While George Fenno III, aka ‘Triple Sticks,’ recognizes that with success comes some added attention, he is quick to point out that the horse does all the work.
“I’m just along for the ride,” Fenno stated emphatically after his horse, Instant Replay, had just won his last two starts. “He does all the work. I just point him in the right direction.”
Drawing post three in the $6,000 USD top pacing event on Saturday, June 1 at Cumberland Raceway, the horse was listed at 5-1 by the TrackMaster morning line odds. Considering that he won his last two starts with two different drivers, one could opine that he would be the favourite, but he has drawn in with some tougher company.
The 3-1 favourite is Rocksapatriot (post two), a former Cumberland track record holder and experienced pacer with just shy of a quarter-million in earnings. Trained by Kelly Case, he gets the services of Dave Ingraham, the driver who piloted Instant Replay to victory last week.
Other contenders are Keystone Phoenix (Walter Case Jr.) and Lexus Witha View A (Kevin Switzer Jr.).
But that doesn’t discourage Fenno, who puts his horse’s needs at the top of his to-do list every week.
In between starts, the horse jogs, grazes in the lush New England pasture and sometimes gets a blow-out mile. This week, he got some new shoes, courtesy of blacksmith Joey Mosher. All the while, Fenno doesn’t mind dreaming of a rerun of the horse’s last two episodes.
“'Replay’s' wins have inspired my girlfriend, Marianne Audley, to fly up here from Florida to catch his next start. And even though I keep getting the 'white pants shuffle,' the horse is in good hands this week with Mike Stevenson.”
Instant Replay, a -fouryear-old son of Lazarus N that is currently undefeated this season, "always has his ears up," according to Fenno. Unraced at two, and with just 22 lifetime starts and eight wins, not even his owner-trainer knows where his progress will lead.
“I’ve never seen him as sharp as he is today,” noted Fenno. “We just hope that his spirit remains high and that he continues to bring us such joy.”
Speaking of joy, several prominent reinsmen will be noticeably absent from the action on Saturday when Mr. and Mrs. Nick Graffam celebrate their nuptials. Everyone in the close-knit Maine harness racing community wishes them decades of good health and happiness.
Racing starts on Friday, May 31 with an 11-race card, featuring the $5,500 USD top trot in the opener. The live action continues on Saturday. Post time is 3:15 p.m.
(First Tracks Cumberland)