Self Possessed led a parade of future Stars this week

There was plenty of action at the Meadowlands this week, with preparation among the major contenders beginning to get serious among the three-year-old trotting set. There were also a pair of memorable performances from two 4-year-olds, while two-year-old action also showcased some potential stars.

By any yardstick, the most exciting performance of the week was the thoroughly, remarkable effort turned in by Self Possessed this past Thursday at the Meadowlands. The Victory Dream colt, who has always been considered one of the top five of this crop, may have elevated himself to the position of division leader as he scorched the Meadowlands in 1:52 2-5 in only his second start. Not only was the mile a season’s record, it was only a tick from Mack Lobell’s 1:52 1-5 world mark, which has stood for 12 years. The remarkable note about Self Possessed’s performance was that he scored from the 10-hole in this event, was eighth at the quarter, seventh at the half, still fifth by 6½-lengths at the stretch call, but won anyway by a widening 1½-lengths, trotting his own, individual final quarter in :27!

In last week’s “Corner,” we noted the astounding 1:53 qualifier turned in by Self Possessed a week earlier. Reports from the Meadowlands indicated the colt, trained by Ronnie Gurfein, was well in hand throughout the stunning, 1:53 qualifying effort. It was also said that Lachance dismissed criticism of the effort, saying he just wanted “…to stretch the colt out a little.” Both Gurfein and Lachance have been down the road to the Hambletonian before, winning with Continentalvictory and with Victory Dream. Gurfein also dismissed the effects of the torrid qualifier, saying the Meadowlands is a much faster track now than it was when his two previous Hambletonian winners qualified with 1:54 efforts in June. Self Possessed had a splint frozen recently and will appear next in the Beacon Course eliminations.

Self Possessed has the pedigree to go with it. He is a half-brother to the 1997 Kentucky Futurity winner, Take Chances 3,1:54 2-5. Their dam is the Mystic Park mare, Feeling Great 3,1:57 3-5, herself a stakes winner of more than $125,000. Brittany Farms, who still have a major interest in Self Possessed, bred the gifted colt. George Segal has won nearly every major stake the sport offers, but would love nothing better than a Hambletonian trophy for his Brittany Farms trophy room. While Self Possessed was one of last year’s major two-year-olds, he has improved greatly from last season.

ANGUS HALL SHOWED UP AND RACED GREAT

Last week, we also asked the question, “Where is Angus Hall?” That was answered by the Garland Lobell colt, who appeared in the same prep race with Self Possessed, and went a very game mile, setting a pocket to the front-running CR Renegade through fractions of :27 3-5 to the quarter, :54 3-5 to the half, and three-quarters in 1:24 1-5. At midstretch, Angus Hall and driver John Campbell appeared to be winners, but could not hold off the astounding rally of Self Possessed. Still, it was a wonderful effort for Angus Hall in his first start of the season for trainer Bobby Stewart. Angus Hall is clearly a gifted colt among a battery of 3-year-old trotting stars. CR Commando, Enjoy Lavec, Comet’s Tail and Starchip Entrprise all took the week off to prepare for this week’s Beacon Course eliminations, while the Dubois Stables’ Pearsall Hanover won the $100,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes final for Mickey McNichol in 1:55 2-5. Winner of the Dexter Cup earlier in the year, Pearsall Hanover is still not considered in the same breath with the division leaders, although a Valley Victory colt can never be overlooked in a big stake.

THE FILLIES SHOOK THINGS UP IN THE DELVIN MILLER ELIMINATIONS

While the colts had the major showcase, the three-year-old fillies competed in a trio of eliminations for next week’s Delvin Miller Memorial final. This race should produce the Hambletonian Oaks favorite, but that outcome is strictly up for grabs, as this division has no clear-cut leader.

Rum Boogie won the fastest of the three Miller eliminations, sitting close to the fractions and then getting by Lovelytobehold and Jim Doherty late, for a 1:55 2-5 score for Mike Lachance. Lovelytobehold, a daughter of Armbro Goal, set all the fractions for Jim Doherty and just missed here in a fine effort. The latter filly has made only six starts, five of them this season, but is a definite contender next week. Rum Boogie still lacks the tactical speed which will allow for her to dominate this division, but she did improve in this victory, and the 1:55 2-5 was a new mark for her. She has now won six of 10 lifetime starts and will be the favorite for this week’s Miller final.

