When Tom Grossman was a kid, he saw New York Rangers goalie Ed Giacomin knocked unconscious in a game at Madison Square Garden. The crowd began chanting “Ed-die, Ed-die” as it tried to will Giacomin to his feet

.

More than three decades later, Grossman one night at dinner resurrected the chant in playful fashion as trainer Ed Hart walked into the room. If he was trying to will Hart to the winner’s circle, along with their pacer Roll With Joe, it has been largely successful.

Since he did the chant that night, Roll With Joe finished second in the $1.5 million North America Cup, won the million-dollar Meadowlands Pace and captured the $500,000 Battle of the Brandywine. Following the two stakes triumphs, chants of “Ed-die, Ed-die” echoed through the winner’s circles.

“We genuinely love the fact we’re going through this journey with Eddie Hart,” said Blue Chip Bloodstock’s Grossman, who owns Roll With Joe with Blue Chip’s Mike Kimelman, Stephen Demeter, Not To Worry Stable (Scott Kimelman and Sheila Baird) and Winbak Farm (Joe and Joann Thomson).

“I think he’s the highest quality person and a great horse trainer who maybe hasn’t gotten as much respect from the industry as maybe he’s deserved over the years. He’s been a loyal friend and a great guy. We’re really excited for him to share in this with us.”

On Saturday, Roll With Joe will face eight rivals in the $342,875 Cane Pace -– the first jewel in the Pacing Triple Crown -– at Tioga Downs. The Cane Pace is followed by the Little Brown Jug (September 22) and the Messenger Stakes (November 12) in making up the Pacing Triple Crown. Ten horses have won the Pacing Triple Crown, most recently No Pan Intended in 2003.

Roll With Joe has won four of eight races this year and earned $1.21 million, which leads all horses in North America, and is the No. 3-ranked horse in harness racing’s weekly Top 10 poll. He will start the Cane Pace from Post 8 with driver Tim Tetrick.

“We’re excited to be in the Cane,” Grossman said. “We’re old-fashion traditionalists and respect the fact it’s a Triple Crown race. We think we can still win the race from [Post 8]. We’re not going there to lose. We’ll just see how the trip works out.”

Last year, Roll With Joe won two of nine races, including a division of the Champlain Stakes at Mohawk and a division of the New Jersey Sire Stakes at the Meadowlands, but was hampered by outside posts in several other stakes starts. He earned $157,740 for the season.

“If you look back, I think he was a much better two-year-old than people really knew,” Grossman said. “But we knew it. He just got very unlucky with a few draws last year. We were very hopeful and somewhat confident that we had a good chance of having a really good horse. But no one allows themselves to dream that they could be in this situation, I don’t think.”

The connections are located primarily in New York, with Blue Chip based in Wallkill, Demeter in Tarrytown and Not To Worry in Manhattan. Winbak is based in Maryland, but with a location in Walden. Hart is from Middletown.

Following the Cane, the group is looking forward to a road trip to the Delaware County Fairgrounds in central Ohio, home of the famed Little Brown Jug.

“We’re real harness racing junkies. I don’t care about the purse, you want to win the Jug,” Grossman said. “We’re all taking a few days off. I think as long as nothing stupid happens in the next 10 days, we have a real chance. You don’t get there often. But win or lose, we’re going to enjoy it.”

In the meantime, Grossman is enjoying the ride.

“What I love most about this horse, and it’s what I look for in any stallion we stand or breed to, is toughness,” Grossman said. “While there are plenty of fast horses out there, I don’t think there are a lot of horses that want to go out in :26 and back in :26 every week and can take a lot of air first up and win with any trip.

“It was more the manner in which we won the [Meadowlands] Pace than the fact we won the Pace,” he added. “That trip really proved his grit and toughness and put everyone on notice that we can go any trip and win any race. That’s why we were so excited. I think he’s that kind of competitor.”

Here is a look at the Cane Pace field in post position order, with listed drivers and trainers:

1. Powerful Mist, John Campbell, Wayne Givens
2. Townslight Hanover, Stephane Bouchard, Aaron Lambert
3. Avenue Hanover, Daniel Dube, Mark Silva
4. Eighteen, Corey Callahan, Ian Moore
5. Shadyshark Hanover, Jim Morrill Jr., Erv Miller
6. Rollwithitharry, Morrill Jr., Jimmy Takter
7. Betterthancheddar, George Brennan, Casie Coleman
8. Roll With Joe, Tim Tetrick, Ed Hart
9. High Noon, Mark MacDonald, Takter.

---

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