Woodrow Wilson winner Major Bombay showed a strong kick to finish second in his Metro Pace elimination race last weekend, which might be helpful as he tries to win the prestigious million-dollar final from post No. 10 Saturday at Mohawk Racetrack
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Pacers beginning from post 10, the outermost spot on the starting gate, have won 4.4 per cent of their races at Mohawk this year. Posts one through six all have win percentages better than 10 per cent, led by post six’s 17 per cent clip.
Major Bombay, driven by Brian Sears, finished second to D Terminata in 1:51.2 in his Metro elim on August 27. He was fifth for most of the mile and made up nearly three lengths in the stretch, posting a :25.4 final quarter-mile, but was a half-length behind D Terminata when they reached the wire.
“He had a nice trip and when Brian came three-wide in the stretch he had good pace,” said Major Bombay’s trainer Tony Alagna. “He just was a couple steps short. That’s the way it goes sometimes and we got an unlucky shake in the draw. But Brian was very happy with his effort. He said he was even better than he was in the Woodrow Wilson.”
A son of Art Major out of the mare Armbro Bombay, Major Bombay was purchased for $70,000 at the Lexington Selected Sale. His maternal family includes 1998 Sweetheart winner Mattaroni. He is owned by Aaron Waxman, Andy Willinger, John Fodera and the Major Bombay Partners.
“He just had a really nice look to him,” Alagna said about selecting the colt as a yearling. “He was medium-plus in size, but just about as uniform as you could ask a yearling to be. He was tall enough, he was long enough; he just had a good overall balance about him. He was good training down. We never really had an issue. He always acted like a top colt. Pacing colts are so hard to judge because they have to go so fast. A horse can train down as good as anything and still not be good enough. This colt did everything right and acted like he had that extra gear, but you just never know if it’s enough because they have to go with so much speed.”
Major Bombay has won two of six races, never finishing worse than second, and earned $209,816. He won the $317,800 Woodrow Wilson by three-quarters of a length over Simply Business in a lifetime best 1:51.3 at the Meadowlands on August 20. The victory provided Alagna with his biggest win since starting his own stable in 2009.
“It’s tremendous,” Alagna said of the triumph. “The race still carries a lot of prestige and it always will. The money means a lot, but so does the history behind the race. I remember watching it as a kid, and reading about it.
“Any time you win a race at the Meadowlands you feel like you’ve accomplished something. It’s not an easy place to win a race. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about a $15,000 claimer or winning the Woodrow Wilson. When you win there, it’s not something you should ever take lightly. I know I don’t.”
Alagna said Major Bombay is a playful colt with only one quirk -– he requires having a towel placed over his eyes to be led onto a trailer.
“It’s pretty entertaining,” Alagna said with a chuckle. “He’s not afraid of the trailer; it’s just kind of his thing. He knows the ramp is coming and he starts prancing and picking his feet up like a show horse.”
Alagna hopes Major Bombay can step up in the Metro.
“The good thing about him is he’s very versatile,” Alagna said. “I know Brian will work out the best trip he can. We’ve got the right horse, we’ve just got to hope things shake out a little bit for us and he shows up like he has for us all along.”
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.