Kevin McDermott is under the spell of Hypnotic Blue Chip. The four-year-old pacer was a fast-closing second to Shark Gesture in the inaugural $228,000 Bettor’s Delight on June 13 at Tioga Downs

. Hypnotic Blue Chip lost by a neck in 1:48.3, the fastest-ever mile in Tioga Down’s history.

“I was thrilled. I had tears in my eyes after the race,” said McDermott, who trains Hypnotic Blue Chip for owner Francis Azur. “For a four-year-old to step up against these horses, I’ve never had a horse that could pace like this horse. He’s scary. I’m just blessed to have the horse. I think next year, the year after, he’s going to be a top, top horse for a long time to come.”

Azur bought Hypnotic Blue Chip in January, paying $325,000 at the Tattersalls Select Mixed Sale at the Meadowlands. He won 11 of 29 races in 2009 and earned $527,108. His victories included the Empire Breeders Classic and Junior Trendsetter Series. He was second in the Oliver Wendell Holmes and New York Sire Stakes championship. His 1:50.3 win in the Empire Breeders Classic also was at Tioga Downs and is the fastest-ever mile by a three-year-old at the five-eighths of a mile oval.

This year, Hypnotic Blue Chip has won three of 11 races and earned $119,250. With driver Jody Jamieson at the lines, he won his elimination for the Molson Pace at Western Fair Raceway in London, Ontario, on May 21, but went off stride in the final the following week. He rebounded from that setback with his effort in the Bettor’s Delight, which included a :26.3-second last quarter-mile; a split that among the top-eight finishers was the fastest of the race by three-fifths of a second.

“Jody thought he would have won the Molson Pace if he didn’t run around the far turn,” McDermott said. “People say he has a habit of running, but he’s been nothing but a perfect horse from the day I got him. He’s just a beautiful horse.”

Jamieson thought enough of Hypnotic Blue Chip’s performance to drive four hours from Ontario to race in the Bettor’s Delight.

“It was nice to get a chance to drive him at London,” Jamieson said. “The final just was bad luck. It was a tight half-mile track. He tried to pull through, but he just couldn’t survive with those tight turns. That was two weeks ago and he’s a different horse today.

“He closed great [in the Bettor’s Delight]. If I could have sneaked out second over instead of third over, I think he wins. Saying that is quite a big statement, but he raced huge. He’s getting stronger all the time.”

A son of Art Major-A Traceofmagic, Hypnotic Blue Chip is expected to make his next start in the $200,000 Dan Patch Invitational on June 26 at Hoosier Park in Indiana. Art Major was voted the sport’s best older male pacer as a four-year-old in 2003 and A Traceofmagic was second to Horse of the Year Bunny Lake in the 2001 New York Sire Stakes championship. Hypnotic Blue Chip’s family tree also includes 1962 Little Brown Jug winner Lehigh Hanover.

“It’s very tough, but we’re going to try to do what his dad did – compete as a four-year-old against the older horses,” McDermott said. “We’ve got him paid into all the big events and he proved [Sunday] that he can go with them. I know we can’t dance every dance, and I think the bigger the track, the better this horse is. If we don’t ruin him this year, he’ll be a great horse as a five-year-old.”

Jamieson also likes Hypnotic Blue Chip’s future, and hopes to be part of it.

“He’s four years old and he’s competing with the best horses in the world,” Jamieson said. “There’s no argument that Shark Gesture is definitely the best in the world right now, and [Hypnotic Blue Chip] was closing in at the wire. I think the sky’s the limit for him. Kevin and Fran put their faith in me. I just hope I get another opportunity with him down the road.”

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