A 'BEWITCHING' tale - The family of Super Bowl & Classical Way

Or more correctly, it is a tale about Bewitch. This Bewitch is a foal of 1950, and is one of a few, classy, modern, foundation mares that have produced a family known wherever trotters are raced.

Bewitch was a daughter of Volomite, one of the foundation sires of the breed, and from the Clever Hanover mare, Bexley, from a maternal family as old as the breed itself. Bewitch was a good filly, winning on the Grand Circuit, including a win in the prestigious Coaching Club Trotting Oaks at Goshen half-mile, in 1953, in 2:05h which was only a few ticks from the then world record for a 3-year-old filly on a half-mile track. Raced by noted breeder David Johnston, Bewitch was a black mare who was good enough to start in the 1953 Hambletonian, won by the legendary Hoot Mon mare, Helicopter, profiled just last week in this same space.

Bewitch earned a little more than $33,000. But, it is Bewitch’s broodmare career that we now honor and recognize. After racing, she produced two fillies by Rodney who would later help to change and shape the modern trotter. As in most cases regarding our very best trotters, there is ample evidence to suggest that racing class can be inherited maternally. The Bewitch family is another of those textbook cases.

THE FIRST SIGN OF CLASS WAS HISTORICAL

Bewitch’s dam, Bexley, a foal of 1944, had no record, and she is by the little known Clever Hanover, a son of Belwin. The next dam is the Altantic Express mare Santos Express, a 1930 product. Then, the family traces to Evening Gale, a daughter of Peter The Great, whose dam was Morning Gale, then to Nightingale, a well-known stakes star of the late 1890’s, and a half-sister to the turn-of-the-century world champion stallion, Cresceus 2:02¼. Although he is largely forgotten today, and relegated to the status of historical footnote, Cresceus was the only trotting stallion to wear the mantle of the breed’s fastest trotter between 1845 and 1969, a remarkable span of 124 years. Cresceus’ reign was brief, since so many of the champions during this period were either females or geldings, but he was still the only stallion during all that time to hold the world trotting record. After a brief stud career in the US, Cresceus was exported to Russia, and his blood can still be found there.

The taproot mare for this family is Contention, a granddaughter of Hambletonian foaled in the mid-1800’s. Contention is the grandam of Cresceus through her daughter, Mabel. This is not one of our larger families, even though Cresceus was a world champion trotting stallion from this family nearly 100 years ago. It would take nearly 60 years for the family to reveal its inherent class, and step forward from the shadows. The first sign that something was happening was the arrival on the scene of Florican, a foal of 1947, followed closely by his close kin, the world champion trotter, Matastar 4,T1:55 4-5, a foal of 1958. Matastar was by Star’s Pride, and from the Spud Hanover mare Honey Flower, a full sister to Florican. These two champions both traced directly to Nightingale (see previous paragraph) as she was the sixth dam of Florican. Another trotter descended from the same maternal family was Galophone, sire of BF Coaltown.

LONGTIME PATRONS OF THE GRAND CIRCUIT

Getting back to Bewitch, she was bred to Rodney due to the fact that the seminal son of Spencer Scott had raced for David Johnston's father, R. Horace Johnston. The Johnston’s, from North Carolina, were longtime patrons of the Grand Circuit, and shareholders in the Lexington Trots Breeders Association, parent company of The Red Mile. The younger Johnston was also founder, in tandem with his good friend, Norman Woolworth, of the famed Stoner Creek Stud in Paris, Kentucky before Johnston’s untimely death from cancer in the early 1980’s.

However, Johnston lived long enough to see the Rodney fillies from Bewitch produce several outstanding horses. Her first daughter, named Beloved, produced the 1966 Hambletonian winner Kerry Way 3,1:58 4-5; $221,499, from the cover of Star’s Pride. A full sister to Beloved, a mare named Pillow Talk, also produced a Hambletonian winner in the 1972 star, Super Bowl 3,1:56 2-5, the only living winner of trotting’s Triple Crown, and the leading living sire of Hambletonian winners. Since their dams were full sisters, Kerry Way and Super Bowl were full blood brother and sister.

