Coming off his best year as a trainer, Jonas Czernyson will have even more to look forward to in 2014 with the return of multiple-award winning trotting mare Maven as well as a three-year-old trotter that could be the sleeper of the division.

In an interview with Trot Radio’s Norm Borg, Czernyson -- who collected the O'Brien Award for Older Trotting Mare with Maven in near unanimous fashion -- talks about what makes Maven such a great trotter.

“She gives all she's got, she doesn't pull very much -- she's not an over-aggressive horse. You can pretty much put her where she needs to be," said Czernyson. "She's good and relaxed in a hole and if you need to pull her you can. She's a pretty handy horse."

In a year full of standouts, her 10 wins in 14 starts didn't warrant her Horse of the Year discussion but her resume and dominance speaks for itself. But in 2014 she'll have to face the favourite for 2013 U.S. Horse of the Year, the filly that captured Horse of the Year honours in Canada and kept the shine off a season like Maven's, Bee A Magician.

Maven's 2013 season was nothing to sneeze at. She finished second to Market Share -- and ahead of fellow O'Brien winner Mister Herbie -- in the American National Open Trot against older horses and her 1:51.4 mile at Delaware makes her the fastest trotter in a race regardless of sex on a half-mile track. Her worst race of the year, a fifth place finish in the Muscle Hill at Vernon Downs, was the result of a flat tire.

While his focus with Maven will be the older trotting events, his sights are also set on the three-year-old trotting races with Muscle Network. A late season addition to his barn, Muscle Network captured the Valley Victory late in the year and looks to be in the mix with Father Patrick and Nuncio as sophomore trotters to watch in 2014.

Which race will we not see Muscle Network in this year? To listen to the full interview between Borg and Czernyson, click the play button below.

Trot Radio - Episode 317 - Jonas Czernyson

Audio Format: MP3 audio

Host: Norm Borg

The opinions expressed are those of the participants and do not necessarily represent those of Standardbred Canada.