If Warrawee Needy is in need of anything as he prepares for his debut as a four-year-old in Saturday’s opening round of the Aquarius Series at the Meadowlands, it’s a change of luck.
The highly-regarded pacer suffered from a run of bad luck last season, from battling illness and allergies to traffic woes on the racetrack.
“I have the same hopes for him (this year) as I had with him last year,” said co-owner Carl Jamieson, who trains the horse in Canada and sent Warrawee Needy to New York-based conditioner Mark Ford for the Aquarius. “A lot of things went wrong last year. People talk about racing luck, and he had it, but it was all bad.”
As a two-year-old, Warrawee Needy won nine of 12 races, including the Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final, and earned $536,950. He was named the O’Brien Award winner as Canada’s best two-year-old male pacer.
Last season, he won four of 16 starts and earned $296,968. He was at his best in the fall, picking up all four of his victories after Sept. 1, but still could not overcome bad race luck. In his elimination for the Breeders Crown, Warrawee Needy was full of pace but lacked room to get out of traffic and failed to advance to the final.
Warrawee Needy enters the Aquarius off a 1:53.1 qualifier win on Feb. 21 at the Meadowlands with Mark MacDonald handling the driving. He paced his final quarter-mile in :26.4 on a 27-degree day.
MacDonald and Warrawee Needy will start the Aquarius from post two in a nine-horse field. Warrawee Needy is the 5-2 morning line favourite.
“He’s great,” said Jamieson, who owns the horse with Thomas Kyron, Michael Wilson and Floyd Marshall. “He trained good here and I was happy with the qualifier. He came home in :26.4 and there was a heavy wind that day. I’m very pleased with him. I’m just hoping things keep going right.”
The rest of the Aquarius field sees I Fought Dalaw starting inside of Warrawee Needy while to his outside are Escape The News, Mr Dennis, One Through Ten, In Commando, Yo Cheyenne Rocky, Kings Legend and Bakin On The Beach.
Warrawee Needy is a son of stallion E Dees Cam out of the mare Great Memories. He was purchased for $20,000 at the Canadian Yearling Sale and is a half-brother to 2010 Canadian Breeders Championship winner Big Bay Point.
Jamieson will keep Warrawee Needy on the larger tracks this season, foregoing trips around half-mile ovals.
“He’s such a big horse,” Jamieson said. “He’s paid into pretty much everything there is, all the big races on five-eighths or mile tracks. He’ll have his work cut out for him as it is going up against older horses. But I think he’s strong enough to do it.
“He’s very nice to work with and drive. He’s got the right attitude.”
Another Jamieson-trainee, Up The Credit, also is working his way toward his 2013 debut. Now a five-year-old, Up The Credit won the 2011 North America Cup and was named that season’s O’Brien Award winner as best three-year-old male pacer.
Up The Credit did double duty last season, breeding and racing, but was sidelined in November because of a small fracture in his right front leg. The injury forced Jamieson to scuttle his plan to race Up The Credit through the winter.
“He’s training back well,” Jamieson said. “He’s coming along good. He and Needy will be traveling in the same boat this year. Hopefully everything will go well.
“In this business, you have to have some luck.”
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.