Almost two months ago, trainer Casie Coleman was predicting that Art Colony might be the horse that could take British businessman Tom Hill to a 'big dance.'
Sure enough, Art Colony earned a spot in the $700,000 Breeders Crown for Two-Year-Old Colt Pacers at the Meadowlands on Saturday, November 29 when the best young horses will vie for nearly $5 million in purses.
Despite being saddled with Post 10, Art Colony, driven by Tim Tetrick, is rated the 4-1 second choice in the final, carded as the seventh race.
The Artsplace colt now has four wins and two seconds in six starts, earning $248,750. He closed to finish second by a nose to Captain Sir in their Breeders Crown elimination last Friday.
This is the first Breeders Crown starter for Hill, 56, who is from Lancashire. He owns and operates trailer parks in the United Kingdom.
"I believe he has 25 parks right now, and he also owns one park here near Flamboro (Downs) that he bought about a year ago," Coleman explained. "My mom and dad actually live there now and love it. It's a modular home park."
"He deserves to have some nice horses," said Coleman, who also has an entrant in the $610,000 Breeders Crown Three-Year-Old Filly Pace, A And Gs Confusion for the A&G Stables of the Bronx, New York. "He spent over a million dollars last year and this year he spent almost another million on six yearlings.
"Art Colony cost $157,000," she recalled. "I really fell in love with him but that was more than I was expecting to spend for him. But Tom wouldn't stop bidding! This is his first Breeders Crown horse, and he is likely to come in for the final."
Despite coming from a country where cricket pitches and rugby fields outnumber harness tracks, Hill has leaped into the North American standardbred game with enthusiasm. He has become Coleman's primary benefactor for buying stakes quality yearlings.
"I met Tom by fluke," she recalled. "I was at the Canadian Open Yearling Sale three or four years ago. I was just sitting there, and he came up and asked me if I had a business card and if I would train for him one day. He bought two yearlings there and sent them home with me and the rest is history. He's been with me since, and if I can have some luck for him, I'm sure he will be a huge asset to the stable for years to come.
"He doesn't like claimers or aged race horses but he is willing to spend the dollars to try to get a top notch horse to race and, hopefully, win the big dances," added Coleman.
Hill travels to North America every few months and has attended the sales with Coleman, who splits her stable between Ontario and New Jersey.
"Tom Hill and his family are the nicest people," noted Coleman, 28, who resides in Cambridge, Ont. "I've got some great owners. I've been very lucky that way, and Tom ranks right up there."
Art Colony is one of six two-year-olds Hill has entrusted to Coleman.
"From day one he has been pretty good," she said. The colt won his first four starts before finishing second by a head in the $647,800 Governor's Cup at Woodbine on October 25. The Breeders Crown elim was his first start back since then.
"I'll be making an equipment change for [the final]," said Coleman after the 'Crown' elims. "He's been wearing a blind bridle with a Murphy outside. He didn't see the winner coming. I thought that was the case in his last race (the Governor's Cup) and should have made the change after that race but I will now. I'll go to blinkers with slits and cut a hole in the Murphy Blind so he can see a horse coming up on him. He's also had a month off and should be better next week."
(Breeders Crown)