Cant I, a two-year-old daughter of Cantab Hall out of the world champion trotting mare Buck I St Pat, is now 2-for-2 lifetime after winning a $14,000 conditioned trot Monday night at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
Buck I St Pat was voted Older Trotting Mare of the Year in 2008-2009-2010, and won the Breeders Crown for her section in the latter two campaigns for her owners Howard Taylor, Edwin Gold, Abraham Basen, and R. R. Fuller. She twice had years of 10 victories and twice years with nine while amassing 51 career triumphs, fastest in 1:51 at The Meadowlands in 2010 at age seven, while earning $2,320,637.
She was also indirectly responsible for probably the ugliest pair of men’s short pants ever seen in harness racing, which owner Taylor wore whenever she raced and insisted were his “lucky Buck I St Pat pants.”
It looks like Buck I St Pat might be reproducing her racetrack prowess in the breeding shed, for Cant I followed up on her career debut victory in a Stallion Series event with a game two-move win in the Monday night slop at Pocono. The freshman and Hall of Fame driver John Campbell got away fourth from post eight, then had to come again first-over, but Cant I said “Why can’t I?” in the stretch and gamely carried on to overtake her 8-5 co-favoured rival French Press and score by three-quarters of a length in 1:57.3.
Bob Stewart is the conditioner of Cant I, who is owned by the same foursome mentioned above as involved with Buck I St Pat – Taylor, Gold, Basen, and Fuller. One may have bad fashion sense, but all four are long-time smart businessmen who know enough to hold on to a horse that may turn out gold-en for them as well.
(PHHA/Pocono)