by Frank Cotolo

The Hambletonian Stakes presents a field of the best sophomore trotters in the division. That is one of the reasons it takes unpredictable circumstances for the finest among a field of the foremost to suffer a loss. Even the best of the greats satisfy their connections and backers.

But great horses carry great expectations. They become huge favorites and their odds to win reflect positive speculations. Then there are times when great expectations offer great disappointments. Like when the graceful gait of a spectacular blue-blooded standardbred becomes a gallop.

The gallop is no stranger to the racing trotter. And Father Patrick — one of the all-time best colt trotters — galloped away from Hambletonian history in 2014.

The year before, when he was a freshman, the smooth-sailing Father Patrick (driven by Yannick Gingras and trained by Jimmy Takter) won a stakes race at Mohawk from post 10. The post was no problem. Father Patrick floated faster than any in his division at 2 and no handicapper in the world considered the starting post would matter. And it did not.

The sophomore Father Patrick was assigned post 10 in the 2014 Hambletonian at The Meadowlands. The post still meant nothing to bettors; they made him 2-5 and were poised to collect their money when the best of the three Jimmy Takter-trained colts in the $1-million race lined up with his foes behind the starting gate before more than 20,000 fans and industry members and a CBS Sports Network television audience.

In the scant moments it took for the wings of the starting gate to close, the 10-horse, Father Patrick, resorted to galloping; surrendering his unconstrained gait in a shocking display of movement that no one ever witnessed him make in a betting race. The event that was supposed to be his with which to make history, was history for him the moment he broke stride.

This is the official past-performance line for Father Patrick’s 2014 Hambletonian Stakes final:

10x 11/57¾ 11/63½ 11/63½ 11/65 11/70

Trainer Takter never saw exactly what the crowd saw when the starting gate closed because he was driving another colt he trained, Trixton.

“I was waiting for ‘Patrick’ to come,” Takter said about the stretch drive after the race. “I had no clue. I didn’t see him so I knew something must have happened to him.”

John Campbell was no stranger to the race as a winning and losing driver over the years. He took charge of the race early with the third Takter-trained colt in the field, Nuncio. Trixton and Takter chased Nuncio. Trixton and Takter won. Nuncio and Campbell finished second. The Takter-trained exacta pair was so fast that the rest of the field struggled to finish far behind them.

Takter told press-box reporters later he was elated to come in first and second in the classic race and happy to be the winning driver, but that he was convinced it would have been different if Father Patrick stayed on gait and trotted his usual brilliant mile.

“If Father Patrick stayed flat, he would’ve wound up behind me [and Trixton] and come up in that position and he would’ve blown by both of us in the stretch,” Takter said.

Trixton and Nuncio had a good deal of supporters in the win pool; both went off at variables of 4-1. The non-Father-Patrick-involved exacta paid only $39.60.

For the best part of that season Hambletonian-champ Trixton won races powerfully but he could not beat his stablemate Father Patrick. Trixton was clearly the second-best in the division. And as he trotted into history as the 89th Hambletonian winner almost everyone knew the second-best trotter was the real horse that caught a break.

Fans and reporters long for the emotional punch felt when seeing a special horse roll down the stretch grabbing the ground and gliding to victory. We witness a certain magnificence so rare. We were robbed of that glorious moment when Father Patrick refused to get back on gait in the 2014 final.

It was certainly not the first time and won’t be the last time that a revered horse lost a big event. But to many of us following the impressive steps that Father Patrick took to victory at 2 and at 3, we were left with a performance to grieve over; because Father Patrick didn’t win or lose. He just ran off. That left us feeling the same as Takter expected if the steed stayed on gait: Father Patrick would have won the 89th Hambletonian.

He won again. He was applauded and voted the best of his ilk. He made barrels of money and would be a cherished and productive stallion. But the greatest appearance of his career earned only an asterisk.

Because Father Patrick just ran off.