“Special”NA Cup victory leaves Louprint’s connections positively star-struck

An epic, record 1:47.1 triumph in the $1 million race at Woodbine Mohawk Park left the Burke Brigade incredibly impressed, but not surprised.

by Dave Briggs

There was a catch in his voice, but Ron Burke successfully fought off tears for the second time in a matter of minutes. Standing outside the paddock at Woodbine Mohawk Park, the echoes of an epic and hard-fought Pepsi North America victory already fading into the next race on the Saturday (June 14) card, the trainer spoke about the bond he has with his Cup champion Louprint.

“Last year, I was suspended when I was training him down,” Burke said. “All I could do is train babies. It was a humbling and hard time for me. So, this colt is special… It’s also the first time without my father. This one’s different.”

Mickey Burke, Sr. died on May 6, 2024, a little less than a month before Louprint qualified for the first time at The Meadows and secured the driving services of a most grateful Ronnie Wrenn, Jr., who won his first NA Cup in his first drive in the event and only his second drive, lifetime, at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

“It’s a dream come true,” Wrenn, Jr. said as he hustled to do a television interview with FanDuel Racing’s Ashley Mailloux, his face a mixture of disbelief and an infectious grin. “It doesn’t seem like it’s real life right now. It’s crazy.”

That Louprint, the 9-5 favorite, led the 10-horse field in the $1 million race through wicked middle fractions of :53.1 and 1:19.1, gave quarter in deep stretch to Madden Oaks — driven brilliantly from out of the 10-hole by Braxten Boyd in his NA Cup debut — and then came back on to win by a head in a 1:47.1 track and Canadian record for a sophomore pacing colt was not that surprising to Burke. But it was “special,” a word all of the connections used multiple times to describe both the horse and the triumph.

Watch the replay here.

“I didn’t think that they would get by him [at the wire],” Burke said. “He doesn’t lose. He’s just not a loser. You know, you can’t teach horses to win. That’s just who they are.”

For Wrenn, Jr. it will go down as one of his best races in his career.

“It was just a great race,” he said a few days later when reached after qualifiers at The Meadows. “A lot of people actually texted to say it was one of the greatest races they’ve ever watched. I’m just happy to be able to get the job done, get there first and show everyone just how great Louprint is.

“Deep stretch, it was just trusting that the horse never stops trying. I’ve driven him now about 14 times and in the big races he just knows how to win and get his head to the wire first. Brax did go by me and his horse did put a head in front of me with probably 50 yards to the wire and I was just encouraging [Louprint] to come back and trusting him enough because I know that he fights. That’s what a great horse does.”

THE NA CUP ROOKIE IS BATTING 1.000

You can’t help but feel this victory was a game-changer for Wrenn, Jr., despite the fact he’s 17 years into a career in which he’s won more than 8,700 races and collected purses exceeding $71 million.

Wrenn, Jr.’s NA Cup score was particularly popular at The Meadows, near Pittsburgh and at Northfield Park, near Cleveland — just as was his Breeders Crown victory with Louprint last October at The Meadowlands. He’s been a top driver at both Northfield and The Meadows for many years, but rarely has had a Grand Circuit horse he followed to other tracks despite being one of Burke’s main drivers over the last five years.

“I hope it provides more opportunities down the road,” Wrenn, Jr. said. “I’m 38 and I drive a ton of races. My roots are right here at The Meadows and Northfield, mostly the Midwest… I have a family, so I’m pretty set up and content and happy with where I am.

“And you kind of get set in your ways. I know I’m going to drive good horses and good sires stake horses and that’s going to be that. Then, last year, being able to travel on the Grand Circuit and race in some big races, it’s kind of a cool feeling because maybe I wasn’t maxed out. Maybe I didn’t reach my full potential… but given the opportunity, I guess it’s kind of crazy because I usually watch those races, I’m not in them.”

Burke said how Wrenn, Jr. ended up driving Louprint was fate, really.

“This horse started at The Meadows,” Burke said. “Ronnie qualifies the horses at The Meadows. So, it was good for him.

“[Louprint] didn’t even go to Florida. He trained down at the farm. Ronnie qualifies those horses [at The Meadows] and from there, nothing went wrong [with Louprint]. Well, maybe the one drive was the Breeders Crown elimination. I didn’t love it, but he said when we were walking out for the Breeders Crown [final], ‘Don’t worry, I don’t drive them badly twice in a row.’”

That proved to be prophetic. The sleek, black pacer won the final, closed out the year with a 7-2-1 record in 10 starts and earnings of $737,939 en route to Dan Patch honors as the nation’s top 2-year-old pacing colt. This year, Louprint is undefeated in five starts and has earnings of $449,132. The NA Cup victory pushed him over $1 million lifetime to exactly $1,187,071. He’s already the top rated horse in the weekly Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll as he prepares for the Meadowlands Pace, the next big one on a busy stakes calendar.

Burke could have used one of his other regular drivers — Yannick Gingras or Chris Page — or even gone with a pilot that knows Woodbine Mohawk Park better than Wrenn, Jr. Instead, the trainer said he never seriously considered making a change.