The other two eliminations of the Miller Memorial produced solid winners, with Oolong grabbing her elimination, also for Lachance, in 1:56 3-5, with a charging victory over the pace-setting Canland Hall and the well-placed Bloodstock’s Chat. Another daughter of Armbro Goal, Oolong has improved tremendously as spring has turned to summer. Trained by Per Henriksen, the fily is a daughter of the Super Bowl mare, China Tea. This was her third win of the season. Oolong is also a “closer,” and her success in the big stakes will depend on a rapid pace up front. She will probably also lose Lachance for these assignments, as he is committed to Rum Boogie, last year’s two-year-old champion. Musical Victory, the favorite in this Miller elimination, made a break at the start, and did not make the Miller final, a major setback to her Hambletonian Oaks’ hopes. Customary Logo, another highly-regarded filly, ran early as well in the same elimination. Both these fillies will look to re-qualify before the Hambletonian Oaks.

The third division of the Miller went to the upset-minded Bit O Candy, trained by Ronnie Gurfein. The Pine Chip filly was winless in 14 lifetime starts before last weekend, but picked a nice spot to break her maiden. Driven by George Brennan, Bit O Candy came from sixth at the half to catch the pace-setting Justgotafeeling in 1:56 3-5, but trotted her final quarter under :28 seconds. Bit O Candy’s best showing prior to this was a second-place finish last fall to Rum Boogie in the Goldsmith Maid at Garden State Park. Bit O Candy's dam is the Valley Victory mare, Candy Bowl 2,1:58 2-5. Poster Princess, another Pine Chip filly, was third in this division after last week’s surprise victory in the Coaching Club Trotting Oaks. Bit O Candy and Poster Princess are both closers, and will also have to rely on front-end speed to improve their chances of victory.

PINE CHIP GETTING THE FILLY PERFORMERS HE NEEDS

The victory by Bit O Candy and last week’s good showing by Poster Princess has begun to offset the major criticism of their sire, Pine Chip. Although he produced the 1998 division money leader in Starchip Entrprise, and the Peter Haughton winner, Enjoy Lavec, Pine Chip’s first crop was criticized for its lack of filly stakes winners. The exploits of Bit O Candy and Poster Princess have now begun to abate that criticism, and surely are a good sign for the young stallion.

SEVERAL OF THE TOP FILLIES HAD ROUGH WEEKS

Several of the division-leading fillies had rough weeks. As already noted, Musical Victory ran at the start of her Miller elimination. The highly-regarded, Softly Dream, also made a break at the start of her elimination, and was never in it. The Super Bowl filly, Meadowbranch Nifty, encountered a tough first over trip in her elimination, and wound up seventh, but was beaten only three lengths in the 1:56 3-5 effort by Bit O Candy. Canland Hall was superb in her Meadowlands debut for Wally Hennessey and trainer Bobby Stewart. She went to the front and was only caught in the last strides by Oolong. Justgotafeeling, a daughter of the unheralded Speedy Crown stallion, Thirty Two, went a superb trip and was just nipped at the wire by Bit O Candy’s late rally. Justgotafeeling has been back of second only once in ten lifetime starts for trainer-driver Kevin Sizer.

FERN WAS SUPER IMPRESSIVE IN A NEAR WORLD RECORD MILE

Another of the week’s impressive winners was the 4-year-old, Sierra Kosmos mare, Fern, who scored in a Meadowlands overnight on Thursday for Luc Ouellette in 1:52 3-5, which is only a few ticks from Beat The Wheel’s all-age trotting mark of 1:51 4-5. Fern had disappointed in her most recent start, as she made a break in her Titan Cup elimination. She had previously won at 1 1/16-mile in the Classic Oaks Series at the Meadowlands. Her next start will be the $40,000 third leg of the Classic Oaks at Hoosier Park on July 11. Afer that stake, Fern will go back to the Meadowlands for her Nat Ray and Breeders Crown engagements.

The 1998 three-year-old champion filly, Fern’s mile matches the race mark of Moni Maker at the Meadowlands last summer, and shows that the diminutive mare will be a factor in the upcoming Breeders Crown and Nat Ray stakes. Fern and Luc Ouellette are a wonderful team, and the black mare is a very capable trotter. Fern, who is trained by Norwegian native, Arild Eggen, is also very comfortable with the Meadowlands, as she has lost only once there in six lifetime starts, including last year’s Miller Memorial and Hambletonian Oaks victories. Fern was not thought to possess this kind of speed, but she trotted home in :28 2-5 in her record mile last week. She was not eligible for the Cutler Memorial elimination.

