Of the 88 horses eligible for the 11th annual Dream of Glory, only one can boast the distinction of holding a track record at the Grey County oval.
Not only is The Golden Child a former track record holder as a two-year-old when he trotted a 2:01 mile in his first career start, the now-three-year old gelded son of Striking Sahbra is fresh off tying Hanover's sophomore and all-age trotting record of 1:57.
The trotting record, originally set by $2-million earner Abbey Road C, is now shared by four horses. In the aged divisions, mare Whatthehecklavec and gelding Brawn Seelster equaled the 1:57 clocking in 2006 and 2008, respectively. Abbey Road C, who established the mark in his elimination for the first Dream of Glory Trot in 2002, shares the three-year-old record with The Golden Child, who is trained and driven by Mark Etsell, formerly of Hanover.
On the strength of the record alone, The Golden Child, a pupil of horseman Mark Etsell, has to be considered a contender to take top spot in the $100,000 final of the Dream Of Glory.
What is also playing into The Golden Child's favour is that his connections have recently uncovered an allergy problem which caused the gelding some sickness early in his career.
Robert Newton, who shares ownership with Etsell and Neil Spahr, said the connections “always knew [they] had a good horse, ever since he won his first start at Hanover," but that "allergies, bad trips and back luck have caused problems for him.”
Newton added that Etsell “wants to win the Dream of Glory more than anything,” so, surely, The Golden Child will be given every chance to do so.
(Hanover Raceway)
UPDATE
Trot Insider has spoken with Etsell, and he has explained that his talented, yet hard-luck student suffered a bit of a setback after his track-record-equalling performance at Hanover.
"He came out of the race just fine that night, but he couldn't trot the next day, and ended up blowing a puss pocket," Etsell explained.
The horseman told Trot Insider that his charge is a lot better now than what he was the day after the 1:57 mile, but that he is still hoping that The Golden Child --- named in part after his dam (Vision Of Gold) and the 1986 Eddie Murphy film of the same name --- is 100 per cent for the Dream Of Glory.
"We're still poulticing him, but he's on his way back," Etsell told Trot Insider. "The Dream Of Glory is going to be tough because it looks like there could be a lot of good horses in there."
Also, when asked about The Golden Child's best racing style, Etsell told Trot Insider that even though his charge equalled the Hanover track record on the engine last time out, his forte is actually coming from off the tempo.
"He's better chasing them down," Etsell told Trot Insider. "He doesn't have huge gate speed, either, but the fact that he is just such a quality horse is what really makes him shine."
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