It didn’t take long for driver Montrell Teague to determine Wiggle It Jiggleit was different.
Wiggle It Jiggleit – a three-year-old pacer who is unbeaten in five lifetime races as he heads into Saturday’s $58,000 Buddy Gilmour Series final at the Meadowlands – opened Teague’s eyes in his first career start.
Racing in late August at Mohegan Sun Pocono, Wiggle It Jiggleit won by six lengths in 1:51.2, covering the final half-mile in :54.1 under no urging while racing first over. It was the horse’s only start of 2014, but it was enough.
“After that race, I told my dad this is going to be the best horse I’ve ever driven,” Teague said, referring to his father, trainer George Teague Jr. “He doesn’t have a flaw right now. He does everything right. He doesn’t overexert himself; he goes when I ask him. That’s what makes great horses.
“He’s just an overall classy horse.”
Wiggle It Jiggleit enters the Gilmour Series final off two preliminary-round wins in which his victory margin totaled nearly six lengths. He won his opening round division in 1:51.2 and last week in 1:52.1.
But his top moment of the year, so far, came in the first leg of the Sonsam Series at the Meadowlands, where Wiggle It Jiggleit defeated older horses in 1:49.4. He followed Escort Series champion Company Man’s cover briefly on the backstretch before racing first-over the rest of the way, pacing the final half-mile in :53.2.
His time for the mile is tied for the second-best mark of the season for any pacer.
“That’s the only time I’ve asked him to work,” Teague said. “He did it so easy and seemed to have plenty left in the tank. I don’t know how fast he is.”
Wiggle It Jiggleit, who has earned $37,550 in lifetime purses, is a son of Mr Wiggles out of the mare Mozzi Hanover. George Teague Jr. Inc. owns Wiggle It Jiggleit, as well as both the sire and dam. Mr Wiggles, who also was trained by Teague, won the 2009 Hoosier Cup and finished second in the Breeders Crown and Adios.
Following the Gilmour Series final, Wiggle It Jiggleit will get some time off and light work until Teague prepares to bring back the gelding for the summer stakes season.
Teague’s longtime assistant, Clyde Francis, is listed as the trainer of Wiggle It Jiggleit, who was limited to one start last season because of soreness.
“I didn’t want to take any chances and end up hurting him for this year,” George Teague Jr. said earlier this year. “It worked out good. I was able to put him away earlier, get him sounder, and get him back together early this year to see what I’ve got. He seems as good as some of the better horses I’ve trained in the past.
“He reminds me of his dad. He appears to be a real serious horse.”
In the Gilmour, Wiggle It Jiggleit will face seven rivals, including National Seelster and Coaster. National Seelster won an opening-round division of the series before tasting defeat for the first time in four career races when he faced Wiggle It Jiggleit last week. Coaster also won a preliminary leg of the series.
“It doesn’t get any better than this, knowing everyone is watching the Meadowlands to watch (Wiggle It Jiggleit),” Montrell Teague said. “There’s no better feeling.”
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.