Meadowlands statistician extraordinaire Bob Heyden has a fresh list of his famous notes, and this time the topic is the Cane Pace.
• The Cane Pace kicks off the PACING Triple Crown Season, which is 55 days from first to last leg. The Messenger is October 25 at Yonkers and that will be the only leg of the Triple Crown that Somebeachsomewhere will participate in.
• Second Triple Crown event in NJ this year (The Hambletonian, August 2 at the Meadowlands).
• Eleventh time the Cane Pace is at Freehold (1998 - Shady Character won the first time it had moved to NJ).
• No Pan Intended -- 2003 and Cam Fella 1982 -- are the last two Cane Pace winners to also be Horse Of The Year.
• The Cane Pace is the only PACING Triple Crown event where there was a Dead Heat-and it came at Freehold in the 2004 edition between stablemates Western Terror and Timesareachanging (NOTE - The Yonkers Trot [1992] and Hambletonian [1989] also had dead heats for win).
The Field
#1 Badlands Nitro
Homebred (owner John Celli raced the sire Badlands Hanover)... son of the first freshman EVER to reach 1:50 flat - Badlands Hanover... last year equaled Artsplaces' 17-year -old world mark of 1:51.1 on the 5/8ths mile track... one of FOUR pacing millionaires in the George Teague Barn (Western Ace, Total Truth and Southwind Lynx - ALL AT THE SAME TIME!!!!).... Brian Sears trying to win this back to back (2007 - Always A Virgin… Mike Lachance was the last driver to do it consecutively [1997-1998] with Western Dreamer and Shady Character)... Badlands Nitro was the North America Cup runnerup.
#2 McCedes
Will try and become the fourth NJ Classic winner to also win the Cane Pace.... sire McCardles' first three-year-old crop. The last time a sire won the Cane with his FIRST crop: 2003 - Pacific Fella's No Pan Intended.... Chris Ryder owns and trains… fellow down-under mate Brett Pelling was the trainer of BOTH dead heat winners in 2004 - Timesareachanging and Western Terror, as well as Shady Character in 1998 and Silky Stallone in 1991 - also Cane Pace winners...... Dan Dube - even though he campaigned the 2000 Horse of The Year and single season $$ record setter Gallo Blue Chip, he has NEVER won a Triple Crown event.
#3 Moon Beam
A $700,000 January purchase at the Meadowlands sale.... sire Dragon Again was second-best in the 1998 Cane Pace (the first time it was held at Freehold)... trainer Eric Abbatiello will try and do what his father -- Hall of Famer Carmine the 'REDMAN' Abbatiello couldn't do: win the Cane Pace.... Yannick Gingras is looking to break through on the Triple Crown scorecard..... the LAST driver to win the Cane BEFORE his 30th birthday? Jim Morrill, Jr. 1993 - Riyadh - 28. Yannick turned 29 on August 4.
#4 Rudy Rednose
George Teague was first and second in the last two editions of the Cane (2006 - 1st - Total Truth - who went on to be that seasons RICHEST pacer; and 2007 - 2nd with Meadowlands Pace winner Southwind Lynx).... David Miller won his very first Triple Crown event in this very race: 2001 - Four Starzzz Shark.... George Teague is the ONLY TRAINER EVER to have a male AND female as Pacers of The Year AND a male and female as THE richest pacers of that year also (2004: Rainbow Blue; 2006: Total Truth).
#5 U Smooth Talker U
John Campbell won his first Cane Pace in 1985 with Chairmanoftheboard.... John is the ONLY DRIVER to win the Cane Pace in three DIFFERENT decades (each of last three).... John's last win in the Cane was the dead heat of 2004 - he drove Western Terror.
#6 Lis Deo
Brother to Lis Mara - the ONLY Horse to win in under 1:48 in a race in consecutive years... Erv Miller looking for his first ever Cane Pace... Tim Tetrick - in August - became the ONLY driver to reach $30 million combined for TWO straight driving seasons.
#7 Art Official
THE fastest horse to ever race in ANY Triple Crown event, EVER! 1:47 FLAT!!... the last time the Meadowlands Pace winner won the Cane? 1984: On The Road Again... the last time the fastest 3yo of all time won the Cane??? 1980: Niatross..... Ron Pierce looking for his fourth Cane Pace trophy..... from first crop of Art Major, THE leading first crop stallion of 2007 and the 2002 Cane Pace winner himself..... track record holder at both the Meadowlands AND Freehold - in the Cane Pace elimination, he lowered Francam's record 1/5th from 1:51 flat to 1:50.4.
#8 Major General
Andy Miller - 30 days ago won the richest race of his career, the $750,000 Hambletonian Oaks with Creamy Mimi. Now he looks to get on board with a Cane Pace trophy.
(Bob Heyden)