Training wrapped up on a hot and humid morning Sunday at the Red Mile. There were few clouds to provide cover from the beaming sunshine; the old barns and trees in the backstretch providing a reprieve from the sweltering conditions.
Jimmy Takter brought a horse in off the track and returned to his barn around 10 a.m. He was relaxed a day after having sent Lazarus to a second-place finish in the Allerage Farms Open Pace and the morning before starting Manchego and Tactical Landing on the Kentucky Futurity Card. Takter joined assistant Per Engblom at a table on the patio at the end of his barn facing the racetrack.
Still in his black, white, and green driving colours, Takter sat back. Legs crossed and comfortable in the shade, he pulled up a replay on his phone of Great Vintage’s second-place effort in the $44,000 Open Handicap Pace at Yonkers the night before and smiled as he watched the 10-year-old battle with Bit Of A Legend in the stretch while pacing a 1:51.1 mile.
“This is one of my favourite horses,” Takter said, his eyes glued to the screen. “To do what he’s done and still be going at 10 years old is amazing.”
Although Takter’s Hall of Fame resume includes four Hambletonians, six Hambletonian Oaks, 33 Breeders Crowns, an Elitlopp and a Prix d’Amérique just to name a few, Takter still has items on his bucket list as the Grand Circuit season winds down in his final year of training. Namely, he has never won the International Trot. It’s a race he’s dreamed of winning since he started his career in Sweden.
“It was a race that I saw a lot before I even came here. The French horses came over and won. This was a classic, classic race. I’m really glad they brought it back. People love it,” Takter said. “This was long before I came over here that I knew about the race and then it unfortunately disappeared for a while and wasn’t on the radar. Now of course, we just have two $1 million races in the sport, the Hambletonian and this one.
“It would mean a lot. I would be really, really excited,” he continued. “This is my last year of training and to end up winning, that’s another stripe on my shoulder. It would be something.”
Takter has competed in the International Trot twice before. He trained and drove Whiteland Image to a sixth-place finish in the 1995 edition, the last before the race would be revived in 2015. Takter started Creatine in the Yonkers International Trot’s reappearance; the Andover Hall horse returned from a European campaign to represent the United States (he ultimately finished third after having set the tempo).
“Long, long time ago. I don’t even remember it to be honest with you. I don’t think my horse was any good that day. They used me in the last spot, they had an opening or whatever,” Takter said of his International debut with Whiteland Image. “That was the year Melander won, His Majesty. Then I raced Creatine three years ago. He was third, so it’s time to do it now.”
This year, Takter will start Ariana G in the $1 million stakes. The four-year-old mare will represent the United States for owners Marvin Katz and Al Libfeld. One of the last of the 10 competitors to be announced, Takter accepted the invitation from Yonkers Raceway Race Secretary Steve Starr just after her win in the Dayton Trotting Derby on September 28.
“I had it in the back of my head that it would be interesting to race her there,” Takter said. “I know she’s only four and you never know, but she showed she could compete against the aged horses. Especially now that she won at Dayton, I feel very good about it.
“I talked to Steve before Dayton and I told him, I don’t want to go unless the filly is good,” Takter continued. “He actually called and invited me for the $250,000 (Harry Harvey Invitational), and I told him I’m not going to jeopardize the Breeders Crown for that race, but I’d do it for the International Trot. I waited to see how she raced at Dayton and when she won there, then I knew.”
Ariana G and Yannick Gingras, pictured winning the 2017 Hambletonian Oaks at the Meadowlands Racetrack (Lisa Photo)
Ariana G entered the Dayton Trotting Derby off a third in the Maple Leaf Trot on September 1 and a sixth in the Preferred at Woodbine Mohawk Park on September 11. She tipped three-wide off the turn in the $150,000 stakes, ground down Guardian Angel AS and held off Warrawee Roo to post a 1:52.1 victory and establish a new track record.
“I thought she was going to race [well], but we were a little bit nervous because we had sick horses up in Canada and she hadn’t raced [well] the start before, so we were really a little bit worried going into it that she wouldn’t be herself,” Takter admitted. “I think she was 90 per cent and I think with this start in her, I think we’re going to be good.”
Ariana G’s closing win in the Dayton Trotting Classic was the 26th of her 37-race career. Victories in the Doherty Memorial, Peaceful Way, Hambletonian Oaks, Elegantimage, the Breeders Crown at two and three, the Graduate Final, and Hambletonian Maturity contributed to her $2.3 million bankroll.
“She’s been a world champion from two years old and she’s just been phenomenal,” Takter remarked. “Every year, she just gets a little bit more mature. Now she’s a four-year-old, she’s starting to look more professional, but she’s been a class horse from Day One.”
Despite her impressive record, Ariana G has never raced on a half-mile track and has never raced further than one and one-eighth miles. She will have to navigate the turns of Yonkers’ half-mile oval five times in the one and one-quarter-mile International Trot.
Ariana G will face nine rivals in the Yonkers International Trot: Arazi Boko (Italy), Cruzado Dela Noche (Sweden), Lionel (Norway), Marion Marauder (Canada), Pastore Bob (Sweden), Ringostarr Treb (Italy), Slide So Easy (Denmark), Up And Quick (France), and Will Take Charge (Canada). She drew Post 4 and is 5-1 on the morning line. Yannick Gingras will be in her sulky.
“She’s never raced on a half-mile, but I don’t think it’s going to be an issue. She’s pretty handy,” Takter said. “I really don’t know the European horses too much. There’s a couple of horses who can really bust out of the gate [well] and I don’t know if they have the stamina. I think the two horses that are big contenders are ‘Ariana’ and Marion Marauder. Whoever gets the best trip is going to be close there.
“I don’t think I want to see her do the dirty work too much,” he continued. “It’s a mile-and-a-quarter. If she’s sitting fourth or fifth with decent horses in front of her, maybe working out a second-over trip the last lap, would be the dream spot.”
The $1 million International Trot will head postward on Saturday, October 13 at Yonkers Raceway. The card will also feature a pair of $250,000 invitationals, the Harry Harvey Trot and Dan Rooney Pace.
(SOA of NY)