He’s already won as many races this year as he did in all of 2015, and Flanagan Memory’s campaign is just getting started.
The Cutler Memorial at The Meadowlands on June 24 probably will be the first stakes appearance this year for the six-year-old son of Kadabra, who is coming off a pair of victories in the $34,000 preferred class at Mohawk.
“He’s happy, fit and strong. Now it's time to race for the big money. If everything goes right, he should do all the big races he was in last year – including the Maple Leaf Trot and Breeders Crown,” said trainer and co-owner Rene Dion.
Flanagan Memory won just two of 15 starts last year, but one of them was the $301,500 Cashman final at the Meadowlands, which gave his year a nice lift.
He ended up earning $299,769, which put him within striking distance of $1 million. He’s at $963,071 now.
“Reaching that would be an accomplishment, and he deserves to be in that club. He makes an occasional break but he always comes back. When I worked for Pierre Touchette, we didn’t quite make it to a million with Bullvons Dream. I thought we’d get there with Flanagan last year, to be honest, but it’s hard to win races against the big guys in the U.S. Horses like Resolve and Bee A Magician...they’re hard to beat,” said Dion.
Co-owned by Liette Flanagan, daughter of the horse’s late breeder Michel Flanagan, the horse has been the pillar for four years of the eight-horse, Ontario-based stable managed by Dion and Suzie Kerwood.
“We’re trying to manage him the best we can. We never over raced him,” Dion said. “If he needs a week off, he gets it. I listen to what he says to me. He’s a very nice horse and we try to keep him happy."
(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Paul Delean)