by Ken Weingartner for Breeders Crown
Toronto --- John
Williamson has been in the harness racing business for more than 40 years, so
it will be a special occasion when he watches his first Breeders Crown finalist
-- Urbanite Hanover -- go behind the starting gate in Saturday’s $600,000
Breeders Crown for 2-year-old male pacers at Woodbine Racetrack.
Where he watches
the race, though, might be up in the air.
Williamson is
scheduled to have hernia surgery on Friday. He hopes to be in attendance for
the Breeders Crown the following evening.
“I don’t know
how, but I plan to sneak over,” the 65-year-old Williamson said, laughing.
“It’s OK. (Urbanite Hanover) is doing the racing, not me.”
Williamson is
among four trainers in the race who are making their Breeders Crown debuts on
Saturday. The others are Tony Alagna, who has 2-5 morning line favorite
Captaintreacherous and Wake Up Peter, Corey Johnson with Captive Audience and
Mark Austin with Fool Me Once. Danny Collins, with Twilight Bonfire, is making
only his second trip to a Breeders Crown final.
“It’s been a long
time coming,” said Williamson, who lives in Waterdown, Ontario and shares
ownership of Urbanite Hanover with Daniel Haist of Ridgeville, Ontario. “But
it’s all for him. The nice thing for me is just having a horse of this caliber.
I’ve really enjoyed him this year.”
Urbanite Hanover
is winless in nine starts, with three second-place finishes, and $56,130 in
purses. He finished fourth in his Breeders Crown elimination, which was won by
Wake Up Peter in 1:51.1. Urbanite Hanover was beaten by 3-1/2 lengths and timed
in 1:51.4, with a :26.3 last quarter-mile split.
He was driven by
Tim Tetrick in his elim, but Tetrick will handle Captaintreacherous in the
final. Ron Pierce picks up the drive on Urbanite Hanover.
“Tim really liked
him; he said he was full (of pace) but just had nowhere to go,” Williamson
said. “That’s happened to him a few times this year, where he’s been locked in.
“If he’s right,
he can come home good. The ‘Captain’ might not be beatable, but I’d like to get
behind him and take a shot.”
Prior to the
Breeders Crown elim, Urbanite Hanover finished second in a division of the
International Stallion Stakes at The Red Mile, with Pierce at the lines. A week
earlier in a Bluegrass division, he went off stride because of broken
equipment. He also had a rough trip in the Champlain Stakes on Sept. 8 at
Mohawk, racing on the outside for the entire mile.
Urbanite Hanover
is a son of Western Ideal, who won the Breeders Crown Open Pace in 2000, out of
the mare Up Front Sassy. A bay colt, Urbanite Hanover sold for $11,000 at the
2011 Standardbred Horse Sale. His third dam is the mother of stakes-winners
Tarport Hap, Tyler B and Cheery Hello, who was the Breeders Crown 3-year-old
filly pace champion in 1989.
“He has a real
strong family and he’s a nice individual,” Williamson said. “It’s really hard
to fault him. He wasn’t in the harness for three weeks when I thought I had
something special. He’s been easy from the get-go.”
Nicknamed
“Shaggy,” Williamson hopes Urbanite Hanover, who is 20-1 on the morning line,
looks sharp on Saturday night.
“Someone gave him
the nickname because he was late losing his baby hair,” Williamson said. “But
he’s anything but shaggy; he’s a gorgeous colt. He’s the nicest looking colt in
the barn.”
******
Austin’s first
trip to the Breeders Crown also has a medical angle, but this time it is for
the horse.
Fool Me Once was
fifth in his elimination last week. Afterward, Austin found the colt was sick.
He trained Fool Me Once on Thursday morning and was hoping for the best.
“I just blew him
out and he’s got a little more life to him,” the 52-year-old Austin said. “I
hope we got it cleaned up. He didn’t really fire on the end of (the mile) last
week and he had a perfect trip and a chance up the rail. But (as sick as he
was) he should’ve been worse.
“I’d feel better
if he was healthier and we didn’t draw the best post. But it’s still exciting.
You take what you can get and hope for a little racing luck.
“Captaintreacherous
looks like he’s in a league of his own. It looks like the rest of us are racing
for minor shares.”
Fool Me Once
headed to his Breeders Crown elimination, which was won by Wake Up Peter, off
two stakes wins at The Red Mile during the Grand Circuit meet.
Racing for the
first time out of Canada, Fool Me Once captured his division of the Bluegrass
Stakes by a half-length over Sir Richard Z Tam in 1:51.3 on Sept. 29 and then
won his division of the International Stallion Stakes by a half-length over
Twilight Bonfire in 1:51.3 on Oct. 6.
A son of Art
Major-Fool That I Am, Fool Me Once has won four of nine starts this season and
earned $127,226. He is owned by Austin and Daniel Smith, both from Ontario.
Fool Me Once is a
full-brother to multiple-stakes-winner Feel Like A Fool and was purchased under
the name Foolish Fishman for $70,000 at the Standardbred Horse Sale. His family
also includes millionaire I Am A Fool, who won the 2003 Breeders Crown for
2-year-old male pacers.
Austin typically
trains a stable of 15 to 18 horses. He was introduced to harness racing by his
uncle, Bud, and got into the sport full time after high school. He has averaged
$586,000 in purses over the last seven seasons, including $605,944 this year.
“My uncle had one
horse; he was a fireman and I used to go out and help him on the weekends,”
Austin said. “That’s how I caught the horse bug. I finished high school and
went to work for a couple guys. I struck out on my own when I was 21 and I’ve
been on my own ever since.”
******
Corey Johnson is
in his first full season as a trainer, but is become accustomed to big-money
stakes thanks to Captive Audience, who will leave from post 10 with Brian Sears
in the 2-year-old colt pace. Captive Audience, who was third to Wake Up Peter
in his elim, is 15-1 on the morning line.
Already this season,
Captive Audience has won the $267,066 Champlain Stakes at Mohawk on Sept. 8 and
competed in the $1.01 million Metro Pace, finishing ninth, on Sept. 1.
The 22-year-old
Johnson trains Captive Audience for his father, Colin, and Mac Nichol.
“It’s great,”
Johnson said about his Breeders Crown appearance. “I’ve been lucky enough to
come across this colt. Dad broke him and when he was ready to race, sent him to
me for the finishing touches. He liked him from the get-go and as soon as I got
him, I loved him. He’s got that power and he loves to do his job. He wants to
be a good horse.”
Captive Audience
has won two of nine races, hit the board seven times total, and earned
$179,154. Like Fool Me Once, he is a son of two-time Breeders Crown winner Art
Major. He is the first foal out of stakes-winner Captiva Island and his second
dam is millionaire Sanabelle Island. Captive Audience was purchased for $95,000
at the Standardbred Horse Sale.
“It’s a little
bit of a nervous time because it’s a big race, but I feel more nervous once the
horse gets on the track,” Johnson said. “Right now, things are in my control.
Once he leaves my control, I’m more nervous.
“But he always
leaves it on the track. He’s a good horse that way. He makes my job easy.”
The $600,000
Breeders Crown Two-Year-Old Colt Pace has been raced 28 times, but the favorite
has only won three times: Sweet Lou in 2011, I Am A Fool in 2003 and Camtastic
in 1987. Village Jiffy win in 1992 over Life Sign resulted in the longest
pay-off in this division – a $58.00 score.
