Can Hes Watching set his third track record in four weeks?
That question will be answered Saturday night at Batavia Downs when harness racing's next superstar, Hes Watching, highlights the three $34,537 divisions of the New York Sire Stakes for two-year-old colt pacers in what should be one of the biggest nights of the year in Western New York.
And besides the great Sire Stakes action, there will be three divisions of the $12,600 Excelsior Stakes for the two-year-old colts and the $8,500 Open Pace. It will also be Hall of Fame Night where former Western New York driver/trainer Gaston Guindon will be inducted in the Upstate New York Hall of Fame, Batavia division. There's also an Old-Timers race to cap off the night's activities with Guindon, Fred Haslip, Gerry Sarama, Clint Galbraith and Dick Welch battling it out on the track once again in a non-betting affair.
But first, all eyes will be on Hes Watching. The American Ideal-Babberhood colt is a perfect five-for-five in his young career with a world record, two track marks and $122,640 in the bank thus far.
He set the world record for two-year-old pacing colts on a five-eighth-mile track and the Tioga Downs mark when he posted a 1:50 in a six and a quarter length win on August 9 in Sire Stakes competition.
Less than two weeks later, it wasn't a record, but Hes Watching covered the Yonkers Raceway half-mile oval in 1:54.2 in romping to an easy five and a a half length victory.
Then last Saturday night he got back in stride with another record with a 1:50 clocking on the seven-eighth-mile Vernon Downs track in scoring a two and a quarter length victory, also in Sire Stakes competition.
Probably his most impressive victory, however, was his first career start at Saratoga Raceway on June 28. Hes Watching broke stride at the start and spotted the field 14-1/4 lengths, but rallied to win by three-quarters of a lengths in 1:55. He also broke at the start at Buffalo Raceway in his second start on July 10, but came back to win. He's been on his best behaviour ever since and his record proves it.
"He's a guy with a big engine," said co-owner and trainer David Menary of Cheltenham, Ont. "He wants to go from second gear to fifth gear too fast. He's got to learn to not show off so much."
The front-running Hes Watching is the prohibitive 2-5 favourite in the seventh race with Jim Morrill Jr. scheduled to be aboard. The two-year-old colt mark at Batavia Downs is 1:54.2, set in 2012 by Doctor Butch, and is definitely in jeopardy.
"It's scary how fast this horse is," added Menary.
Hes Watching was bought for $3,000 at the 2012 Harrisburg Yearling Sale, a great purchase to say the least. He is owned by Menary and Michael Guerriero of Puslinch, Ont. and Brad Gray of Dundas, Ont.
While Hes Watching will go in the seventh race, there's a possibility of the track record being broken before then as Forty Five Red (If I Can Dream-Sakura Hanover) leads the field of six in the first race, the opening division of the $34,594 Sire Stakes.
Scoring from the three post, Forty Five Red has four wins in seven lifetime starts. He won the $111,250 Sheppard Final at Yonkers in 1:55.4 on July 20 and went gate-to-wire last weekend at Vernon Downs in 1:51.1. The Ron Burke-trained Forty Five Red already has earned $150,286 this season. Jim Morrill Jr. will get the driving assignment.
The big night of racing with 13 races slated on Saturday gets underway at 6:30 p.m.
(With files from Batavia Downs)