Kerry Way, a lithe filly who was very much a Star’s Pride type, was owned and raced by Clarence Gaines, founder of the famed Gainesway Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, which was later converted to a Thoroughbred farm by Gaines’ son, John Gaines. When Kerry Way won The Hambletonian for Gaines and trainer/driver Frank Ervin at Du Quoin in 1966, it was the culmination of many years of involvement in harness racing at the very highest levels. The Gaines’ family came right back and won The Hambletonian the very next year with Speedy Streak, a full brother to Speedy Scot, also trained by Ervin and catch driven by Del Cameron.

Gaines, who had made a fortune as an inventor (the Gaines dog food company was started by him) kept Kerry Way after her racing days were over and one of her matings was to 1963 Hambletonian winner, Speedy Scot.

CLASSICAL WAY WAS THE RESULT OF THAT MATING

Classical Way was a foal of 1976, and is one of only six foals that Kerry Way produced. But what a filly she was! Classical Way won 32 races in a brilliant career from two through five on both the national and international stage. Trained and raced for the Gaines family by John Simpson, Jr., Classical Way was, unlike her dam, a big filly, much more in the mold of her sire, Speedy Scot, a massive son of Speedster. She was tall, long, leggy and every bit a trotting machine. As a point of reference, Moni Maker, the current queen of world trotting, is very similar in appearance to Classical Way. Moni Maker is a much more attractive mare than Classical Way, but each embodies that subtle, sometimes missing, combination of exciting power and athletic grace.

At two and three, Classical Way was prominent on the Grand Circuit, winning often, and impressing everyone along the way, with her speed and durability. She was not, however, a good post horse, and when she chose not to behave at the gate, she was very erratic and often turned in poor performances. On her game, however, she was virtually unbeatable.

This writer recalls the 1979 Hambletonian vividly. Classical Way came into the race as one of the favorites, in a field that also included eventual Trotter of the Year, Chiola Hanover and Legend Hanover. It was hoped that Classical Way could win the Du Quoin feature, adding yet another historic saga to the annals of the great stake. This was especially true because her sire, Speedy Scot, and her dam, Kerry Way, had both won the Hambletonian on the same track. Sadly, it was not to be.

Classical Way had apparently not read the script and made a break at the gate in the first heat, from an outside post, losing all chance. In the second heat, she was parked the entire mile, beaten only a couple of lengths by race winner Legend Hanover.

CLASSICAL WAY HAD HER DAY, HOWEVER

A classic win was in the cards, however, for Classical Way, as later that fall she won the historic Kentucky Futurity for the Gaines family and Simpson. The elder Gaines later was quoted that winning the celebrated Kentucky feature with Classical Way was his finest moment in more than 50 years of racing. It made for a memorable, post-race embrace between driver Simpson and owner Gaines in The Red Mile’s winners enclosure that touched a deep, emotional chord in anyone who witnessed it, and understood its significance.

Classical Way was a marvelous, if enigmatic, filly, and later became a wonderful, aged mare. Her 3-year-old mark of 1:57 4-5 was lowered to T1:55 2-5 over The Red Mile at four (a world record) and she earned more than $715,000 in 53 career starts. Besides the Futurity at three, she also won the Old Oaken Bucket at Delaware; the Lexington Filly Stake at The Red Mile; The Arden Downs at The Meadows; the Review Filly Stake at Springfield and the Blue Bonnets Grand Circuit feature in Montreal for her gait and sex.

At four, Classical Way worked her way into the open ranks, and won the Roosevelt International, American Trotting Championship, Challenge Cup, and a leg and final of the American Trotting Classic at Hollywood Park. At five, she ventured to France where another poor start found her third in the 1981 Prix d’Amerique. She rebounded a week later to win the Prix de France from a mobile start.

Classical Way, whose sire and dam were both Hambletonian winners, has been bred to five Hambletonian winners. She has produced a dozen foals, four in the US and eight more since her export in 1987. Her export followed a public sale for $400,000 at the 1986 International Trotting Bloodstock sale at Tattersalls, where the Gaines family relinquished title in the champion mare to Swedish breeder, Lars Thulin. This was the same sale where Winky’s Gill was acquired by Castleton Farm for $800,000, still the record for a Standardbred mare at auction.

Classical Way was in foal to Super Bowl when she was sold, and had already produced four foals, two each by Bonefish and Nevele Pride prior to her export, all Hambletonian winners. Since arriving in Sweden, she had three foals by Mack Lobell, and her last two foals have been by American Winner. She also has had two offspring in Sweden by Pershing, a son of Nevele Pride.

