Pacinello begins the quest for his third winter stakes trophy in the opening round of the Four Leaf Clover Series Saturday night at Meadowlands Racetrack
.
Pacinello was voted the United States Trotting Association's February Horse of the Month after winning his second straight winter series final, the $88,000 Exit 16W in a career best of 1:50.2, on February 20. His skein began with a late-flying 1:52 score in the $90,000 Complex Final on January 23. Pacinello has drawn post six in race 10, the second of two $25,000 opening round divisions of the Four Leaf Clover Series on Saturday. He is listed as the 8-5 morning line favourite with Tim Tetrick in the sulky.
Last year, the four-year-old son of Little Steven dominated the California Sires Stakes program at Cal-Expo where he equaled the track record of 1:52.4. Campaigned by father-and-son Rick and Luke Plano, Pacinello completed his sophomore year with an impressive record of 14 wins and four seconds in 26 starts. He has built on that momentum while racing under the care of veteran trainer Jim Doherty at the Meadowlands this season. Eugene Afentoulis, who races as D & E Racing, Inc. of Las Vegas, NV, owns the pacer.
"I knew about Pacinello and how good he was racing for Rick Plano," Doherty said. "He brought him out east last year, and they were trucking him down from Vernon Downs. He wasn't great, Rick had some problems with him here and there, but he showed some ability. I knew Rick from years ago when he and I raced at Foxboro in the seventies.
"I haven't done anything special to him," Doherty added. "The only thing I was concerned about when he came in was coming from warm weather into the really cold January we had. He had a little bit of an infection going on, and the last time he got beat out west they thought something was going through him. It was just a little cold or lung infection. That's why he missed the first leg of the Complex [series on January 8]."
While Pacinello has won three of five starts since arriving at the Meadowlands, Doherty says it is his two losses that show more about the horse's character.
"I watched him on the internet and I knew what he was capable of,"' Doherty said. "Now that he's here I can see he can do all of the good things a top horse can do, but the key thing about him is he's very courageous. That separates them. The two times he got beat here he had terrible trips, and that's just the way it worked out. The traffic was stalled in front of him and he still flew home in 26 and a piece. He's raced well for me in every start here."
Pacinello will have ample opportunity to prove himself against the top free-for-allers this season. He is eligible to all three of the Meadowlands' premier events, the Graduate (May 15), U.S. Pacing Championship (Aug. 7) and William R. Haughton Memorial (Aug. 21).
"I can compare him to a good horse I had in the mid eighties called Governors Choice," Doherty noted. "He was the same type of horse and could do it either way. He might get the worst of it, yet still get up and win."
Pacinello has thrust Hall of Fame horseman Jim Doherty back into the spotlight this year. Doherty, a 69-year-old native of Saint John, New Brunswick, has been a fixture in the Meadowlands winner's circle since the track's inaugural season in 1976.
"At this stage of my career, it's a lot nicer going to barn in the morning to jog and train a horse like this," Doherty said. "You certainly appreciate them because they don't come along very often, especially a horse like him who tries so hard. As a horseman, it's a shot in the arm you hope for, and it just feels a lot better working with a horse like this who can compete with the better ones.
"I've also got a three-year-old Credit Winner colt that showed flashes of greatness last year," he continued. "His name is Whata Winner and he won in 1:57.2 in New York Sires Stakes at Tioga Downs last year. It was a track record. He wasn't a real smart colt, but has ability. It was hard to keep his mind on business. He's training back good, and he has a chance to be more than just a sires stakes horse if he can put it all together."
(The Meadowlands)
To view Saturday’s entries, click here.