Mr Big Spender, the fastest two-year-old trotter this season, will aim to add to his strong rookie resume on Friday, Oct. 17 in his Breeders Crown elimination at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
The colt heads to his elim, the first of two $34,250 divisions for the freshman trotting males, off a 1:51.2 victory in a division of the Bluegrass Stakes on Sept. 25 at The Red Mile. That time is the fastest of the year for a rookie trotter and tied for the second-quickest ever by a two-year-old trotting male.
Mr Big Spender is the 9-5 morning-line favourite in his elimination. Mike Wilder will drive the son of Captain Corey-Reilly K for trainer Norm Parker and owners Bart and Todd Brice of Indiana, Pa. The colt has hit the board in eight of 10 races, winning six and earning $264,190. His only finishes outside the top three came when he went off stride, including in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Final on Sept. 5. But he rebounded a week later with a third-place effort in the Peter Haughton Memorial before uncorking his near-record mile in the Bluegrass.
“Every race, even when he made the breaks, I didn’t get down on the horse because he’d always answered for us,” Parker said. “He raced really well in the Haughton. Mike was careful because he’d made the break the week before, but in the end we knew he was gaining on them at the wire, so we felt really good. We drew bad in the Bluegrass (post eight), but he went an awesome race.”
In the Bluegrass, Mr Big Spender was a parked-out third in a :26.3 opening quarter, got the lead on the way to a :54.4 half, ended up in the pocket going to three-quarters in 1:23.3, and then battled between rivals in the stretch to get up for a nose triumph over Nix Nacken.
“It reaffirmed to me that he really is the horse I think he is because he fought so hard in the stretch,” Parker said. “So, that was impressive. We won in 1:51.2, but there were four horses right across the track with us. It was like any one of those horses could have won the race, and we happened to be the one that got our nose in front.
“I’m proud of him, and it leads us to this week. The speed is there. The time only shows you can do it, but it doesn’t make you any different than a lot of the other horses. They’re all there. Each week is a new week. But he’s a pretty special horse to be able to do it, that’s what it comes down to. And I’m even more proud of his consistency. Six wins is a lot of wins and there weren’t any easy races. He’s answered when we’ve asked him, and I’m hopeful for another similar-type race (Friday).”
Mr Big Spender was a $77,027 purchase at the 2024 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale.
“The Brices have horses out of this whole family, so that’s why we bought him,” Parker said. “From the time we broke him, he was always a levelheaded, easy horse to be around, and that was a pleasure.”
Parker will be making his first trip to a Breeders Crown since 2018, and everyone involved with Mr Big Spender is looking forward to the experience.
“I’m anxious and excited,” Parker said. “I’ve been able to race in some of these races at times, but maybe never had the feeling that I have now where you have a horse you feel like has a good chance. You’re going up there with the idea that it’s not hopefully to pick up pieces, you’re hopefully going up there to do some good.
“That’s where you want to be. That’s what you buy them for. I know the Brice brothers are really excited. Everybody in the barn is excited. We’re all happy. It’s fun. That’s what we work for. We’re going to give it our best shot.”
Fourteen two-year-old male trotters were entered in the Breeders Crown, and 13 will compete in the eliminations. The top four finishers from each elim plus the fifth-place finisher with the highest earnings as calculated by Standardbred Canada will advance to join Apex in the $700,000 USD final on Oct. 24 at Mohawk. Apex, as the winner of the Peter Haughton Memorial (Grade 1), went directly to the final.
All of the Breeders Crown eliminations for two-year-olds will be held Friday at Woodbine Mohawk Park, with the elims for horses ages three and up taking place Saturday. Racing begins at 6:35 p.m. both nights.
To view Friday's harness racing entries, click the following link: Friday Entries - Woodbine Mohawk Park // Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT).
(Hambletonian Society; photo of Mr Big Spender winning on Aug. 2)