Hey Mister...Feeling Lucky?

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Published: August 21, 2009 07:03 pm EDT

McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc once said, "Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get." That may be true in the Burger Wars, but on Breeders Crown night at The Meadowlands luck and sweat don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand

. With this week’s group of Open trotters and pacers, luck may have less to do with winning than good old fashioned sweat. Truly, it is talent that separates these steeds from the rest of the pack, and during the dog days of summer, sweat will surely be in abundance.

One need not look much further than the two favourites for the Crown Trot and Pace to find considerable talent. Lucky Jim enters the $600,000 Breeders Crown Trot as the 2-5 morning line favourite, boasting 16 out of 17 wins on the season and over three-quarters of a million in earnings. His 1:50.1 win in the Nat Ray on Hambo Day puts him in a four-way tie for the mile track world record. Andy and Julie Miller have the horse looking good, racing great, and are excited about having the favourite going into such a big race. Andy Miller modestly stated, “I don’t want to put the cart before the horse, but if he shows up the way he has been, he will be good.”

Lucky Jim leaves from Post 2 in the third race of The Meadowlands season finale. Saturday night’s very attractive card includes a total of $1.6 million in Breeders Crown events, the $440,300 Sweetheart for two-year-old filly pacers and the $455,400 Woodrow Wilson for two-year-old pacing colts.

The tenth race, and possibly the most exciting match-up of the evening, is the $500,000 Breeders Crown Pace, featuring Mister Big. With $3.7 million in his war chest, the defending 2008 Breeders Crown Pacing champ has something to prove. Having locked bridles with Art Official, Shadow Play, Shark Gesture, and Bettor Sweet all year, this race is setting up as a show-down for the ages. Mister Big, along with Lucky Jim, is stabled at Gaitway Farm in Manalapan, New Jersey. I was fortunate enough to catch up with both of the Monsters of the Midway on Thursday morning, where their connections gracefully agreed to a dual photo shoot.

Amid several takes and jostling for position, both horses were well behaved despite the scorching sun and ravenous flies. While hanging around Andy Miller’s barn I spoke with the caretaker for Lucky Jim, Gustavo Quevedo. A native of Guatemala, Gustavo has been working with standardbreds for four years, getting his start at Balmoral Park outside Chicago. When asked how he liked working for Andy and Julie he quickly replied, “I love it!” No doubt he is enjoying the success of his star trotter, Lucky Jim, as well.

Over at the Virgil Morgan, Jr. camp, assistant trainer Paul Stratton filled me in on the routine of Mister Big. That horse swims, jogs and gets some light training between races. Mister Big went a slow trip on Wednesday to prepare for his battle with the big boys. Mr. Stratton has been overseeing the New Jersey operations for Virgil Morgan, Jr. for the last nine of 10 years, and is a very hardworking and trustworthy team player. For my inquiries and photo shoot, Paul was very accommodating, although it helps having known him for nearly 30 years. We met back in 1982 when we were both working for Jimmy Doherty in section 8B at The Meadowlands. A native of Maine, Paul comes from a long line of harness horsemen. His brothers, Peter and David, are successful trainers. Paul’s nephew, Jordan “The Kid” Stratton, has surpassed his “rising star” status, and established himself as a leading driver at Yonkers.

A few barns down along the westerly 1/2 mile track rests the Ross Croghan Stable. “The Crocodile” was in good spirits and eager to help set up a photo of the three mares he has going postward in the $331,500 Breeders Crown Mare Pace. The three lovely lasses were Tug River Princess, Btwnyurheartnmine and Southwind Tempo.

I asked Ross to give me his thoughts on the race and he said, “Well, being that I am the world’s best handicapper, I like Tug River Princess. She got locked in for her life last week. She always puts the mares on their toes the next week; she is ready to give it her best.”

With 40 head in the barn, The Croghan Stable was a flurry of activity. Assistant trainers Jeff Webster, Bruce Dickens and Tommy Haughton were taking care of business. Tug River Princess was enjoying a cold water whirlpool in the bath stall. Southwind Tempo was being grassed by Suzanne, who explained that Tempo never gets turned out. She gets controlled exercise and eats grass at the end of shank daily, to prevent injury and keep her mentally happy. She also gets cold water therapy in the tub. The enormous Equicizer inside The Croghan Stable ensures that no horse in his barn misses a day of training because of bad weather.

Speaking with Tommy Haughton he told me of a schedule that is so typical of a large stable. Get home from Saratoga at 3 a.m.; go to Chester the next day. Between Pocono, The Meadowlands, and Yonkers, the EZ Pass gets quite a workout on the NJ Turnpike. It can be a grueling way to make a living, and makes it difficult to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Luckily for the residents of Gaitway Farm, they can get some “lovin’ from the oven” at Meg’s Winner’s Circle. Meg’s establishment is a winning combination of track kitchen and mom’s house. She knows everyone’s name and takes good care of the hungry horse people, who line up to fill their bellies. When I walked in she said, “Sit down and I will bring you a plate of cool refreshment.” I was not sure what that would include; nonetheless, I was in for a treat. Cool salads, fresh Jersey tomatoes, watermelon, and fresh brewed Iced Tea. It was a delicious lunch served with love and a smile.

The folks at Gaitway are lucky to have Meg, her daughter, Bridget (9), and the bilingual Magali, to ensure that they eat healthy and get back on the road. Because as we all know, on the road of harness racing, it all comes down to the Breeders Crown.

(Chris Tully for the Breeders Crown)

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