Broad Bahn will look to become the first Hambletonian winner to also capture The Colonial since Mack Lobell in 1987 when the $500,000 race for three-year-old trotters is contested Sunday at Harrah’s Chester
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Since The Colonial was resumed in 2007 after a three-year hiatus, Hambletonian winners have bypassed the race as they prepared for the World Trotting Derby and Canadian Trotting Classic. Still, The Colonial retained a Hambletonian vibe as the Hambletonian’s second-place finisher won the event each of the last three years: Lucky Chucky, Explosive Matter, and Crazed.
“The Hambo form is standing up all right,” said Noel Daley, who trains Broad Bahn and also conditioned Explosive Matter. “It just hasn’t been Hambo winners in there.”
This year’s The Colonial will be missing Hambletonian runner-up Whiskey Tax, but Hambletonian finalists Opening Night (who finished third), Pastor Stephen (fifth) and Manofmanymissions (eighth) will join Broad Bahn at Chester. Also part of the field is Dejarmbro, who earlier this season won the $500,000 Earl Beal Jr. Memorial, but was not eligible to the Hambletonian.
Broad Bahn, who will be handled by regular driver George Brennan, will start The Colonial from Post 5. Manofmanymissions, Dejarmbro, Opening Night and Pastor Stephen drew the posts inside of Broad Bahn.
“It’s a good field,” Daley said. “A lot of the better chances have drawn inside me, but he’ll be fine there. [Post] five, you probably don’t want the inside at Chester. It seems to favour the outside a bit.”
Post 5 has the best win percentage at Chester, at 18.6 per cent, followed by Post 4, at 17.1 per cent.
The Colonial will be Broad Bahn’s first start since winning the $1.5 million Hambletonian by three and a quarter lengths in 1:53. Broad Bahn, owned by Copenhagen’s Leif Alber, has won four of eight races and $931,101 this year. He has finished on the board in all eight races, including three second-place efforts.
“He’s been super [since the Hambletonian],” Daley said. “He’s bright as a button. I’m real happy with him.”
Manofmanymissions, who was the Hambletonian favourite and went off stride from second place in the stretch, is coming into The Colonial off a one and a quarter length victory in 1:52.1 from Post 10 in the $175,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes final at Meadowlands Racetrack.
“We were one week late,” trainer Erv Miller said. “But he came back good.”
Manofmanymissions has won four of seven races and $222,000 this year. He will be driven in The Colonial by David Miller because regular driver Andy Miller is committed to Whatever It Takes, a colt trained by his wife, Julie.
Pastor Stephen, who was voted last season’s best two-year-old male trotter by the U.S. Harness Writers Association, has won three of eight starts and $271,801 in 2011. He was second to Dejarmbro in the Beal Memorial before becoming ill.
“I was very happy with his training [Wednesday],” trainer Jimmy Takter said. “We still have a couple issues with his blood; his blood hasn’t been perfect since, basically, he raced at Pocono. But we’re heading in the right direction. It’s just a thing we’ve been dealing with, a bug in the barn. It’s one of the toughest ones; it just won’t leave. It’s frustrating.”
Takter’s Leader Of The Gang, who on July 9 won the Yonkers Trot, will start The Colonial from Post 8.
“The eight-hole is going to be tough,” Takter said. “The horse qualified good [in 1:55.3 on August 12 at the Meadowlands], so hopefully he can get decent money. But this is a tough group of horses.”
Here is a look at the Colonial field in post position order, with listed drivers and trainers:
1. Manofmanymissions, David Miller, Erv Miller
2. Dejarmbro, Brian Sears, Smedshammer
3. Opening Night, John Campbell, Jim Campbell
4. Pastor Stephen, Ron Pierce, Jimmy Takter
5. Broad Bahn, George Brennan, Noel Daley
6. Big Rigs, Tim Tetrick, Kelly O’Donnell
7. Whatever It Takes, Andy Miller, Julie Miller
8. Leader Of The Gang, David Miller, Takter
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.