Wearable Art, the 2007 Berry's Creek champion, will return to the racetrack after a two-year absence Saturday night at the Meadowlands
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The seven-year-old son of Artiscape retired to stud duty after suffering the third separate tendon injury of his career on September 18, 2008 at the Delaware, Ohio fairgrounds. He will return to action in the twelfth race Saturday night for trainer Peter Kleinhans and co-owner Anthony Altomonte. Wearable Art looks to follow in the hoof prints of Make It Brief, who notched his first win off a three-year layoff on March 5 at the Meadowlands.
Wearable Art amassed $226,634 in earnings and took a mark of 1:50 in the final of the Berry's Creek before embarking on breeding duties in Pennsylvania and Indiana in 2009 and 2010.
"He bred about 35 mares last year in Indiana at Hickory Ridge Farm," Altomonte noted. "Dr. Larry Smith has been a great partner to us and we asked him to send Wearable Art back to us last September. We love the horse and hadn't seen him since October 2008 because he went straight to standing in Pennsylvania and then to Indiana. To Larry's credit, he didn't look like a horse that stood stud for two years. He didn't have excess weight on him because he was very active in turnout and looked pretty fit."
Kleinhans and Altomonte eased Wearable Art back into training under the guidance of Dr. Brian MacNamara of the Warwick Equine Clinic in New York. MacNamara had diagnosed Wearable Art's first bowed tendon after the 2007 final of the Berry's Creek. Kleinhans and Altomonte called upon the veterinarian once again to perform an ultra sound on Wearable Art's leg when he returned to the barn last fall.
"Doctor MacNamara examined him and said that the leg was okay," Altomonte said, "so we began jogging him really slowly. The more he jogged, the better he looked and felt. We started training him down lightly in November and schooled him in 1:53.3 (in February). He went with Lisagain in that schooling race."
Wearable Art made his 2011 debut in morning qualifiers on February 26 at the Meadowlands. He finished second in his race behind Ginger And Fred, one of last year's top money-winners, and was clocked in 1:52.3 with Tim Tetrick in the sulky. At entry time, Tetrick was named to drive Wearable Art in Saturday's race.
"Tetrick said he absolutely loved him, and that he was such a pleasure to drive," Altomonte said. "This past Saturday (March 5), we interval trained him at the Meadowlands just to have him ultra sounded again after training. Doctor MacNamara said the tendon looked great and that everything seems to be going in the right direction."
Optimistic over the pacer's progress, Kleinhans and Altomonte staked Wearable Art to most of the free for all events this season, including the Graduate (May 14), US Pacing Championship (August 6) and William R. Haughton Memorial (August 20) at the Meadowlands.
"We don't really know what level he is going to be at -- the highest level or lesser -- but he is paid into everything," Altomonte said. "He'll be racing almost exclusively on the mile track, but we may send him to Pocono and to Canada for the Pacing Derby."
(Meadowlands)