A bargain buy who has earned back twice his purchase price, Allamerican Chief has already exceeded trainer John Bavosi's expectations
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On Friday night, the 4-year-old pacer looks to add to his coffers in the $54,000 Art Unger Final. Allamerican Chief aims for a series sweep as the 4-1 second choice from post three. Carded as race seven, the Art Unger Final shares the spotlight with $125,000 Su Mac Lad and $65,800 Jersey Girls finals.
"I bought him at the [Tattersalls] Mixed Sale in January for $12,000," Bavosi said. "I don't know how we got away with paying that little for him. We went to buy another Cam's Card Shark horse, and he went for $20,000. I thought Allamerican Chief was a gorgeous looking horse. My wife was only going to go to $10,000, but she went to $11,000, another guy went to $11,500, then she bid $12,000 and we got him.
"When I first got him to the farm he jogged really sound, but he as a little on the thin side," he continued. "We started doing all the basics, and I changed his shoeing. He had borium on them, and I put aluminum shoes in front and full swedges behind. I kept it simple. He just keeps getting better and better. He's a very big horse, very long like a Thoroughbred."
Allamerican Chief has won four of his seven starts for Bavosi and his wife Ruth Ann O'Brien of Hightstown, NJ, and co-owners Francis Tarricone of Sayreville and Robert Rinaldi of Oak Ridge. He took a mark of 1:51.3 in the opening round of the Art Unger Series and rallied off cover to score again in 1:53 in the second leg.
"He's really come into himself with those two wins in this series," Bavosi said. "The big thing is you have to time it just right with him. If you clear the lead too fast with him, he'll kind of pull himself up. It's not that he's getting tired; you just have to keep after him all the time. Yannick Gingras really gets along with him. We drew an inside post for this final and he trained good this week."
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(Meadowlands)