Captain Albano prevailed off a perfect pocket trip in the final heat to capture the 79th edition of the Little Brown Jug, the third leg of Pacing's Triple Crown, on Thursday, Sept. 19 at Delaware County Fairgrounds.
Driver Todd McCarthy engineered back-to-back winning trips in rein to the Noel Daley-trained three-year-old colt in the elimination and $709,460 final for his first Jug victory.
Following up a 1:49.2 wire-to-wire win in his elimination earlier in the day, 3-5 favourite Captain Albano got a two-hole trip in the final behind fellow heat winner Captain Quarters (Jody Jamieson), who set early fractions of :27.2 and :55.2 with Mirage Hanover (Dexter Dunn) parked from the start and Legendary Hanover (James MacDonald) moving second-over.
But down the backstretch, McCarthy had clearance and steered Captain Albano from the pocket to battle alongside Captains Quarters as they sailed by three-quarters in 1:22.4. The bettors' choice took over command turning for home and pulled away through the stretch to win by three lengths in 1:50.1. Mirage Hanover finished second after his overland route while Legendary Hanover completed the top three.
"I've got the shakes a little bit," said McCarthy in the winner's circle. "It's pretty awesome. This race is such a prestigious race, and it brings such a big crowd, and it means so much for horses to be able to go two heats like that and win. It really shows what kind of horses they are, and I was just glad that this guy got to show what he could do today.
"I can't thank the connections and Noel enough for letting me drive this horse. It was such a great experience."
The addition of a Murphy blind to his inside certainly helped the colt's performance, according to his usual driver.
"We had him rigged today with the Murphy on the inside, [we] just kind of wanted to have him going out a little bit there on this half and it kind of worked perfectly for him. Once he kind of levelled up with Jody on the inside and he couldn't see him, he was waiting for me to call on him, and once I did, he swelled right up off the turn, and he was ready to go."
The win is also the first Jug victory for trainer Daley, who previously won the Jugette in 2017 with Caviart Ally.
"It's on everyone's bucket list, you know," said Daley. "That's the first time I've won the Jug; I've won the Jugette, but not the Jug, so it's pretty cool to tick it off."
Captain Albano, the Dan Patch Award divisional winner as a freshman, now has eight wins in 13 races this year with his sophomore earnings going over the million-dollar mark. Lifetime, he boasts a record reading 15-3-2 from 22 starts and a bankroll totalling more than $1.5 million.
The multiple Grand Circuit stakes winner is owned by Patricia Stable of Massapequa, New York, L A Express Stable Llc of Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, Sjoblom Racing Inc. of Delray Beach, Florida and Michael Dolan of Sarasota, Florida.
"It’s just amazing," said co-owner Dolan. "Captain (Albano) has been a great horse all year, a lot of bad luck. He finally got to show what he could do. The horse is a great horse and I have great partners, they are like family."
The son of Captaintreacherous out of the American Ideal mare Angelou was bred by Fred Hertrich of Seaford, Delaware.
Captain Albano paid $3.40 to win.
Recaps of the Little Brown Jug eliminations follow.
Field Set For The 2024 Little Brown Jug
A late change to the game plan proved to be the right move for Captain Albano in the first $67,568 elimination of the Little Brown Jug on Thursday, Sept. 19 at Delaware County Fairgrounds.
With his nose on the gate, Captain Albano fired from post five and cut to the front into the first turn for driver Todd McCarthy with Captain Luke (Scott Zeron) landing the inside post after the scratch of Timeisonmyside and thus the pocket position out of the gate ahead of the favoured Nijinsky (Louis-Philippe Roy). The Noel Daley trainee carved out first-half fractions of :26.3 and :54.3 before Roy made his move with Nijinsky, but the 2-5 bettors' choice stalled outside and backed away as the pacesetter to widened his lead up front to three-quarters in 1:22. Tunring for home, Captain Albano coasted home a clear winner in 1:49.2 with Captain Luke holding off Mirage Hanover (Dexter Dunn) in a place photo 3-1/2 lengths behind as the latter closed from the backfield. Huntingforchrome (Matt Kakaley) finished fourth and will also advance to the final.
Sent postward as the 3-1 second choice, Captain Albano paid $8 to win as he rebounded after making a break last week in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championship at Pocono Downs.
"I have so much faith in this little horse and I put that right behind us -- that last little incident at Pocono -- and he came out today and he showed how good he is," said McCarthy.
Making a last minute change in tactics behind the gate, McCarthy elected for Plan B with Captain Albano flashing early speed.
"Not where I expected to be; we talked about it beforehand and we pretty much decided to take him off the gate and Toddy said he went to Plan B so that worked out pretty good," said Daley.
"We talked about that and that was kind of the plan, but I was feeding him in and a couple of them looked pretty relaxed behind the gate and I just sort of thought I'd let him get his nose on it right at release point and see how he feels, and he wanted to go with it. I thought I'd take a couple of steps to see how it looked and it made them line up pretty quick, and that was the right decision and it worked out."
Daley noted a few minor equipment changes for the colt coming off a miscue.
"I pulled up his hopples a little bit, just because it's a half, and I put a Murphy on him. Nothing major. I think Toddy just had him relaxed there in that second and third quarter there the other day and I think the other one came quick and just surprised him I guess.
"He did that pretty easily [today] and I was surprised by the speed he showed out of the gate so I was holding my breath after making the break last time. So he put that behind him, which is good."