FERN'S MILE WAS EQUALED BY FOOL'S GOAL

However, Fern’s 1:52 3-5 mile was equal to the winning effort turned in by Fool’s Goal as he captured the Cutler elimination for driver Jim Doherty. Fool’s Goal set a world record for 4-year-old geldings in winning this event, displacing Champion On Ice’s 1:53 1-5 effort at Springfield in 1995. Fool’s Goal is a gelded son of Armbro Goal, who had a very good week with Oolong winning a Miller elimination as well.

In the Cutler elimination, Fool’s Goal got by the pace-setting Magician and held off the late-charging Glory’s Comet, as last week’s surprising, Titan Cup winner Alanjopa failed to fire this week. Fool’s Goal is a rapidly improving trotter who first appeared at the Meadowlands last summer. Almost a year ago, Fool’s Goal defeated the eventual Kentucky Futurity winner, Trade Balance, in a pair of Meadowlands overnights, the quickest in 1:53 4-5. This rise to prominence is not all that surprising. Fool's Goal has battled unsoundness throughout his brief career and was not eligible to last year's major stakes. The good-looking horse was blocked last week in the Titan Cup final with trot. He has good tactical speed and his win in the Cutler was not a surprise to this correspondent. This is a very evenly-ranked group of older trotters, with post position and racing luck the major factor in determining who will win the Breeders Crown and Nat Ray stakes. There does not appear to be a dominant horse in this group.

PINE CHIP HAD FOUR TWO-YEAR-OLD WINNERS AT THE MEADOWLANDS

In other action of note, Pine Chip nearly swept Saturday morning’s two-year-old qualifiers at the Meadowlands, with a group of expensive yearlings hitting the winners circle. Smok’n Lantern, a Pine Chip colt from the Canadian-bred stakes winner, Armbro Lantern, won for the second time for Berndt Lindstedt in 2:01 1-5. Bob Waxman owns this impressive colt, who was a $90,000 yearling last fall. Another Pine Chip colt, Nunsuchthing, won for Wally Hennessey in 2:01 4-5 for trainer Bob Bencal. This colt’s dam is the Speedy Crown mare, Armbro Nun, from the same family that produced Armbro Keepsake, Donerail, et al. This colt was a $110,000 yearling and was purchased by prominent owner, Jeffrey Gural, the breeder of Fern. Nunsuchthing and Smok’n Lantern both sold last fall at Kentucky Standardbred.

Pine Chip also had a pair of filly winners Saturday morning at the Meadowlands, with Simple Challenge winning for Tommy Haughton in 2:03 and Charm's Chip in 2:03 3-5 for Jan Johnson. Haughton has raved about Simple Challenge throughout the winter and spring. She is from the Prakas mare, Simply Hanover, and was a $97,000 purchase last fall at Tattersalls. The sharp filly is a half-sister to the Norwegian stakes star, Sugarcane Volo 4,1:59 2-5; $138,285, and is owned in Sweden by Jolf Media Trading.

The other filly winner for Pine Chip was the well-bred Charm’s Chip, who scored in 2:03 3-5 for Jan Johnson. This filly is a daughter of the Nevele Pride mare, Sizzling Charm, 3,1:56 3-5, and that mare is a daughter of former world champion, Colonial Charm. She was also a $100,000 yearling at Kentucky Standardbred by Arden Homestead Stable.

Rounding out the winners of Saturday’s two-year-old qualifiers was Jimmy Takter with Fatima Lavec, a Sugarcane Hanover half-sister to Johan Dieden’s champion, Enjoy Lavec. Fatima Lavec trotted in 2:02 for Takter and will almost certainly be a factor in the upcoming Merrie Annabelle stake. In this race, Fatima Lavec defeated Castleton Pine (Pine Chip-Anamosa Hanover) and Jet Lag S (Super Arnie-Happy Hammering.)

IT IS CRUNCH TIME FOR THE DIVISION LEADERS

It is now crunch time for the major three-year-old contenders, and for the aged horses in the Breeders Crown and Nat Ray stakes. The next month will go a long way toward deciding many of the divisional races for 1999. Stay tuned right here on the KGB World of Harness Racing for complete results and analysis of all these major stakes.