Christmas came a bit early for trainer Noel Daley.
After a season in which the New Jersey-based conditioner established a new career high with $4,862,585 USD ($6,662,581 CDN) in purse earnings, Daley got an unexpected Christmas bonus with the news that top-ranked sophomore pacer Captain Albano will be returning to his operation to race as a four-year-old in 2025.
A son of Captaintreacherous out of the American Ideal mare Angelou, Captain Albano earned $445,680 during a Dan Patch Award-winning two-year-old season with a 7-2-0 record from nine starts. His sophomore campaign was just as impressive: in 18 starts this year, he posted a record of 12-1-3 with $1,536,276 leading to a career record of 19-3-3 and $1,981,956 earned in 27 starts for owners Patricia Stable, L A Express Stable, Sjoblom Racing and Michael Dolan.
A winner of the Delvin Miller Adios, Hempt Memorial, Little Brown Jug and Matron as a three-year-old, Captain Albano's final scheduled start came in the 2024 Progress Pace at Bally's Dover, where he handily scored in 1:49.1.
After that start, Captain Albano was slated for stud duty at New York's Blue Chip Farms in 2025. Those plans have since been altered, according to Daley, due to recent fertility tests.
"He's back in the barn, which is fine by me," Daley told Trot Insider with an audible smile. "I hope he eventually comes through. They think it's just a blockage there. But with the time frame, we couldn't keep mucking around. He had enough interest in him to be pulled, but we couldn't be holding people's mares up."
Daley, who is travelling back home to Australia for the holidays, noted that there is a possibility Captain Albano will still stand at stud in 2025, but under different conditions.
"In January, when I come back, we'll try testing him again," noted Daley. "If he's alright...we'll race him and breed him. We can do that in New Jersey. And I'd put a limited book if that looks like it's possible. But either way, we're going to race him.
"I really haven't brought one like him back, you know. He went out as good at the end as he was in the middle of it, which was a good thing. I'll start jogging him a little bit when I bring him back in there in January, and then have a look at his stakes schedule and see when I need to have him ready. He's an easy horse to deal with."
Jokingly, Daley noted that this change of plans for Captain Albano came as a result of a comment he made after that planned Progress Pace swan song.
"We're a bit more than happy. Bridgette [stallion manager Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky] said, 'You put you put the curse on him there after his run in the Progress' as I actually said to the guy who was interviewing me, I said, 'I'm sort of sorry to see him go. I wouldn't mind racing him.' It's a good position to be in."
(Standardbred Canada)
Captain Albano
That's great that Captain Albano will be back next year. We're losing Legendary Hanover to the breeding shed, and I have yet to hear what the plans are for Nijinsky and Mirage Hanover. In order to incite more horses to continue to race once they turn 4, I think we need something like a $1 million race for older pacers.