Canadian Pacing Derby finalist Coaches Corner overachieving for Fought-Carsey partnership
by James Platz
When partners Jeff Fought and Brian Carsey spent $65,000 to acquire Coaches Corner out of the 2023 Blooded Horse Sale’s summer mixed event, they did so hoping for a good conditioned pacer. Saturday (Aug. 29), the 5-year-old gelding, recently minted one of the sport’s newest millionaires, squares off against a stellar field in the $690,000 Canadian Pacing Derby (G1) at Woodbine Mohawk Park. To say he has exceeded expectations is, to put it mildly, an understatement.
“He’s been a fun one,” Fought said. “I mean, he’s an overachiever. He was a no-sale yearling at the Hoosier Classic sale.”
Before Fought and Carsey took ownership of the son of Always A Virgin—Carobbean Pacetry, Indiana-based owner/trainer Byron Hooley campaigned the gelding. When the yearling didn’t sell at the Hoosier Classic, Hooley bought him privately and raced the pacer at 2 and 3. As a freshman, Coaches Corner managed one win in 12 attempts racing primarily at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. He would take his 1:53.1 mark at the Anderson oval, but he missed checks in half of his starts.
Returning at 3, the veteran horseman pointed his charge to the Indiana fair circuit after starting the season at Hoosier Park to mixed results. Coaches Corner would collect 10 wins on the circuit, including the $25,000 Governor’s Cup Championship, before Hooley entered him in the Blooded Horse Sale.
“I called him before the sale and talked to him a couple of times, and he said he’s the real deal,” Fought said. “To imagine he would be what he is would be almost impossible. He raced primarily at fairs, and the times that he raced at Hoosier Park, he was competitive but not a superstar.”
The gelding topped the sale, bringing slightly less than he had earned at the time, and the new owners had what they believed were reasonable expectations for the then-sophomore.
“I mean, really, we kind of thought he would fit well at Yonkers, and we figured he could probably run through some conditions there because he fit so well there,” Fought said. “But I figured after he ran through some conditions, he would probably end up being either a mid-level condition horse or maybe even a high-dollar claimer. That’s really what we thought going into it.”
Sent to Per Engblom to campaign, Coaches Corner reeled off eight consecutive wins to close out 2023, banking just over $74,000 for his new connections. What began as a pleasant surprise to close out one season continued throughout the 2024 campaign. At 4, Coaches Corner was not heavily staked, and that was by design. The pacer managed to add another $645,000 to his card, winning seven times and hitting the board in 21 of 25 attempts while registering a beaten time of 1:47.4. In the Borgata Series at Yonkers, he managed a leg win and several runner-up finishes, including the $457,000 final.
“Last year he wasn’t staked to anything, because we obviously thought he was a nice horse, and we thought we’ll do the Borgata,” Fought said. “You can pay into that pretty late. Beyond that, we just weren’t thinking that he would fit into the major stakes. Also, that’s really a hard ask for a 4-year-old anyway. It really worked out well. He won all of his money in invites. Other than the Borgata money, everything he won was invitationals. He just kept doing well in those, and he’d get invited to the next one, and that ended up working out really well.”
Earlier this year, Fought and Carsey mapped out a stakes schedule for Coaches Corner, making him eligible to several events including the Canadian Pacing Derby.
“Brian and I talked on it quite a little bit and then we honestly relied pretty heavily on what Per wanted to do with him,” Fought said. “He’s got a good feel for where he’ll fit and where he wanted to race. We made him eligible to almost all the aged races. Doing that, then you kind of pick your spots from there, which ones you actually want to go to. We’ve gone to most of the things that we staked to this year so far.”
Coaches Corner enters Saturday’s final with three straight runner-up performances to his credit. He cut the mile in the Sam McKee Memorial and clocked a 1:47.4 mile, finishing three-parts-of-a-length behind Captain Luke. Two weeks later, he finished a half-length short to Captain Albano in the Always B Miki invitational at Pocono Downs. Despite missing the winner’s circle, Coaches Corner became a millionaire in defeat. Last weekend, he again cut the mile from post 8, setting the table for Bythemissal’s record 1:46.4 performance.
“They tied the track record, and he raced super,” Fought said. “So, we’re all right. But it’s going to be a lot bigger ask this time, going for all the money. We’re thrilled. We’re just not thrilled with the post, but you can’t control that. And we’ll just see if Jason can work some magic. That’s a tough spot.”
Louis-Philippe Roy piloted Coaches Corner in the elimination, but regular driver Jason Bartlett will steer the gelding in Saturday’s final. Engblom’s charge has again drawn post 8 and is 10-1 on the morning line. A victory tomorrow night might be a tall order for Coaches Corner, but the same could have been said two years ago when projecting the Indiana fair champion had the talent to stand toe-to-toe with the best in the open class.
“To think he was going to be what he is, to be a million-dollar earner, I don’t think anybody really predicted that,” Fought said.
