“When we got him up to high speed, he was only taking in 60 per cent of the oxygen level he was supposed to be taking in.”

World champion JL Cruze was sidelined in September because of complications from a virus, but trainer Eric Ell expects the trotter to begin preparing for his 2016 campaign in January. And Ell hopes the gelding can be as good -- if not better -- next season.

JL Cruze, a four-year-old, entered this year a relative unknown but made headlines during the summer thanks to victories over Dan Patch Award winners Father Patrick, Sebastian K, and Shake It Cerry. JL Cruze also became the sport’s first trotter to trot a mile in less than 1:50 on a mile-sized track, stopping the timer in 1:49.4 to capture the Graduate Series championship at the Meadowlands.

In addition, JL Cruze set the world record of 2:04.2 for the distance of 1-1/8 miles in the Hambletonian Maturity and equaled the world record of 1:51 for a four-year-old gelding on a five-eighths oval in the Sun Invitational at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. His three world-record performances came in consecutive starts in July.

For the year, JL Cruze won 16 of 21 races and earned $627,456 for owners Ken Wood, Bill Dittmar Jr., and Steve Iaquinta. The ownership group purchased JL Cruze -- who entered this season with five career victories in 17 races -- a year ago for $37,000 because he fit favourable non-winners conditions at Dover Downs, where the owners race frequently.

JL Cruze began this season by winning the Super Bowl Series championship in January, followed by the Singer Memorial Series in February, the Shiaway St Pat Series in March, and the Weiss Series in April.

He then won two preliminary rounds of the Graduate Series over Father Patrick, upended Sebastian K in the Sun Invitational, held off Shake It Cerry in the Graduate Series final, and fended off Resolve in the Hambletonian Maturity.

“The whole year was unbelievable,” Ell said. “He kept getting better all the time. When we took him to the first series I didn’t know if he could go with those kinds of horses. He just surprised us. We put him in the next one and he was better yet. He just got better all year.

“When he set the track record at the Meadowlands, that was probably the biggest high I had all year. I just couldn’t believe it. It was mind boggling.”

JL Cruze, who was driven by John Campbell in all but one race this year, saw his season come to an end after finishing 10th in the Maple Leaf Trot. The horse led to the halfway point, but came home with a :31 last quarter-mile. A week earlier, JL Cruze led into the stretch but finished fifth.

A trip to the New Bolton Center, where JL Cruze was monitored on a treadmill, revealed issues with the trotter’s lungs as the result of a virus.

“They recommended a few months off and some medication," Ell said. "I have him scheduled to start Jan. 1 and try to get him ready for the spring. He should be fine. It wasn’t life threatening.

“I think he’s going to be better at (age) five than he was at four, and John thinks the same thing. I think he’s going to mature and fill out. If he can be just as good as a five-year-old we will be elated.”

Prior to being sidelined, JL Cruze was selected by harness racing fans to represent the U.S. in this year’s Yonkers International Trot. The horse’s connections declined the invitation because racing on a half-mile track, with tighter turns, is not JL Cruze’s strength. But Ell was grateful to the fans for the honour.

“It was great; everybody liked him,” Ell said. “Everyone was watching him, that’s for sure. It was a good story. We all try to find that diamond in the rough.

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