Sweet Lou won’t race again until Meadowlands Pace eliminations July 7, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be busy.
Trainer Ron Burke indicated Monday, June 18 that he’s considering a number of rigging changes following Sweet Lou’s fourth-place finish as the odds-on favourite in last Saturday’s $1.5-million final of the Pepsi North America Cup.
“There are things I can do to help him,” Burke said. “He’s starting to grow up even a little bit more, so I plan to tinker with his equipment in the next two weeks. I’ll look at hopple length, bridle, shoes to try to get him to stretch out a little bit more, try to get a little bit more out of him.
“Usually I wait until the Adios to let loose with them, but with this one, I’ll look for a better way now.”
Burke said Sweet Lou came out of the final well.
2012 Pepsi North America Cup
“He had two tough trips and raced well both times. It will be a tough year because he’s facing some great horses — and not just two of them. There are five or six really good horses.”
Disappointing as the loss was, Burke remains philosophical and upbeat about his star three-year-old, a son of Yankee Cruiser owned by Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Larry Karr and Phillip Collura.
“I’ve had a lot of great horses, and they all got beat,” Burke said. “I still feel he’s the best colt, and that trip Saturday shows it. The colts who went with him at the beginning of the mile were way back while he was still around at the wire. I’m not losing faith in him.”
(The Meadows)