The past three races for Armed N Hammered have been successful for both horse and driver, Sam Widger, as they finished first. What may be surprising is that as Armed N Hammered, a five-year-old, is in his first year
of racing.
Trainer David Little has been working with Armed N Hammered for some time to see results out on the racetrack. Starting out each year working hard with the horse, Little would begin training Armed N Hammered, only to quit as he was unable to get the horse to take to the training.
“Armed N Hammered has been a bit of a problem horse as a two and three-year-old,” said Widger. “Davey [Little] would finally quit with him, but this year, he felt he was coming along and kept him going. It was worth the time. He’s turned out to be a great racehorse.”
Widger has been red hot on the track recently. He turned in four wins on the special Memorial Day racing program Monday, May 30 and added a driving double to his win tally both Tuesday, May 31 and Wednesday, June 1. He is now in second place on the driver standings behind Peter Wrenn with a total of 65 wins through the first 46 nights of racing.
After two qualifiers at the beginning of the 2011 Hoosier Park meet with Little, Widger joined up with Armed N Hammered to make his racing debut. The duo came into the picture in the stretch to win by more than three lengths in a time of 1:54.2. He returned 12 days later and again, moved late in the race to win by two lengths in a time of 1:56.3.
The most recent win was during Race 2 Wednesday, June 1. Armed N Hammered started from Post 10 and came charging late in the lane to keep his record spotless and lower his career mark to 1:54.1. With such little racing experience, it is surprising just how well he has done this year out on the track.
“I am hoping to drive him again,” said Widger. “He is classy for a green (inexperienced) horse. He has sense, and he is loaded with speed.”
Armed N Hammered has shown that he has it in him to take the wins, so it won’t be too much of a surprise to see him continue in his successful journey.
(With files from Hoosier Park, Linscott Photography)