“When he (Royalty For Life) was younger, you would not have picked him to be such a great horse. He really came into his own when he saw there was a finish line and he wanted to be there first.”
Trainer George Ducharme is just days away from the biggest race of his life, as Royalty For Life, a three-year-old son of R C Royalty, will be locking horns with the continent's best in the Hambletonian.
The Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey will be packed on Saturday (August 3) and thousands of North American viewers will also tune in on television to see if the Ducharme's pupil can get the job done.
The draw for the Hambletonian's three opening-heat eliminations took place Tuesday in New Jersey, and Royalty For Life drew the outside Post 8 in the first of the elims. Despite his disadvantaged starting spot, the morning-line oddsmaker has still installed the speedy sophomore as the 8-5 early favourite.
“There are a lot of horses who aren’t as determined, when they see another horse getting close to them they will give up, but not him, he always wants to win," Ducharme has been quoted as saying in an article on boston.com. "He is playful but determined, he’s young, but slowly becoming a professional and learning the craft.”
Royalty For Life has been one of the main focuses heading into the Hambletonian courtesy of three consecutive speedy miles. On July 6 he won a qualifying race at the Meadowlands by 19 lengths in 1:51.3 and followed that up by capturing the $294,000 Stanley Dancer in 1:52 at the 'Big M.' His most recent mile came last weekend at Vernon Downs in New York State, where he trotted to a 1:53 victory.
“This would be incredible to win, it’s the biggest race in our sport,” he said. “For a little guy like me from Massachusetts, it would be a dream come true.”
(With files from boston.com)