The quality of two-year-old Standardbreds in Alberta may never have been better than it is this year.
As luck would have it, Jackson Wittup just happens to be a part owner of two of the best of the best: Custard Dolce and Momas Work Of Art.
Custard Dolce, a Custard The Dragon-Blue Star West filly, has won five stakes in a row, set a track record and earned $73,387. Meanwhile, Momas Work Of Art, an Outrageous Art-Rocket Moma colt, has already won three times in stakes action, set a track record and banked $52,400.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Wittup, who has been a fixture in horse racing in Alberta for 50 of his 65 years on this planet. “It’s not supposed to happen this way, but I’ll enjoy it. I shake my head and enjoy every second of it. It’s overwhelming really. I can’t believe all the texts and emails I’ve gotten from well-wishers cheering for me and my horses.”
Even with those two horses coming up to bat and hitting grand slams, Wittup isn’t going to get rich. He only owns 10 per cent of each of them. But then making money was never part of the equation anyway.
“I’m in it for the fun of it. Standing in the winner’s circle, it doesn’t matter at all if you own 10 per cent or 90 per cent," said Wittup. “Four of us bought Custard Dolce at last year’s yearling sale for $26,500. As much as I love horse racing, I can’t afford $26,500 on my own. Besides, I own 10 per cent of eight horses other than Custard Dolce and Momas Work Of Art. So I partner up.”
Wittup knows as well as anyone what the sport is all about having been the congenial and hard-working racing secretary – for 25 years – at Stampede Park, racing manager at Century Downs and racing manager at Fraser Downs.
“It all started when I was 16 years old and was the runner for the judges,” said Wittup, 65, who retired in 2019.
At this stage, it’s hard to say whose future is brighter: Custard Dolce or Momas Work Of Art. Both have been tremendous.
Custard Dolce continues to get better. She won divisions of the Emerald Filly and Alberta Sires Stakes Starlet stakes in mid-summer at Calgary’s Century Downs. Then she showed her true mettle with a Century Downs two-year-old track record 1:54 mile in the $70,000 ASHA Filly Pace going first-over on highly regarded Mademechangemymind and drawing away to a seven-length victory.
Making Custard Dolce’s track record race even more impressive is that Mademechangemymind is a high quality filly, who was just coming off an easy 1:56 and change mile in the elimination round.
Then, in her most recent appearance, Custard Dolce won by seven and a quarter lengths in an Alberta Sires Stakes division at The Track On 2 in 1:56.4.
“Each start is a little better but the 1:54 mile was, of course, really special,” said trainer Jamie Gray, who also is a part-owner along with Wittup, former driver/trainer Derek Wilson and Max Gibb.
“She knows her job. She’s very smart for a two-year-old. She knows she is supposed to pass whoever is in front of her. She acts like a four-year-old; it’s really quite remarkable how mature she is,” continued Gray. “But she’s also the biggest baby in the world. She loves to put her head on your shoulder. I teach them how to sit outside, off the pace and complete their mile and that’s what she’s doing.”
Custard Dolce’s schedule will probably be the Brad Gunn on Oct. 5, the ABSS Stardust on Oct. 19 and then the ABSS Super Finals on Nov. 2.
It’s the same dates that Momas Work Of Art will hopefully be following: the Oct. 5 Rocky Mountain, the Oct. 19 ABSS Shooting Star and then the Super Finals.
“Momas Work Of Art has done everything correctly right from the start,” said trainer Shelly Arsenault, who owns the homebred juvenile colt with her partner Don Monkman Jr. and Wittup. “He enjoys his job. He’s playful but when he gets behind the gate he knows what to do.”
Momas Work Of Art was second – by less than a length – in his July 20 career debut, which was the Norm Kennedy Memorial Stakes. Then he went wire-to-wire to win a division of the ABSS Rising Star by four lengths on Aug. 3 before taking an Aug. 17 Century Casinos elimination by a staggering 9-1/4 lengths.
Unfortunately, the Century Casinos $70,000 final on Aug. 31 couldn’t have been much more unlucky.
First, he broke stride behind the starting gate when he lost a shoe, seemingly losing all chance as he conceded some 20 lengths. Yet, somehow Momas Work Of Art not only caught up to the field, he went first-over marching up to third place. But then misfortune found him again as Discontinued made a break while leading and interfered with Momas Work Of Art, who went off stride for a second time. He was placed fourth when all was said and done.
“If all that didn’t happen to him, I’m quite sure he would have been second or third,” said Arsenault.
Momas Work Of Art made no mistakes in his last start, getting a pocket trip and winning a division of the ABSS comfortably by 2-1/2 lengths in 1:55.2 at The Track On 2.
“His biggest asset is he can sprint quite a way,” said Monkman, who was the one who offered Wittup a 10 per cent share in Momas Work Of Art. “He can really carry his speed. He is capable of showing first quarters in :27 and a piece and then last quarters in :27 and a piece.
“He’s still real green. He’s still learning how to be a real good horse.”
While Momas Work Of Art and Custard Dolce occupy the spotlight for Wittup now, they aren’t the first top pacers he has owned.
Wittup also owned 10 per cent of Exit Smiling and Cora Cora Cora.
Exit Smiling was Alberta’s champion two-year-old in 2018 when he won five stakes races before going to Ontario and Cora Cora Cora was a stakes winner as well.
“It’s been a lot of fun. Now I’ll keep my fingers crossed for the next five weeks,” said Wittup.
(Curtis Stock / thehorses.com; Photo of Custard Dolce winning on Aug. 3 at Century Downs)