“One through 11 can win that race, like I’ve always said and I’ve been asked the question before, there’s 11 in the race because there are 11 good horses in the race. I’ve been in this business too long, I don’t go in to any race overconfident.”
Jeffrey Bamond, who makes up half of Bamond Racing with his son Jeffrey Jr., along with their partner, nursery owner Joseph Davino, will own more than a third of the field in the $281,250 Breeders Crown Mare Pace.
The ownership group of Bamond and Davino owns Anndrovette (Breeders Crown winner in 2012 and 2011) and Krispy Apple, who along with the Bamond-owned Shelliscape (2013 champion) and Venus Delight will take up four spots in the field of 11 mares for the Nov. 21 race. All four horses are trained by P.J. Fraley.
The newest member of the quartet is four-year-old Venus Delight, a purchase in late summer, who was supplemented to the Crown for $31,250.
“She’s been a great addition since she’s come to the barn,” said Jeff Bamond Sr., a retired automobile dealership manager from Brick, New Jersey. The chestnut daughter of Bettors Delight-Venus Killean has won $106,220 and been first or second in six of eight starts since her purchase in late summer.
“I think she deserves to see what she has, plus by writing that cheque this year, that makes her eligible (to the Breeders Crown) in future years,” he said. “We have a four-year-old (Venus Delight), a five-year-old (Shelliscape), a six-year-old (Krispy Apple) and a seven-year-old (Anndrovette).
“My son has followed (Venus Delight) for a while and we pursued purchasing her. We always liked her and we were able to put the deal together. We thought she was very lightly raced (lately in the upper level ranks at Yonkers Raceway) and she had some talent.”
Though Bamond, his son, and Davino have the start of a very nice broodmare band, Bamond said that’s not in their business plan.
“We’ve never been in the breeding business,” he said. “We’re in the racehorse business and as long as they can continue to perform at a high level on the racetrack, we’re going to continue to race them.
“Anndrovette has been the flagship with two Breeders Crowns, three Dan Patch (Awards) and three O’Brien Awards. Obviously she’s the star of the stable, but do I have a favourite? Not really. All my horses are my favourite.”
Anndrovette is bidding for an unprecedented fourth Dan Patch Award for best older female pacer. She will also be aiming to join Eternal Camnation as the only older pacing mare with four O'Brien Award trophies.
The seven-year-old mare has won 41 of 109 career races and $3.1 million. This season, she has won six of 21 starts, including the Betsy Ross Invitational and a record third consecutive Roses Are Red Stakes, and earned a division-leading $515,827.
“She’s had a good year,” driver Tim Tetrick said. “She won the (Roses Are Red and Betsy Ross) and the races where she’s gotten beat, she’s raced well. She’s getting up in age, but I wouldn’t trade her. She’s been pretty special. She’s a hard-knocking old racehorse. If she wins, I’d say she is (the division champion). It’s pretty cool.”
Eternal Camnation and Shady Daisy are the only other pacing mares with three Dan Patch Award honours. Anndrovette’s lifetime earnings trail only Eternal Camnation’s $4.1 million among all female pacers in harness racing history.
Anndrovette enters the Breeders Crown Mare Pace off a second-place finish behind Voelz Hanover in a prep on Saturday at The Meadowlands.
“She was good, it was a good effort,” Tetrick said. “I was first up a long way and she never quit pacing. She paced home good to the wire. Hopefully the race helps her and she can be a little tighter for next week.”
Bamond says they are careful to give those in the stable enough, but not too many starts.
“If you look at the number of starts they have, we don’t over-race them; we try to pick their spots throughout the year,” Bamond said. “I think we’ve managed them very well in keeping their starts in check and, knock on wood, we’ve kept them fairly sound. I don’t look to over start them."
Bamond is in his second decade of owning Standardbreds and got started as a fan at Freehold Raceway.
“I got started in the early 1990s because I enjoyed going to the racetrack and watching them,” he said. “I thought, ‘Boy, wouldn’t it be fun to actually own one and I could go watch my own.’ I claimed one at Freehold and that started my interest. I built the stable up from a couple of horses and brought my son on board, probably six or seven years ago, and he’s basically taken over managing the stable.”
The field for the 2014 Breeders Crown Mare Pace at the Meadowlands is listed below.
1. Camille, Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke
2. Charisma Hanover, Yannick Gingras, Ron Burke
3. Voelz Hanover, Brian Sears, Corey Johnson
4. Somwherovrarainbow, David Miller, Joe Holloway
5. Yagonnakissmeornot, Ron Pierce, Rene Allard
6. Shelliscape, John Campbell, P.J. Fraley
7. Krispy Apple, Scott Zeron, P.J. Fraley
8. Anndrovette, Tim Tetrick, P.J. Fraley
9. Rocklamation, Yannick Gingras, Ron Burke
10. Regil Elektra, Brett Miller, Monte Gelrod
11. Venus Delight, Jason Bartlett, P.J. Fraley
(Yagonnakissmeornot and Venus Delight are supplemental entries.)
(With files from Breeders Crown)