Daren Harvey will send a horse into an Ohio Sire Stakes championship for the first time in his training career when LT Loverboy heads to MGM Northfield Park as the morning-line favourite in the $300,000 USD OHSS Scarlet final for two-year-old male trotters on Saturday, Oct. 12.
It will be a special moment for the 39-year-old Harvey, with a special horse.
LT Loverboy, a son of Long Tom-Fortheloveoflindy, has hit the board in all nine of his races this season, with five wins, three seconds, and a third for owners Wayne Mast Jr. and Callam Racing. The gelding, who topped his OHSS group in points thanks to four wins and a second in the series, has earned $211,035.
“He’s been an amazing horse so far this year,” Harvey said. “Wayne and Walt bought him out of the Ohio Selected Jug Sale (for $60,000 USD) last year. He was a nice horse there; he had a nice presence to him. Training down, he’s just always been easy. He’s not aggressive, he’s not lazy, he just does everything as easy as you could ever want one.
“With a horse like this, you’re just trying not to mess up. He trains himself. You’re not holding him back, you’re not making him go, he’s just right there for you.”
LT Loverboy is a full brother to multiple Ohio Fair Stakes winner Commander Tom and a half-brother to another multiple Ohio stakes winner, Vivi D. His family also includes the likes of Dan Patch Award-winners Pizza Dolce and Bella Bellini as well as millionaire French Wine.
After debuting with a second-place finish in a pop-up series for two-year-old male trotters at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, LT Loverboy posted three consecutive wins — the first in the second leg of the pop-up series and the next two in Ohio Sire Stakes action. He’s done little wrong since then and enters Saturday’s championship off a six-length victory in a division of the OHSS at Hollywood Dayton Raceway.
“I’ve had horses that were better than him training down,” Harvey said. “But it’s the thrill to race, the desire to win. He has that. He makes it so easy on himself, on the driver, on the trainer. I’ve never had a stakes horse as nice as him. Not even close.
“You can’t believe how fast he progressed from the first start. I’d like to take all the credit, that he couldn’t have done it without me, but I’m pretty sure this horse would have done it with anybody. Jamie Jenkins takes care of him, and they are inseparable. He’s such a nice horse to be around. You dream about having horses like him.”
LT Loverboy will start Saturday from post seven in a field of eight at Northfield, with Brett Miller in the sulky. He is 5-2 on the morning line.
“He can leave enough to be dangerous, but it’s not crucial,” Harvey said. “That’s the best part about him. You always want to be on the lead, but his race isn’t over because he doesn’t land there. He’s going to give you everything he’s got.”
Harvey, who resides in Canton, Ohio, has set career training highs this year with 33 wins and $527,348 in purses. Lifetime, he has 147 training victories and $1.49 million in purses. (He also has 326 career driving wins.) Most of the training wins have come since the beginning of 2021, after giving up his job providing product support for construction equipment to focus solely on the horses.
Getting one like LT Loverboy makes it all the more delightful.
“Every day you’re grateful,” Harvey said. “There are people that have done this longer than me, and to get a horse like this, you thank your lucky stars.”
MGM Northfield Park will host eight OHSS Scarlet Championships on Saturday. Racing begins at 6 p.m. (EDT). For complete entries, click here.
(USTA)