Peter Kleinhans has seen trotter Enough Talk put forth memorable performances in the past. His effort last Friday in winning the Invitational at the Meadowlands

, though, might rank at the top . Not in terms of prestige, but pleasure.

Enough Talk, making his first start since being sidelined by a variety of ailments last July, defeated Green Day in 1:52.2. He was second until entering the final turn when driver Ron Pierce brushed Enough Talk to the lead. From there, he trotted home in :27.1 to win by more than four lengths.

“In my opinion, that was my highlight ever in racing,” said Kleinhans, who trains and co-owns Enough Talk. “Even though it wasn’t a big purse race, just the road back was so long and slow - and never being sure he was going to make it or not - to see him come out and do that was really thrilling.”

In 2008, Enough Talk became the first trotter to win a race in less than 1:50, trotting 1:49.3 at Colonial Downs. He earned $867,501 for the season and was voted the Dan Patch Award as harness racing’s best older male trotter.

Last year, Enough Talk was limited to nine starts and one win. He was bothered by a skin condition on his legs, a quarter crack on his right front foot and a mysterious condition affecting his left front leg.

“When he goes on the track, he starts out kind of funny, like kind of cantering and he seems sore, and then he warms out of it,” Kleinhans said. “No one has ever pinpointed exactly what it is, but he seems fine once he gets going. We don’t even know if it’s psychological or what it is. I’ve had a number of vets do everything possible and they’ve never found anything clear.

“As long as he seems to be going on and racing well, and he seems to come out of it the same way he went in, we’ll continue on.”

Kleinhans turned out Enough Talk for three months and brought him back slowly.

“He had two months of just jogging and a little swimming,” Kleinhans said. “We were very gradual in training him down. I don’t think he ever dropped more than two seconds at a time, starting at 2:40.

“I thought he would be ready to go,” he added. “I always try to get my horses pretty well conditioned before their first start so they don’t have to be babied or risk injury. I was still surprised he was as sharp as he was. When he pulled out of the pocket, I didn’t think he was going to rip right by the leader, but he did.”

With the return of Enough Talk, the sport’s last three Dan Patch Award winners in the division - Lucky Jim, Enough Talk and Vivid Photo - are active this year. Vivid Photo is expected to remain in the open ranks, but Lucky Jim and Enough Talk could be heading toward a number of stakes showdowns.

“I hope he stays a hundred percent and can do it,” Kleinhans said. “I always felt we could be competitive with (Lucky Jim) if we were a hundred percent, and we weren’t last year. Assuming he stays good, I think it will be dependent on the trip who wins between those two. But we’ll see.”

Last year, Enough Talk’s schedule included a trip to Sweden for the Elitlopp. He finished seventh in his elimination and failed to reach the final.

“The Sweden people seem to be potentially interested again, but I don’t know,” Kleinhans said. “I’d love to go back there and do better than last year, which was a fiasco. But I’m not sure it makes the most sense. With the Classic Series being gone, there’s a gap around that time, so he wouldn’t miss much. I don’t think going over there hurts him at all; he seems to be fine with the trip. Last year, he was just no good period. It had nothing to do with going there.”

For now, Kleinhans is focused on the present. In addition to Enough Talk, he is enjoying success with Eragon in the Sagamore Hill Pacing Series at Yonkers and Horse & Groom Series champ Celebrity Playboy. He also welcomed home a baby daughter, Rebecca, who was born on March 3.

“It’s a whirlwind,” Kleinhans said. “But everything is good.”

This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S.
Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.