They sure do have a lot in common. Barryscourt and Emerald Chip reside in the same barn, are the same age, possess the same gait, were purchased for exactly the same price as yearlings, have collected more than $100,000 in purse money, are gelded and will be major contenders in their respective divisions of Saturday’s Madison County Stake at Hoosier Park.

Despite the numerous similarities, these two youngsters are also vastly different.

“Barryscourt is a big, strong horse,” said Bobby Brower, their conditioner. “With Emerald Chip you just rub your chin and then your head wondering how such a little horse can do what he does out there. He looks like a nice-sized animal from behind, but when you get a real good look at him you can see how petite he is. He’s my wife’s pet and she spoils him. He’s the type of horse that will eat tons of the same thing for about three days and then give you that look telling you he won’t touch that now. It’s time for something else.”

Barryscourt will make the first appearance of the duo in race 11 and will leave from post position seven with LeWayne Miller holding the lines. Emerald Chip competes in race 13 and will start trotting from post position five with Darrell Wright managing the driving duties. Both horses are the 2-1 morning line favourites in their respective races and will be vying for a purse of $37,600.

Owned by Mystical Marker Farms, Brower, Ben Graber and Victory Hill Farm, Barryscourt is by Northern Kid and out of the Conway Hall mare Katie Hall and was brought home from the 2014 Blooded Horse sale for $15,500. He joined his older half sibling Petticoat Affair (Valley Victor, t, 2, 1:56.4, $292,336) as a freshman Kentucky Sire Stakes champion on August 30 at The Red Mile. His connections feel he has the potential to live up to what his sister accomplished, as she was champion at ages two and three.

“He has been what you refer to as a good surprise,” Brower said. “Dennis Lakomy of Mystical Marker Farms was looking through a catalogue for that February sale and he tipped me off he was in. Stacey Ruddick keeps all my mares and horses that are rehabbing. She always goes to that sale, where I don’t, so I told her if he looked straight to buy him. We actually bought the full sister to Petticoat Affair (Kayte On The Go, t, 3, Q1:58.4, $14,165) while this horse was still a weanling, but she never amounted to anything. I didn’t know if he was going to either, because he had ability but absolutely no desire to pass other horses while he was training down. That final in Kentucky had me wowed because the way he won that race by going away was something I had never seen from him before and that’s when he knew he could be a really nice horse.”

At this juncture of his brief career, Barryscourt sports a record of 5-3-1, has earned $140,116 and his swiftest mile is 1:56.1m. The only time the gelding has failed to hit the board was in the second leg of the Kentucky Sire Stakes when he struggled home sixth and he definitely had an excuse. Otherwise he captured his division of the $60,400 American-National Stake at Balmoral Park by a neck and was second by a half-length in a $50,000 Standardbred stake on Jug Day.

“He was really sick for that race down in Lexington,” Brower said. “My vet was out of town, so I went to Dr. Andy Roberts. He said it was the flu, because I was trying all kinds of antibiotics and nothing worked. He gave him a flu rhino vaccine on a Thursday; I had it done by another vet the next day and then my vet on Monday. It was all gone within 48 to 72 hours. At Delaware, he has never been on a half mile track and he’s a big horse, so he struggled a little bit with the turns. If he had a little more ground he could have won because he was coming back on that horse. The American-National was another good surprise. Bob Stewart’s horse (Waitlifter K) was heavily favoured and was supposed to be much better than the rest of the field, but this guy won again.”

Emerald Chip is a son of Chip Chip Hooray and the Conway Hall mare Emerald Myway. Owned by VIP Stables, Josh Sutton and Mystical Marker Farms, he was procured at the 2014 Ohio Selected Jug Sale based upon Brower’s intuition. He has a resume of 7-2-3-1, a bankroll of $115,815 and a speed standard of 1:59.1. The only time he has not picked up a cheque is when he was fifth in his debut on July 24 at Northfield Park. The gelding has raced nearly exclusively in the Ohio Sire Stakes program except for a second-place finish in a salty $10,000 contest at The Red Mile on October 8. Emerald Chip was only beaten by a neck and trotted the fastest last quarter in :27.2.

“Everyone else wanted a pacer, but I went to the sale looking for trotters,” Brower said. “I wanted a Pilgrims Taj but he went for too much money and I didn’t like the look of the Triumphant Caviars. That’s when I sat back and started looking through my book. I came across this horse. He was small, but I like the back class he has in going back to Bonefish. The price was right so I bought him. He really is such a nice little trotter. He just got beat at Scioto by getting locked up on the inside and at Delaware his owner, who drives him, got a little greedy with him and sent him a little too soon. I’ve known Josh since he was a kid and my wife loves him. I’m always telling him to just keep him back then let him trot through to the wire. A consistent trotter is always going to be better than just a fast one.”

Barryscourt and Emerald Chip will both be turned out for the winter after Hoosier Park concludes its meet. Each will follow a path similar to what they embarked on this year and remain in the Midwest. While they receive a vacation a new addition to Brower’s barn will begin to learn her lessons.

“We bought Emerald Chip’s full sister (Emerald Of Oz),” Brower said. “She’s out at the farm right now and she is already at least two to three inches bigger all over than he is. We are thinking she’s going to be a nice horse too.”

The Madison County Stakes for the two-year-old trotters and pacers will highlight the 14-race card on Saturday at Hoosier Park. The first race will line-up behind the gate at 5:45 p.m.

(Hoosier Park)