Friday offers up four delectable Breeders Crown appetizers as 2-year-olds put on a memorable show
by Dave Briggs
Friday’s (Oct. 24) quartet of 2-year-old Grade 1 Breeders Crowns may have been designed to whet the appetite for the eight Crown finals on tonight’s (Oct. 25) menu. But, truth is, the appetizers may prove to be tastier than the main course.
From first-timers to growing legends, Friday’s freshmen Crowns had a little something for everyone, including rain-free weather, which all too often has not been the norm in recent years.
You just knew we were in for a fantastic night of racing when in the first Breeders Crown race of the night, driver Todd Ratchford found a seam up the inside and shot through with – get this – a horse named Storybook Love (Chapter Seven—Stirling Debutant) to win the $700,000 race for 2-year-old trotting fillies on home turf for all involved. It was the very first Crown final for Ratchford, an Ontario-based driver and former pro hockey player whose young career as a reinsman is in rapid ascension in only its third year.
That it was the first Crown victory for trainer Matt Bax – coming 24 years after his father, Hall of Fame trainer John Bax, won his first and only Crown with Duke Of York down the road at Woodbine Racetrack – was poetry.
When Ratchford concluded his hockey career, Matt Bax gave him his first job in the business. Then Matt gave Ratchford his first shot as a driver.
“I’m working for them still,” Ratchford said of the Bax family, adding he is eternally grateful for the opportunity. “I was just getting my license and [Matt] gave me a qualifying drive. He just gave me a little bit here and there and it led to this.”
Steps before the wire, Ratchford whooped in ecstasy. He said his prevailing thought was, “‘Oh my God, this is it, I’m going to cross the finish line first and win the Breeders Crown.’ It’s absolutely mind-blowing.”
In the winner’s circle, tears began to well in the driver’s eyes.
A fourth generation horseman, Ratchford said he became emotional watching his family’s reaction to the victory.
“Whenever I see my dad cry, it’s like almost instantly,” said Ratchford, whose sister, Mary, is Storybook Love’s caretaker. “They are just happy and so proud. It just means everything that they are able to be here and enjoy it with me.”
That Storybook Love is owned by legendary Ontario owners Al Libfeld and Brad Grant made the victory even more complete. Libfeld was a part-owner and part-breeder of Duke Of York. Storybook Love is Libfeld’s 11th Breeders Crown title.
In the very next race, the night quickly pivoted when Loua Dipa thoroughly dominated the $700,000 final for 2-year-old pacing fillies with a 1:49.1 stakes record mile that equaled the track and Canadian record she set while winning the She’s A Great Lady a little over a month ago.
It was the second Breeders Crown victory for driver Ronnie Wrenn, Jr. and the 23rd (from 18 horses) for trainer Ron Burke, who also owns and bred the daughter of Sweet Lou—Looksgoodinaromper with Weaver Bruscemi – and also owns and campaigned the stallion.
The victory continued Wrenn, Jr.’s impressive run at Woodbine Mohawk Park started by Louprint’s win in the $1 million Pepsi North America Cup in June. Through Loua Dipa’s victory, Wrenn has never missed a check at Mohawk, posting a record of 5-1-0-2-2 in 10 starts.
The night then swung back to first-time champs when driver Jason Bartlett broke his Breeders Crown maiden by piloting Spencer Hanover to a 1:53.2 victory in the $700,000 final for 2-year-old trotting colts, surviving a judges’ inquiry to boot.
Bartlett, who seldom strays far from Yonkers Raceway where he has long been a top driver, had appeared in 10 previous Crown finals without a victory.
That Spencer Hanover was sired by Chapter Seven (out of Secret Passion) gave the stallion a sweep of the 2-year-old Crowns and helped the colt’s breeder, Hanover Shoe Farms, further its lead in the series. Hanover now has a whopping 30 Crown victors and 34 trophies to its credit, three more than Brittany Farms.
It was the fourth Breeders Crown for Spencer Hanover’s part-owner Jeffrey Snyder, who shares the colt with Arthur Pronti.
If all that wasn’t enough, the Crown saved the best for last.
Hometown hero Beau Jangles put on a show in the $700,000 final for 2-year-old pacing colts, setting a stakes, track and Canadian record of 1:48.3 to remain undefeated in 12 starts.
In the winner’s circle, Tara Hills Stud owner David Heffering, the man that bred Beau Jangles and stands the colt’s sire, Cattlewash, was near tears.
“It’s taken 30 years to get here,” Heffering said. “I know the great farms, like Hanover and Brittany, they’ve been doing this for years, but this is a big deal for us. It’s a big deal for everybody, but really for us, and Ontario.”
Nearby, driver Bob McClure was taking it all in with his two sons — 10-year-old Ryder and 3-year-old Jayce.
“I’ve got Ryder and Jayce to thank for getting Beau Jangles or I’d still be on the road,” Bob said. “Luckily, I decided I wanted more time with them and stayed home and here we are.”
Though Beau Jangles was tested by a tough field, his driver said he wasn’t overly concerned despite it being the colt’s 12th start.
“This is going to sound crazy, but not really,” Bob said when asked if he was concerned at any point in the mile. “He felt so good. I knew they were going to race him and I honestly thought the harder they raced him, the more they were going to take out of themselves. I don’t think I’ve gotten him tired at the end of a mile yet. He’s got an unbelievable set of lungs. He pulls up from the race every week, just looking for more and happy. I honestly thought that if they turn it into a sprint, they can’t go with him and, if they turn it into depth, they can’t last with him. I felt pretty good about it.”
The victory pushed the Dr. Ian Moore trainee’s earnings over $1 million (to exactly $1,228,289) and likely locked up Canada’s Horse of the Year award.
Majority owner Adam Ainspan of Virginia, the man that picked Beau Jangles out from the pacer’s video, said to see the colt end his season undefeated is, “just amazing. Like many things in life, you have an idea and things don’t always work out, but to actually see this conceptually the first time I saw his video and then to see this happen, I can’t put it into words… except to say I’m elated. It’s just a wonderful feeling to be here. It’s a great atmosphere and just terrific.”
Part-owner Jonathan Roberts said, “going out a winner is always great. To have him go out a winner with a track record and everything on top of it, on a cold night like tonight, is just amazing. It’s absolutely amazing.”
Just like the night itself.