The millionaire Captaintreacherous-Angelou colt, who is now seven-for-12 in his sophomore campaign with major wins in the Adios and Hempt, is owned by Patricia Stable, L A Express Stable Sjoblom Racing and Michael Dolan. He was bred by Frederick Hertrich.
Captains Quarters (pictured above) made every call a winning one, pressured every step of the mile and resolute to the wire for the 1:51.3 score in the second $67,567 elimination of the Little Brown Jug.
The 4-1 second choice from the inner most post, Captains Quarters was unleashed from the pylons by driver Jody Jamieson as Solid Character (David Miller) tried to time the gate and vie for the lead. Jamieson told The Buckeye to take a seat and left that challenger in the overland route as Total Stranger (Dan Noble) and 1-5 favourite Legendary Hanover (James MacDonald) weren't looking to let anyone drop in front.
After a harsh :26 opener, MacDonald angled Legendary Hanover into the two path behind Solid Character, who continued first-up through a :54 half but started to show signs of that tempo by the five-eighths mark. MacDonald had to take a hold of Legendary Hanover before sending his colt three-wide around the third turn.
Jamieson kept that tempo serious, hitting the third station in 1:21.3. Noble angled Total Stranger to the outside, keeping Legendary Hanover in the three path for another bend and into the stretch. Total Stranger made gains on a dead-game Captains Quarters, but Jamieson's colt got to the wire first by a narrowing nose. Legendary Hanover held off a hard-closing Sweet Beach Life (Matt Kakaley) for third, completing the horses advancing to the Jug final.
"The final time doesn't mean anything; it's about who stuck their nose in front first, and Captains Quarters did that and he's been doing that," said Jamieson. "I believe in the colt and us three right here — Rich, Herb and I — we all believe in this colt."
Captains Quarters (Captaintreacherous-Prescient Beauty) is trained by Herd Holland of Milton, Ont. for owner Rich Stiles of Chelsea, Michigan. The bay pacer picked up his third win this season and fifth lifetime, lifting his earnings to $930,045.
A $2 win wager on Captains Quarters returned $11.60.
Post positions for the Jug final are listed below with final driver changes.
1. Captains Quarters - Jody Jamieson
2. Captain Albano - Todd McCarthy
3. Total Stranger - Dan Noble
4. Captain Luke - Scott Zeron
5. Mirage Hanover - Dexter Dunn
6. Legendary Hanover - James MacDonald
7. Huntingforchrome - Chris Lems
8. Sweet Beach Life - Matt Kakaley
Watch The 2024 Little Brown Jug
The 79th edition of the $844,595 Little Brown Jug for three-year-old pacers headlines Thursday's 21-race card at the Delaware County Fair and live streaming of all the action will be available.
The $709,460 Jug final will cap off the action-packed afternoon as Race 21, with the field comprised of the top four finishers from a pair of $67,568 elimination heats contested earlier in the day (Races 17 & 18).
Anthony Beaton stable stars Nijinsky (Louis-Philippe Roy, Post 4 drawn, but will leave from Post 3) and Legendary Hanover (James MacDonald, Post 3) are the favourites in their respective eliminations. The second elimination also includes Canadian-trained and reined Captains Quarters (Jody Jamieson, Post 1) from the Herbert Holland stable.
Fresh off his third victory in the companion Jugette yesterday, the Buckeye State native David Miller will have a chance to sweep the Delaware Fair main events and go from co-record holder to sole record holder with a sixth win in the Jug. He will drive the Ron Burke-trained Solid Character (Post 5) in the second elimination.
One of two contenders conditioned by Travis Alexander, Messenger Stakes winner Sweet Beach Life (Matt Kakaley, Post 7) will race in the second elim and joins Cane Pace champion Legendary Hanover looking to double up in this year's Pacing Triple Crown.
The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association will present a live stream of Thursday's 21-race card, which will be available below. Post time for the first race is 11 a.m.
Click here for free program pages.
The complete fields for the elimination heats are listed below in post position order.
$67,568 Little Brown Jug First Elimination
Post - Horse - Driver - Trainer - Odds
1. Timeisonmyside - Anthony MacDonald - Tim Twaddle (SCRATCHED)
2. Captain Luke - Scott Zeron - Tony Alagna - 6-1
3. Escape To America - Yannick Gingras - Deborah Daquet - 12-1
4. Nijinsky - Louis-Philippe Roy - Anthony Beaton - 5-2
5. Huntingforchrome - Matt Kakaley - Travis Alexander - 9-2
6. Captain Albano - Todd McCarthy - Noel Daley - 5-1
7. Mirage Hanover - Dexter Dunn - Jake Leamon - 9-2
$67,568 Little Brown Jug Second Elimination
Post - Horse - Driver - Trainer - Odds
1. Captains Quarters - Jody Jamieson - Herb Holland - 9-2
2. Total Stranger - Dan Noble - Virgil Morgan Jr. - 10-1
3. Legendary Hanover - James MacDonald - Anthony Beaton - 9-5
4. Rose Run Zane - Austin Hanners - Dan Venier - 6-1
5. Solid Character - David Miller - Ron Burke - 4-1
6. Play Action Pass - Dexter Dunn - Brian Brown - 25-1
7. Sweet Beach Life - Matt Kakaley - Travis Alexander - 7-2
(Standardbred Canada)