Trainer Ron Burke warmly remembers the movie The Magnificent Seven.
“I thought it was cool,” he said. “My dad liked Yul Brynner, and that’s why I remember it.”
Alas, Mr. Brynner won’t be at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows on Saturday (July 8) when Burke screens his own version of The Magnificent Seven. He’ll send out seven royally bred freshman filly pacers, more than one-third of the field, for their first stakes action in a $166,058 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes known as the Sand Tart. Saturday’s 14-race card also features an $80,000 PA Stallion Series event for two-year-old filly pacers. First post is 12:45 p.m.
Interestingly, six of the seven Burke youngsters never walked through the sales ring. They were bred either by Burke and his team or by Florida horseman Bill Donovan.
“On the market, they probably would have brought a lot,” said Burke. “They’re special and any of them could be the best. They’ve trained down well and they’ve done everything we’ve asked. They’re pretty much staked everywhere. We’re giving them all the same shot.”
Though the sport’s all-time leading conditioner is as driven to win as ever, he indicates he’s looking at the bigger picture for this group.
“I always want to win, but you have to take a longer view. We’re setting them up for their whole careers. My drivers get that. We want to win, but you can’t leave everything on the track. You want to get them in the right position and let their talent take over.
Here’s Burke’s assessment of several of his seven beauties:
My Girl EJ will be driven by Chris Page in race three from post two. “She’s trained down better than anyone in the family and it’s been a very good family.” She’s a full sister to 2021 Little Brown Jug winner Lous Pearlman.
In race three, Monsoon takes post three with Yannick Gingras in the bike. “We knew she was nice, but even we were impressed by her qualifiers. She stepped it up more than we saw coming.”
Sweet Gal, also driven by Gingras, is in race five, post two. “She’s a sister to Ammo [Breeders Crown winner last year at two] and she trained down and qualified well.” This one did go through the sales ring at Lexington and was hammered down to Donovan and Mark Mullen for $125,000.
(Meadows Standardbred Owners Association)