Fourever Boy has raced on a half-mile track only four times in his career but shown he can flourish on the smaller oval. In 2022, he won an elimination of the Little Brown Jug before finishing second to Bythemissal in the final at the Delaware County Fairgrounds, and last year he captured the Charles Juravinski Memorial Cup at Flamboro Downs.
This year, Fourever Boy will give the half-mile circuit at MGM Yonkers Raceway a try. The five-year-old stallion was among 30 older male pacers nominated to the track’s MGM Borgata Pacing Series, which begins March 18.
“We want to give him a chance in the Borgata,” said trainer Tim Twaddle, who co-owns Fourever Boy with Micki Rae Stables. “We’ll test the waters and see if he can handle himself. A lot of it at Yonkers is the draw, so if we can get lucky and he does OK, we’ll stick it out. If not, he can always come home.”
Twaddle, who is based at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, has sent Fourever Boy to trainer Linda Toscano for his East Coast stay. He will make his seasonal debut Saturday at The Meadowlands, where he is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line in a $24,324 conditioned pace and will have Scott Zeron in the sulky. Oakwood Ardan IR, who is six-for-six since arriving in the U.S. from Great Britain, is the 2-1 favourite.
Fourever Boy enters the race with one qualifier under his belt, a 1:55 win at The Meadows on Feb. 27, following several weeks of R&R at Chris Coyle’s Olive Branch Farm. (His qualifier starts around the 10:17 mark.)
“He had a good break at Chris’ place,” said Twaddle. “[Horses] always come back looking great from there, and he did. He keeps his weight well anyway, so he looked good when he went, and he looked fantastic when he came back. He’s not a big horse by any means, he’s average, but he’s very nice and thick and fleshy.”
Fourever Boy has won 10 of 60 career races, hit the board an additional 19 times, and earned just north of a million dollars. In addition to winning the Juravinski, his triumphs include the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship and a division of the Simcoe Stakes, both in 2022.
Last year, Fourever Boy won the Juravinski, which is restricted to four-year-olds, in his second start of the season. The son of Sweet Lou-Macharoundtheclock ended the campaign with five victories in 23 races and $230,913 in purses.
“It was just a so-so year,” said Twaddle. “I’m glad we had that big hit right off the bat, that kind of got us through. I put him in for a lot of Grand Circuit events that he probably should have stayed away from and let him mature for another year. It’s very tough for four-year-olds to go against open horses in those big events. Chasing the top guys around wasn’t ideal.
“I probably should have managed him a little more conservatively. It didn’t hurt him by any means, but he didn’t make a lot of money. But it still was fun.”
Twaddle is looking forward to seeing what an older Fourever Boy can do this season as the Grand Circuit kicks off with the Borgata, and its companion event for pacing mares, the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series.
“I’m really anxious to see how things go for him at Yonkers,” said Twaddle. “I’d just like to get a little lucky with the draw and really give him a good test and see if he belongs or not. We’ve enjoyed so much being part of the Grand Circuit and travelling around, I would hate for it to end. So, I hope he can make a good account of himself and we can keep the ride going.”
In addition to having Fourever Boy for the Borgata, Twaddle will send Treacherous Penny to the Matchmaker. Treacherous Penny, a four-year-old daughter of Captaintreacherous-Penpal, has won nine of 29 career starts and earned $179,546. She makes her seasonal debut Friday at Yonkers for Toscano and Zeron in a $29,730 conditioned pace.
“She’s really good on a half-mile track; I think that’s her forté,” said Twaddle, who bought Treacherous Penny in November. “I know it’s going to be tough, but she really acts like a nice horse, and with her gate speed I think she can probably overcome bad posts and she’s certainly going to take advantage of the good ones.
“I know she’s got a tough road ahead of her, but she’s coming in nice and fresh. I’m really excited to see what happens with her.”
(USTA)