Tomorrowpan can become a mother tomorrow. Today she is too good on the racetrack
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Steve Calhoun and trainer Casie Coleman bought Tomorrowpan, a five-year-old pacing mare, for $58,000 at the Tattersalls January Select Mixed Sale at the Meadowlands with the intentions of racing her a few times and then breeding her to Sportswriter.
But after Tomorrowpan started winning races, the plan changed. Tomorrowpan has won five of nine races for Calhoun and Coleman and earned nearly $100,000. She is the leading point-getter in the ongoing Blue Chip Matchmaker series at Yonkers Raceway.
“She’s done much better than we expected,” Coleman said. “She’s just been awesome. Right away she was just a sweetheart. She never did anything wrong. She was very good right off the bat. We just got lucky and made a good buy.
“We’re not going to breed her. We staked her up.”
Tomorrowpan is staked to the Betsy Ross at Harrah’s Chester as well as the Roses Are Red and Milton stakes in Canada.
“We did the completely unexpected with her,” Coleman said. “Steve did the staking on his own. He told me not to laugh at him. At first I told him he was crazy, but he wanted to take a shot, and she keeps getting better and better.”
Bred and previously owned by Peter Pan Stables, Tomorrowpan is a daughter of No Pan Intended out of the mare Disneypan (a half sister to millionaire Mystical Maddy). Tomorrowpan was the Ontario Sire Stakes Grassroots champion as a 2-year-old. She won the series final over Not Enough, who has since earned $1 million in her career.
Tomorrowpan, who prior to Coleman was trained most recently by Virgil Morgan, Jr., has won 18 of 53 lifetime races and earned $294,961. She has two wins and two third-place finishes in the Matchmaker series. She will sit out this week in preparation for the $301,000 final on April 30.
“I can’t say I changed a whole lot about her,” Coleman said. “Virgil was doing well with her also. She’s a great looking mare and seems very sound. She’s just peaking very well right now.”
Coleman rolled the dice by keeping Tomorrowpan out of action Friday, but after seeing the entries learned it paid off. Tomorrowpan is guaranteed a spot in the final.
“It was like 100-1 we wouldn’t make the final, but I almost entered her because it was possible she could have been knocked out by skipping this week,” Coleman said. “I couldn’t have her sharp enough for the final if I went five weeks in a row. I want to have her as prepped as I can have her.
“It’s a tough series. There are a lot of good mares in there, but I think she’s one of the toughest ones. Hopefully she can have some luck.”
Blue Chip Matchmaker Top 10, with points:
1. Tomorrowpan, 224;
2. Ginger And Fred, 220;
3. Save My Shark, 205;
4. Breakheart Pass, 188;
5. All Spirit, 183;
6. Anndrovette, 180;
7. Ticket To Rock, 175;
8. Park Avenue, 174;
9. Symphony In Motion, 171;
10. Hulas Z Tam, 160.
A horse receives 25 points for entering plus 50 for a win, 25 for a second, 12 for a third, 8 for a fourth and 5 for a fifth.
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit ustrotting.com.