“[Wrenn, Jr.] belongs with any of those guys,” Burke said. “I have total faith in him. You know, it’s him, Yannick and Chris. If I don’t believe in a guy, I don’t use him. I believe in him totally.”

And Wrenn, Jr. believes in both Burke and Louprint.

“I love that [Louprint is] very versatile,” Wrenn, Jr. said. “You can race him any way. He comes right back to you, which is great for a driver because it gives me a lot of options… to be able to leave or sit with him. He’s a pretty cool horse. Just look at Saturday, ordinary horses just can’t do that. There’s not too much to not like about him. I’m very thankful for being able to drive him.”

A COMPLETE BURKE BRIGADE TRIUMPH

That Louprint is a homebred sired by the Burke Brigade’s excellent stallion Sweet Lou — and out of Rockin Image mare Rockin Racer — made the evening… well… sweet for Louprint’s connections.

Officially, the owners are: Burke Racing LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Phil Collura and Larry Karr (though Karr came onboard in April of this year as a part-owner and does not have a breeding credit on the horse).

“It’s our mare, our stud, it’s special,” Burke said. “The new part of Burke Racing and Weaver Bruscemi is breeding our own. When it happens like this, it’s extra special.”

Mark Weaver said he acquired Rockin Racer online in 2020 specifically to breed to Sweet Lou because the group had a few unused breedings.

“It actually took a year to get in foal the first time,” Weaver said. “The first year we didn’t get her in foal, then Louprint was the first baby.”

Weaver was watching the NA Cup from Florida and said Louprint’s performance proved the pacer is, “tough as nails. At the time, I didn’t know the actual numbers, but I knew he had gone a huge middle half and it ended up being :52 flat. He went his second quarter in :26 and his third quarter in :26. I doubt a horse has ever gone a middle half in :52 and lived to tell about it, so that was pretty impressive.

“He’s a charismatic horse — he’s just got something about him — and he’s obviously fast, but to show that he has that kind of toughness… You never know, you can hope and think he does, but to win like that, I think it’s an instant classic that people will remember for a while.”

It was the first NA Cup win for all of the connections as owners and breeders, though Burke trained the 2014 Cup champ JK Endofanera for the 3 Brothers Stable.

“I’m not going to lie, it was stressful,” Weaver said of watching Louprint’s race. “It’s also a heck of a lot of fun, but it’s such a big thing for his legacy and Sweet Lou’s. Ronnie had won the North America Cup 10 or 11 years ago, but that wasn’t for our core ownership group. So, for us to get one of those, it was pretty special.

“I don’t want to say it’s our biggest win ever, but it’s certainly up there.”

Weaver said it was also sweet retribution for Louprint’s sire.

“Obviously, we’re very, very pro-Sweet Lou, and it’s nice revenge for him,” Weaver said. “I think a couple of years ago was the official Sweet Lou revenge tour. As a 3-year-old, he won the elims of the North America Cup, the Meadowlands Pace, The Adios and the Jug, and unfortunately wasn’t able to win any of the finals, but two years ago the sons of Sweet Lou — It’s My Show and Confederate — were able to win all four.

“So, it’s like coming full circle where [Louprint] was able to win for his dad, who wasn’t able to get it done.”

Louprint’s maternal line is also prolific.

“Her dam [Portia Blue Chip] is a sister to Tellmeaboutit and he had a mark of :47-and-change and made almost a million,” Weaver said. “Then, the second dam is a sibling to Hypnotic Blue Chip, who made $1.7 million and also had a mark of :47-and-change. So, with Louprint winning [the NA Cup], that’s three straight generations of :47-and-change. I doubt that’s ever been done. That’s pretty impressive.”

THE BEST SOPHOMORE PACER HE’S EVER TRAINED?

For a Hall of Famer who has conditioned the winners of nearly $354 million — $224 million more than the next closest trainer — the fact that Burke believes Louprint is the best sophomore pacing colt he’s ever trained is saying a lot, especially since it’s only June.

“When he was in 2:20, 2:30 last year, I said to Mark [Weaver], ‘This is the best colt we’ve had in a long time. He just doesn’t do anything wrong,’” Burke said.

Asked what he loves most about Louprint, the trainer was effusive.

“Just everything,” he said. “He’s a flawless horse. He does everything well. He has a great attitude, great gait. He’s just a great horse.”

This explains why a man who is training hundreds of horses is making a special point to travel to Louprint’s big races.

“I go where he goes,” Burke said. “I did last year and I will this year.”

Wrenn, Jr. isn’t planning to miss a start either.

That’s the power of winning the Pepsi North America Cup in front of a big crowd at Mohawk that helped wager more than $5.7 million, the second most in the event’s 42-year history.

“Going into a race like that, any driver, especially a driver that’s never won the race, you daydream about winning that race,” Wrenn, Jr. said. “Just to have it hit and it’s actually reality, it’s kind of a surreal moment. It’s an out-of-body experience almost. I’m still kind of in shock that we got the job done and the way he did it. It wasn’t like it was soft fractions – he raced hard the whole mile.

“It was just a really special moment.”

There’s that word “special” again. So far, it’s hard to deny that it’s the perfect adjective to describe Louprint.