced as a two-year-old mainly due to health issues.
“He was sick
most of last summer and had a lot of allergy problems last year,” he
continued. “He was training down nicely until we sent him to Lexington
The Allens,
along with Bruce McElven, co-owned world champion Fool’s Goal.
After
struggling to stay on stride in the early years of his career, Fool’s Goal had
a break-out $1 million season at age seven in 2002. The son of Armbro
Goal was named the sport’s top older male trotter and won the $1 million
Breeders Crown at the Meadowlands in 1:51.3.
“It seems
like it’s been a while since Fool’s Goal was around,” said Allen. “He’s
17 now and living at Marvin Maker’s farm. Dad was the one who really got
us into racing. My brother and I started going to the sales. We had
that one good one in Fool’s Goal, and it’s just so hard to find another one
like him.”
Fool’s Goal
won back-to-back Breeders Crowns for Hall of Fame trainer Jim Doherty and
driver Jack Moiseyev.
“The first
Breeders Crown in 2002 at the Meadowlands was a highlight for me,” noted
Allen. “Of course, Fool’s Goal made all those breaks and hardly made any
money in his first few years of racing. It was so hard to figure out what
was going on with him, and we didn’t know what to do. It was a mental
thing with him, trying to build his confidence and putting all the pieces of
the puzzle together. He had his good days and bad ones.
Nevertheless, it was a great ride. There’s nothing like going to the
track and watching a horse like him storming down the stretch.”
