"It’s nothing that is going to harm her. If she’s not racing good, she’s not racing good. If there was any concern about her well being, of course I would not race her."

Hall of Fame trainer Jimmy Takter has entered five horses in this year’s Breeders Crown elimination races, but none of the starters has garnered as much impact as his fabulous three-year-old pacing filly See You At Peelers.

At one point this year she was the talk of the harness racing world, riding a lifetime undefeated streak that came to an end after 22 wins, including one against some quality three-year-old colts.

See You At Peelers was somewhat of a surprise addition when the entry box closed on Tuesday for the eliminations, which will be contested on Friday and Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack. The finals are the following Saturday.

See You At Peelers’ future seemed uncertain when she became a vet scratch for a scheduled New York Sires Stakes race at Yonkers Raceway on September 19. Fifteen days before, she finished first in a NYSS race at Tioga Downs but was placed second. In her previous race, her undefeated streak ended when she finished sixth by 6¼ lengths in the Nadia Lobell Stakes at the Meadows.

It was discovered afterward her heart had an early beat, but a combination of medication and rest have corrected the problem and Takter said she has been training sensationally since.
“She looks like she’s coming back in right order and she looks as sharp as I’ve seen in a long time, sometimes you’ve got to take a shot,” Takter said.

Takter owns the Bettors Delight-West Side Glory miss with his wife, Christina and brothers John and Jim Fielding. Takter, who earlier this year was inducted into harness racing’s Living Hall of Fame, said he was told by his son-in-law/driver Marcus Johansson that Peelers wasn’t quite herself in the race prior to her defeat, even though she won by four lengths in a time of 1:50.2. Subsequent testing after the loss detected the heart problem.

“She’s going into (the elimination race) a little short, I don’t expect her to go out and win (it),” he said. “I’m just happy if she has a good race and makes the final and buys us another week. She’s going to need a start (to get 100 percent fit), that’s for sure.

“You’ve got to make tough decisions, but I spoke to the heart specialist (who is treating her). It’s nothing that is going to harm her. If she’s not racing good, she’s not racing good. If there was any concern about her well being, of course I would not race her. She’s a unique animal and I’ve love to see her show off herself in the Breeders Crown and do it in style.

“I’m happy she’s on the right track, which I see she is,” he added. “They’ve got to start back somewhere. It’s an opportunity.”

Canada’s champion two-year-old filly pacer, Idyllic, who won the race that ended Peelers undefeated streak and later won the Jugette, is entered in a separate elimination race. Idyllic had a seven-race career undefeated streak end when she met Peelers for the first time last year in the final of the Breeders Crown for their division.

Takter’s other entries for the preliminaries are: three-year-old colt trotter Leader Of The Gang, who won the Yonkers Trot in his only victory in eight starts; three-year-old colt pacer Rollwithitharry, who has won four of 16 races this year, and six of 28 overall.

Both the Takter stable freshman trotters will be in the $600,000 2-Year-Old Colt Trot final. Takter himself drove Uncle Peter to a win in his Crown elim and then chose to start from post three with the colt who is making just his fifth lifetime pari-mutuel start.

Jim Morrill Jr. qualified the Takter stable’s Little Brown Fox with a fourth-place effort in the other elimination won by Possess The Will, and got post two in the open draw.

To view complete entries for Saturday night's card of harness racing, click the following links:

• Saturday Entries -- Saturday Program

(Breeders Crown)