With the date of the 2024 Pepsi North America Cup eliminations less than four weeks away, Trot Insider will profile some of the race's top contenders as they gear up for those eliminations on Saturday, June 8 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Coming in at 8-1 odds, Captains Quarters was ranked at No. 4 in TROT Magazine's 2024 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book.
Trained by Herb Holland and owned by Rich Stiles, the sophomore son of Captaintreacherous and the Art Major mare Prescient Beauty has $525,904 banked from five starts to go along with a record of 2-1-2. Captains Quarters made his career debut in a freshman pace a winning one in 1:53.3. He followed with a third in both the $93,700 Nassagaweya and $93,000 Champlain divisions before a second place in the Metro elimination poised him for the $970,000 final. With regular pilot Jody Jamieson in tow, Captains Quarters won the Metro final in 1:49.3.
"He just has a tremendous high turn of speed. A high turn of speed. He's very strong," said trainer Herb Holland. "He's a very strong individual. I don't thing he's a one-wrung horse, I think you can use him a little bit. He's a tough horse."
Trot Insider caught up with Holland to discuss the colt as he prepares for his sophomore debut, this Saturday, May 18 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Where did he winter and when did you start back with him?
"He wintered at Winbak Farms [Canada] and I started back with him on January 1."
Have you noticed any changes from last year to this year?
"There wasn't a lot when I first picked him up, but he's grown a little bit in stature. He's a nice medium-sized horse. I wouldn't say he's a big horse, but he's all there. He's very thick, very athletic. He's 15.2, 15.3, which for me, that's a size I like. I don't like them 16 hands, 16.2, they are harder to stay sound. But his athletic ability is what makes it."
What will his tentative early schedule look like leading up to the Pepsi North America Cup?
"I plan to race him at least once, if we can fit it in maybe twice. He's Somebeachsomewhere eligible, too, so that's on the radar. We're aiming for that if things go well."
What does his tentative schedule look like after the North America Cup?
"The Meadowlands Pace is after that one for a big one. He's eligible to the bigger dances, stateside, races like the Jug, International Stallion. We kind of programmed him to maybe 15-16 races this year, probably not any more than that. Dependent on if he stays healthy. That's always an issue."
At what point last year did you think this horse was North America Cup material?
"I took him to Mohawk a couple of times [before qualifying] and I had some company with him, that's basically when I thought he was going to be pretty special. We schooled him and trained him there, pretty good. Jody even said to me when we schooled him, he said, 'This thing is a gorilla.' I said, 'Well, we're not going to find out just yet!'"
As someone who hasn't won this race before, how does it feel to have a legit shot at the North America Cup?
"You know what, it's nice to have those kind of horses for sure. I don't have any aspirations to win big races. I'm happy winning any races anywhere, but it's nice to win the big ones. To me, that doesn't make the trainer that you are or that you are not. A lot of guys train horses and they don't get the opportunity to train a horse like him.
"It is nice, but I try to keep low-key and don't get too excited because I realize there's so much that has to go right and just one thing to go wrong for them to get there. It's a tough sport and to keep one like him healthy and sound and racing at that level, it's a pretty monumental task. The people that do it are doing a great job."
Previous Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book Profiles:
- Captain Albano - #1 // 4-1
- Legendary Hanover - #2 // 9-2
- Gem Quality - #5 // 11-1
- Funtime Bayama - #7 // 13-1
(Standardbred Canada)