Rob Harmon was skeptical of the French American Trotting Club when the idea was announced. The trainer initially passed over the opportunity, but pressed by owners Dein Spriggs, Barbara Kurtin and Barbara Lucarelli, Harmon took the plunge. Under the Harmon Racing Stable name, the quartet joined the program.
“At first, I was kind of hesitant, I just didn’t know how it was going to be,” Harmon said. “Then I had a bunch of owners called me at the last second and there’s actually four of us that own this horse and they all just wanted to try it. When you break it down, it was only seven grand per person, so it wasn’t that bad. We all just threw in for a quarter.”
Harmon received Aigle De La Vallee, an eight-year-old son of Norginio out of the And Arifant mare Indian Queen. The gelding went 4-for-81 overseas, his last win coming under saddle at La Capelle in July 2015. Harmon wasn’t enthused when he saw the chestnut for the first time.
“He was red. That was the only thing I didn’t like about him,” the trainer said. “He was OK, he’s a good-looking horse. I’m not a big red horse fan. That’s just me. If I go to the sales looking for a baby and it’s red, I’m not buying them. I just never had any luck with them.”
Like his other chestnut endeavours, Aigle De La Vallee looked to be destined to disappoint after the first leg of the French American Trotting Club Series at Yonkers Raceway Aug. 5. Off a pair of solid qualifiers, including a 1-1/4 mile trial in 2:31.2 with a :27.4 final quarter, Aigle De La Vallee made a break in the first leg. He finished a distant last in the 10-horse field.
“He just got a little hot on Jimmy (Marohn Jr.). He got a little hot and he wouldn’t wear head poles, so we tried line poles and at eight years old, he’s set in his ways. He was just too hot,” Harmon said.
Aigle De La Vallee needed to re-qualify in order to continue racing in the series. Harmon took the gelding to Pocono Aug. 8, but he again went off stride. Three days later, Aigle De La Vallee qualified at Tioga with hopples and got a clean line on his card. However, the hopples had the unintended effect of tiring Aigle De La Vallee, and he only trotted the mile in 2:00.2. Yonkers qualifying standards dictate a horse must trot in 2:00 on a five-eighths track in order to race.
“We trained him in hopples and I was actually going to do that at Pocono when we qualified him and I decided not to. Jimmy thought it was something extra to help him out, so I did,” Harmon said. “They were a little tight on him in the qualifier and he just got tired in them, so we weren’t qualified for the next leg.”
Harmon sought out another spot for Aigle De La Vallee to race in order to qualify for the final leg of the series Aug. 26. He needed a spot that would mesh with the Sunday schedule at Yonkers and that didn’t have purse caps on classes, as Aigle De La Vallee raced in the $35,000 series leg in his prior start. Harmon found a $4,815 conditioned trot at Saratoga on Aug. 17 and entered, but Aigle De La Valle drew post 8 with Frank Coppola Jr. named to drive. The trotter would need a 2:02 mile on the half-mile track to qualify to race at Yonkers.
“I told everybody, let’s just take him to Saratoga and just let him race and he is what he is,” Harmon said. “I told Frank, ‘You’ve just got to go 2:02. I don’t care if he’s last, you just have to trot in 2:02 so I’m qualified for the last leg.’ He drove him that way and he raced good.”
Complicating the time trial, a deluge hit Saratoga that evening and left the track sloppy. Devoid of any gate speed, Coppola took Aigle De La Vallee back to last and raced 10-1/2 lengths behind at the quarter. Coppola guided the French trotter around two breakers in the opening half mile and joined the outer flow in the second lap.
Aigle De La Vallee advanced without cover from seven lengths back and caught the leaders. Coppola tipped four-wide around the final turn and he swooped past the field to win by a length in 1:59.1.
“He actually raced good, he had the eight-hole in a monsoon. He ended up catching up to the field on the last turn, went four deep, and just trotted home good,” Harmon said. “Out of the eight-hole, he overcame a lot.”
Qualified for the final leg of the series, Aigle De La Vallee started from post 2 in the $35,000 second division Aug. 26. He raced first-over and although he was passed by winner Versachet in the final three-eighths of the 1-1/2 mile marathon, Aigle De La Vallee finished second to earn a spot in Sunday’s $120,000 final.
“When we brought him back in the last leg when we were second, I told Jimmy, ‘Just get away wherever you’re going to get away and just pull him and let him grind away.’ That’s what he did,” Harmon said. “He didn’t brush, he stayed first-over and just went one speed. Jordan Stratton came behind us and went around us, but we got up for second and that helped.
“He’s the kind of horse who always goes :29 in three quarters,” Harmon said. “He’s just a grinder, he has no brush to him. The further we go, the better he is. He just doesn’t slow down, but he doesn’t have a big brush to him.”
Aigle De La Vallee drew post 7 in the series final, carded as the second of 10 races Sunday. Harmon is keeping his expectations in check for the 15-1 shot, who will start just inside of series leader Ursis Des Caillons, who is undefeated at Yonkers in three starts. Last week’s other winner, Versachet, drew post 4 while earlier series winners Deo and Alpha Durzy will start from the second tier in posts 10 and 12, respectively. Bosse Du Fosse, Akhenaton, Uhlan Noir, Barry Black, Adagio De La Tour, Bioness and Undici complete the field.
“That would be unbelievable. It really would be unbelievable. I don’t see him doing it,” Harmon said of winning the final. “He’s going to have to have a lot of things go his way. That’s what we’re all in it for, don’t get me wrong.”
Harmon doesn’t think the outside post will hurt Aigle De La Vallee. The trainer is rooting for action early in the 1-1/2 mile race to set up for Aigle De La Vallee’s grinding style.
“After he raced his last time, he showed that he’s a little more honest now. You know what you’ve got and he did trot a good race last time,” he said. “There’s just going to be a lot of road traffic for us. I’m glad I’m not driving, I’m glad I’m watching.
“Even if we had the inside, he would get away in the same spot, he’s just not a big leaver,” Harmon continued. “We’re going a mile and a half, I just hope everybody pulls early and tries to get position and then there’s just going to be a lot of tired horses and we can beat them at the end.”
First post time Sunday (Sept. 2) at Yonkers is 12:15 p.m. The Empire Terrace will be open for Sunday brunch in conjunction with the series final.
(SOA of New York)