CLASSICAL WAY’S PRODUCTION RECORD

Like many great race mares, Classical Way’s peerless ability has not been passed directly to any of her 12 foals. She does have a pair of 2:00 credits. Her Bonefish daughter, Celestial Way, won more than $60,000, and took a mark of 3, 1:57 3-5. A Nevele Pride colt, Competitive Way, acquired a 3,T1:59 2-5 mark, but won less than $5,000. The Super Bowl foal she produced after her sale, named Wayup, won eight races at a minor level, earning less than $30,000, with a mark of 2:07 2-5. Wayup had a two-year-old winner in 1998 in Sweden, a colt named I’m Ready, who is by Spotlite Lobell.

The fact that Classical Way was even bred to Super Bowl is very interesting, given the fact that the dam of Super Bowl and the grandam of Classical Way are the full sisters Beloved and Pillow Talk. These sibling crosses are often very productive, but the experiment was not repeated after the mare was exported.

Classical Way’s best racing foal is the 1992 mare, Enlightenment 2:00 1-5; a winner of $70,000, who is by world champion Mack Lobell 3,1:52 1-5. Even though none of Classical Way’s foals have found their dam’s stardom, nine of her ten foals of racing age have raced. She currently has a two-year-old colt by American Winner, and a yearling filly by the 1993 Hambletonian winner. One of Classical Way’s daughters has produced. The Nevele Pride mare, Miss Gainesway 2,T2:05 4-5, is the dam of the good colt, Minister of Doom 4,1:58 3-5f; $87,018, and his full sister, Hill’s Beloved 2,2:00 4-5. Both are by Baltic Speed.

CLASSICAL WAY IS INTENSELY INBRED

Classical Way’s pedigree is most interesting, in that she is inbred to Rodney. She is a wonderful example of effective inbreeding. Her sire, Speedy Scot, is a grandson of Rodney, and her dam, Kerry Way is out of the Rodney mare, Beloved. This is 3 x 3 to Rodney. She is also linebred to Volomite, in that Speedy Scot’s dam, Scotch Love, is by Victory Song, a son of Volomite, and Star’s Pride, the sire of Kerry Way, is a grandson of Volomite through Worthy Boy. A third cross to Volomite comes from old Bewitch herself. Classical Way is also 5x4x5 to Scotland, since Speedy Scot was linebred to Scotland. To have inbred and linebred crosses to Rodney, Scotland and Volomite is a pretty good recipe to produce a top horse.

CLASSICAL WAY’S SISTER IS THE BETTER PRODUCER

Before producing Classical Way, Kerry Way had shown she had something to offer in her good Florican filly, Exclusive Way 3,1:59 3-5; $138,688, winner herself of a heat of the 1975 Kentucky Futurity. Exclusive Way eventually became the property of Hanover Shoe Farms, and has become the effective daughter of Kerry Way. Exclusive Way has produced the Breeders Crown winning, Prakas filly, Expressway Hanover 3,1:55 2-5; $339,606. To the cover of Florida Pro, Exclusive Way produced Colonial winner Everglade Hanover 3,1:57 3-5h; $346,150; Harriman Cup winner Excel Hanover 3,1:57 4-5f; 1:57 3-5f; $430,000 as well as Excella Hanover 3,T1:59 3-5; $36,888. The latter mare is dam of the good Speedy Crown mare Kerry’s Crown 1:55 1-5, a $400,000 winner.

After producing Super Bowl, Pillow Talk also went on about her business, although nearly all her subsequent foals were fillies. Included in this group were an effective slate of females by Nevele Pride, which included, in no particular order, stakes winners Cheek To Cheek 3,T1:59 2-5; $102,401 and Embraceable You 3,T1:58 2-5; $43,564 (dam of Super Speedy 1:56 1-5; $738,145; Armbro Jacuzzi 3,1:57 2-5; $290,000; and the dam of Armbro Obey 3,1:58 4-5h; $341,062); Chit Chat (dam of millionaire Go Get Lost 4,1:54 3-5); Loving Look (dam of the ill-fated star Park Avenue Kathy 3,1:56 4-5); and Confiding (the grandam of 1998 star, Softly Dream 2,1:57 4-5; $327,205.)

For a family that took a 60-year hiatus between champions from Cresceus to Matastar, and then to Super Bowl and Classical Way, and their siblings, this tribe has now become one of the most sought-after bloodlines in all of world trotting. Descendents of this still-emerging family are found in the breeding paddocks of the sport’s top breeders.