Omen Hanover's success could mean a promising future for young trainer Nick Surick
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The open class mare has earned $250,000 since entering the 22-year-old conditioner's barn last April. She makes her next start in the $40,000 second leg of the Cape & Cutter Series on Friday night at Meadowlands Racetrack. Omen Hanover will start from post six in the tenth race with Matt Kakaley in the sulky.
Surick, who works in partnership with his girlfriend Anna Glide, has 30 horses in training at Tullo Farms in Howell, NJ. Schneidler, who races as KDM Stables Corp., owns half of the stable's stock, including Omen Hanover.
"I ran into Howard Schneidler one night at Yonkers, and I started buying and selling horses for him," Surick explained. "We claimed our first horse together, After Life, for $10,000, and we made about $100,000 with him in two years. There's always a risk involved, and I'll always be grateful for Howard to put his trust in an 18-year-old kid at the time. He's like a second father to me.
"I had always had claimers for Howard, but Omen Hanover was kind of the catalyst that got things going for us," he continued. "That's when Howard realized we could actually do it."
A consistent performer in the mares open at Pocono and Dover Downs, Omen Hanover has won 13 races for Surick. She finished fifth after setting the pace in the first leg of the Cape & Cutter Series on February 4. Lifetime, the daughter of Western Hanover-Oohs N Aahs has won 33 of 144 starts and $758,699.
"Omen Hanover can't really cut a mile and go gate-to-wire," Surick said. "She's a trip mare. She doesn't like to be chased. She likes to do the chasing. Last week, Tim Tetrick left with her in :26.3, slammed on the breaks with a :29.1 second quarter thinking somebody would come to give us a trip, and nobody did. We knew we were in trouble at the half. I pulled her blood the next day and she did tie up a bit.
"She's been mostly on five-eighths and half-mile tracks, and she had to stretch out against the best mares in the sport," he continued. "If she blasts and sits a trip, she can be good. Tim took off [to drive] Cuz She Can, so I'm putting up Matt Kakaley. He won five or six opens with her last summer at Pocono and Chester, so he knows her like the back of his hand and he has a lot of talent."
Schneidler has also entrusted Surick with Schoolkids and Vertical Horizon, respective $210,000 and $120,000 purchases at the mixed sale in Harrisburg last November, as week as Keep It Real and Valentino, who finished third in the 2010 Meadowlands Pace. Valentino will make his first stakes appearance of the year in the Four Leaf Clover Series, which begins March 5.
Surick, a 2006 graduate of Freehold Township High School, is now the second leading trainer at his hometown track.
"I used to ride my bike to school, and on my way home I would run into the racetrack and catch the late daily double," he said. "I got thrown out of there several times for underage gambling!
"I met a lot of people in the business there," he continued. "Mike Polansky, who owned horses with Ross Croghan, took me to Gaitway Farm [a large training center in nearby Englishtown]. I also met John Regina, who was at Eric Abbatiello's farm. I was hanging around the barns and one thing led to another."
However, after graduation, Surick was not sure whether to pursue harness racing as a hobby or career.
"I went to Brookdale Community College for two years and majored in business management" he said. "I was going to transfer to Rutgers, but I just couldn't get away from the horses. I was training two horses at the time. I figured it was worth a shot, and I was going to ride out the wave. I don't know exactly what it is, but horses get to you, and once you're hooked that's it. You can always go back to school. Eventually, I met my girlfriend, Anna Glide, and now we work together.
"I'd love to win a training title anywhere," he added. "I've learned the hard way about what it takes to compete at this level against the top stables, especially at the Meadowlands. Horses often need a few starts to acclimate to that bigger mile track. I can win enough at the smaller tracks, but the Meadowlands is the top of the game and that's where people notice you.
"It's a learning experience," he finished. "Every horse is different and it's a fine-tuning process. I'm the first person to put my ego aside, pick up the phone and call somebody for advice."
Sherman and Anthony Are In The Sulky This Weekend
Trainer Kent Sherman will talk about his champion trotting mare Jesses Messenger and his four starters on the card on Meadowlands Racetrack's Friday night pre-card broadcast.
On Saturday, the multi-talented George Anthony sits In The Sulky to discuss his five trainees on the card and his return to the announcer's booth at Ocean Downs. Fans can e-mail questions for Sherman and Anthony to answer on-air to [email protected]. The broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m. each night on the Paddock Level television set and airs live online at MeadowlandsRacetrack.com.
(The Meadowlands)