The countdown to the 2016 Pepsi North America Cup is on, with Trot Magazine profiling the horses predicted to be the top contenders for Canadian harness racing's richest prize.
At 22-1, Ideal Rocky kicks off the countdown, coming at #10 in Trot Magazine's 2016 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book.
With five wins as a freshman -- including two over Dan Patch divisional winner Boston Red Rocks -- and more than $250,000 in earnings, Ideal Rocky is the first of three colts sired by 2005 North America Cup champion Rocknroll Hanover to make Trot's Top 10.
Owned by William Wiswell, Jean Goehlen and Eugene Schick of Wisconsin and Illinois, Ideal Rocky was a $47,000 yearling developed and trained by John Butenschoen. Trot Insider caught up with Butenschoen after a successful mid-week fishing trip off the coast of Florida.
Where did he winter?
"With me, I'm down at Southern Oaks Training Center."
When did you bring him back in to start training?
"Around the 7th of January."
Where are you at with him right now?
"I've been in 2:03 with him...We're in no big rush, he's got a lot of slow miles in and he's having a good Winter."
Have you noticed any changes from last year to this year?
"Just a little bigger, stronger version of himself. He filled out good, he ended up the season on a good note...wintered well, and everything's on track so far."
Did you feel the horse needed to add much size from two to three?
"Not really. He was about the right size; a good size, and a nice, strong colt."
When will he qualify and what's his early schedule looking like leading up to the Pepsi North America Cup?
"We'll probably qualify once here at the training centre on the 8th or 15th [of April]. I've got a truck scheduled to go north on the 17th of April with my three-year-olds. We'll probably get him up there, qualify him once or so at The Meadowlands and point him to the first leg of the New Jersey Sire Stakes."
What is he staked to past the North America Cup?
"He's pretty much eligible to everything."
At what point last year did this horse show you North America Cup-level talent?
"He was always a good-training, typical Rocknroll colt...always finished up good and strong but pretty lazy type of horse so you just hope that when push comes to shove and it's time to go that he goes. As soon as we put him in the qualifiers he took off and kept going forward like we had hoped.
"He ended up the year on a good note; we weren't eligible to the Breeders Crown so we weren't able to race against Boston Red Rocks there. We faced him in the [Governors Cup] Final, we got away bad, unfortunately...[Boston Red Rocks] came home good but we came home the fastest last quarter and that was enough to muster up a fourth-place finish."
What makes this horse such a great competitor?
"He comes home big and strong on the end of miles, that's the thing I like about him. He's always kicking home and coming home as fast or faster than anybody in the race."