He
is still seeking, though, his first win in the Hambletonian. Of course, any
victory in trotting’s premier race for 3-year-olds would be memorable, but a
triumph in Saturday’s $1.5 million final at the Meadowlands Racetrack by Uncle
Peter would be even more special.
The
horse is named in honor of Fielding’s late brother Peter Fielding, who passed
away from leukemia 10 years ago.
“We
buy probably 30 yearlings a year – and we picked this one to name after my
brother,” said Fielding, who has had nine previous Hambletonian starters,
including Pastor Stephen in last year’s race. “Sure enough, he’s the one. It’s
unreal. It’s exciting. It’s a great tribute to Pete.”
Fielding,
who lives in Toronto , played junior hockey in Canada before playing professionally in Germany
for several years. He later made his mark in the business world, in both the
cosmetics industry and real estate. He has owned horses since the mid-1990s
with trainer Jimmy Takter, with whom he has had stars such as divisional
champions See You At Peelers, Pastor Stephen, K en
Warkentin, and Solveig.
Takter
trains Uncle Peter as well as Hambletonian finalist Guccio – another horse in
which Fielding shares ownership.
“Hopefully
it’s a great race,” Fielding said. “It’s the highlight for our sport so I’m
just really happy we have two (horses) in the final and have a legitimate
chance of winning it.”
Uncle
Peter has won eight of 12 career races, including last year’s Breeders Crown at
Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto ,
and earned $533,967. He is a son of Cantab Hall and the first foal out of the
mare Victory Treasure. He was purchased for $60,000 at the Lexington Selected
Sale, under the name Pick Up The Tab.
Fielding
said they settled on the name Uncle Peter because his brother was beloved by
his many nieces and nephews. Also sharing in ownership of the colt are
Fielding’s brother Jim, Christina Takter and Goran Falk.
“It
really was for the kids that we named him Uncle Peter,” Fielding said. “They
all completely loved him. He was a great guy and a very good uncle.”
Uncle
Peter, driven by Ron Pierce, brings a three-race win streak to the Hambletonian
final. He won his Hambletonian elimination race last weekend by 1-3/4 lengths
over Money On My Mind in 1:53.3 over a track labeled “good” because of earlier
rain.
Pierce
positioned Uncle Peter third going around the first turn before moving to the
lead on the backstretch. Banker Volo immediately trotted forward to take the
top spot from Uncle Peter as the field reached the halfway point in :55.3, at
which point Pierce moved from second and reclaimed the advantage at the top of
the stretch.
I
thought he raced well,” Takter said. “He had to move a couple times … but he
finished within himself so I was very pleased with him. It was a good race.
Hopefully we have a little better weather this Saturday. That’s going to be an
important factor.”
Takter
is a two-time Hambletonian winner, having captured the race in 2010 with Muscle
Massive and in 1997 with Malabar
Man. The 1997 Hambletonian was
the first to be contested using the eliminations-final format rather than heats
and in the 15 years with that system Takter has had at least one finalist 11
times.
In
fact, this year’s Hambletonian marks the sixth time Takter has had multiple
finalists in the race.
“It’s
a big honor,” said Takter, who was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in Goshen , N.Y. ,
on July 1. “There are 10 horses in the field and you have two of them; that’s
20 percent. How can you complain? Especially when you have two horses that did
a good elimination performance. Of course I’m very happy.”
Guccio,
who is owned by Christina Takter and John and Jim Fielding, was a late-charging
second to K nows Nothing in his
Hambletonian elimination. Jimmy Takter drove Guccio, who has won two of 14
career starts and earned $170,647. Prior to the Hambletonian elim, Guccio was
second to stablemate Little Brown Fox in a division of the Stanley Dancer
Memorial.
“It’s
not going to be a walk in the park for anyone in there,” Takter said about the
Hambletonian final, which will be aired on CBS Sports Network from 3:30 to 5
p.m. Saturday. “I could see four or five horses winning that race. But I like
my chances with both of my horses. I think they’re as good as anyone out there.
We’ll see.
“The
Hambletonian is the Hambletonian. It’s tough to win the final. I’ve been in a
lot of finals and I’ve been very fortunate to win two of them. But it’s not
easy. Things have got to go your way. At least we have a ticket to be excited
about.”
Fielding
and his family are excited as well.
“A
lot of the troops will be down there,” Fielding said. “My mom and dad are
excited. I’m not sure of everyone that’s going yet, but it will be a lot of
fun.”