George Teague Jr. is no stranger to fast horses, but even he might be pinching himself over the pacing potential in his barn this season. Teague has five horses among the top 25 in this year’s Experimental Championship Ratings
, compiled by Stan Bergstein. The annual rankings, which appear in the February issue of Hoof Beats, list the top three-year-olds based on their projected best win times for the upcoming campaign.
Sportswriter, who won last year’s Metro Pace at Ontario’s Mohawk Racetrack in a world-record 1:49.2 and claimed the Dan Patch Award and O'Brien Award for best two-year-old male pacer, is the No. 1-rated pacer for 2010. He is projected to pace a mile in 1:47.1. All Speed Hanover and One More Laugh rounded out the top three.
Teague’s top-rated pacer is Fancy Filly, who won the Dan Patch Award and O'Brien Award for best two-year-old filly pacer. She is No. 10 overall in the Experimental rankings and first among the ladies. Also on the list from the Teague Stable are Dr Dreamy (No. 13), Windfall Blue Chip (14), Im Gorgeous (16) and Delmarvalous (17).
No other trainer has more than two horses in the Experimental rankings.
“You start to think that this is too good to be true, but they’ve done what they’re supposed to do,” Teague said. “It’s a very good feeling to have that many that can compete against each other training down. There’s no handicap in knowing how to go fast.”
Fancy Filly (Western Hanover-Fanciful Hanover) won 10 of 12 races last year, including the Breeders Crown and Three Diamonds, and earned $840,926. She was the fastest two-year-old filly of 2009, with a time of 1:51.1 in the Three Diamonds at Harrah’s Chester, which set the world record for two-year-old fillies on a five-eighths-mile track.
She returned to training a little more than a week ago.
“She grew up just a hair,” said Teague, who set career highs with 184 wins and $4.75 million in purses in 2009. “She wasn’t a big horse, but I always said last year that she was big enough. She’s a rare horse. She’s very intelligent and has all the traits of a good horse. She’s definitely got the ability. She’s the best two-year-old filly I’ve ever trained.
“We just hope she can carry it over [to this year]. Even though she raced all season, she still was good when we put her away. I hope that factors in. She seems to be fine coming back.”
Dr Dreamy (Art Major-Candy Stripes) won seven of nine races last year, including divisions of the Reynolds, Tompkins-Geers, New York Sire Stakes, and Nassagaweya. He earned $178,605. His mother, Candy Stripes, is a full sister to 2003 Hoosier Cup winner Jr Mint.
“He’s a tough little horse,” Teague said. “If you see his size, you’d think he couldn’t do it, but he’s a horse when you put him on the racetrack. He’s a never-die horse.”
Windfall Blue Chip (Art Major-Beach Dancer) won four of six races, including the Woodrow Wilson, last year and earned $260,602 before being sidelined because of a virus.
“He’s a very talented colt,” Teague said. “He’s very athletic; looks the part and always did. Training down last year, he looked like he could be the one. Only time will tell, but he looks great this year and grew up well. He feels like he did early on.”
Im Gorgeous (Bettors Delight-Joy) won four of eight races last year and earned $91,479. He won divisions of the Tompkins-Geers and New York Sire Stakes and paced 1:50.4 to win an elimination of the Wilson.
“Winning in [1]:50.4 at the Meadowlands isn’t an easy task,” Teague said. “We raced him lightly. Training down last year, he was right there with the other ones. He’s got great upside.”
Delmarvalous (Badlands Hanover-Prymetyme Scootie) won eight of 11 starts last season and earned $189,348. He was second to Sportswriter by a half-length in a division of the Nassagaweya and by 1-1/2 lengths in their elimination for the Metro.
“He went some big, big fractions up in Canada in the three starts he raced up there,” Teague said. “Sportswriter is a great horse, there’s no doubt about that. But he raced against him and raced him tough every time.”
If that were not enough, Teague has high hopes for The Scottish Vet (Western Hanover-Artstopper), who was unraced last year. His mother is a half sister to Cheyenne Rei and his grandmother, Suave Almahurst, gave birth to the likes of Lon Todd Hanover, Salute Hanover, and Aint No Stopn Him. “He got a little bit sore, so we turned him out,” Teague said. “But he seemed like he could go pretty well.”
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.