Holland and Willowtime appear to be winning match
by Matthew Lomon
Herb Holland has been around long enough to know that horses of Willowtime’s caliber don’t become available often – but on the rare occasion they do, hesitation isn’t an option.
“When he was in for that price, I thought he was a gift for that money because you can’t buy those kinds of horses,” Holland said. “So, we claimed him, and he’s been worth the money and maybe some more.”
The devoted horseman of 40-plus years had admired Willowtime from afar for years, watching on as the Lookslikeachpndale trotter dominated Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) competition as a 2-year-old.
The lasting imprint of that marvelous 2023 gold series run, punctuated by a Super Final victory at Woodbine Mohawk Park, provided all the ammunition Holland needed to convince long-time business partner Vincenzo Strangis to cut the check for $37,500.
“It’s pretty back and forth,” Holland said of he and Strangis’ business plan. “There have been times where he [Strangis] wanted to claim one and I’d suggest otherwise, but when this horse came up, I said, ‘Look, there’s a horse in there I think you should claim him.’
“And thank goodness he did because he’s been solid for him.”
Since joining their operation last August, Willowtime has been everything Holland foresaw and Strangis had hoped for.
Across 18 starts for his new battery, the now 5-year-old gelding has landed within the money in 14, and inside the top three in nine (3-2-4).
As Holland sees it, that start-to-start consistency speaks to Willowtime’s innate desire to compete.
“I just think good horses show up,” he said. “I’d like to take all the credit for it, but nice horses know how to get their noses to the wire, and he’s always been a good horse.
“[Trainer] Mark Etsell had him as a young horse and did a great job with him and I really like him, too. He’s a classy older horse, and he’s nice to be around.”
There was, as Holland added, a slight learning curve at the beginning of their tenure, but that was to be expected.
“He made a break the first two times I raced him, and I was a little disenchanted with him, but I knew we didn’t have things the way I needed to for him and once I changed him, he was fine,” Holland said.
The brief acclimation period sparked Willowtime’s re-emergence as the weekly force Holland envisioned when Strangis put pen to paper seven months ago.
“When they have a lot of back class, even if you’re in a claimer — he hasn’t been in one since we claimed him — but if you have to go back there, you can’t beat the class of horse no matter what it is,” Holland said.
“If they won money and major races, you’re not going to get hurt with them and that’s what I looked at when we claimed him.”
The bay, out of Mr Lavec mare SOS Respect, checked several boxes for Holland then and continues to do so now.
While there are several aspects of Willowtime’s composition and character that catch his trainer’s eye, the statuesque trotter’s development post OSS has been particularly encouraging.
“Some don’t keep developing after, but he’s a big, growthy trotter,” Holland said. “He’s probably 17 hands or very close to it and those types generally get a little stronger and a little better as they mature more.
“Coming into his age 5 form, I wouldn’t be surprised if he trotted to his record or better. I wouldn’t be surprised at all because he seems to be getting stronger and a little better each time I go with him.”
The early returns from Willowtime’s fourth professional season have validated Holland’s faith.
Though yet to best his lifetime mark of 1:52.1 through four starts thus far, Willowtime has performed admirably with a pair of wins at Flamboro Downs and runner-up finish, which came last time out on March 15 at Mohawk.
A near-two-month layoff following the end of his 4-year-old campaign is already paying dividends.
“I think the time off is going to bode well for him through the summer,” Holland said. “[Driver] Bob McClure qualified him to start this year, and I was going to enter him at Mohawk, but thought he could use a softer race or two early on.
“Bob said he could get around a half with him, so I took him to Flamboro to get him in a spot where he didn’t have to get stretched and it has worked in our favor.”
Holland’s hope for a 5-year-old Willowtime is to compete in the “upper-mid conditions” at Mohawk, which he showed a glimpse of in his latest start.
The veteran conditioner has every reason to believe his trusty trotter will stand up to the challenge but understands there is more than one path to reach their ultimate goal.
“If we have to go to a claimer, I would, but it wouldn’t be my choice to lose him because I like the horse,” Holland said. “He’s one of those trotters who will pay more than his way for the owner. At the end of the day, all we need to do is keep the owners busy, keep them happy, and if they can win a few races with them, all the better.”
With their plan taking shape, Holland and Willowtime continue to get more comfortable with each other every day.
“I know him a lot better now – his quirks, the issues he may or may not have, which always goes well because you’re not guessing anymore,” Holland said. “When you first get them, you’ll scratch your head sometimes wondering if you’re on the right track or not. Now that we’ve had him a while, you know what they need.”
What once started as an appreciation from afar has steadily grown into a rock-solid partnership on and off the track.
Willowtime, in his words, is unlike any horse Holland’s ever coached, but the uber reliable racehorse has become everything he’s dreamed of and more.
“He’s kind of his own little boy, that fella,” Holland said, adding with a laugh, “Not a little boy, big boy, he is. But I really like him, I always did. When I saw Mark racing him, I always liked him. After getting him, I like him even more than I did earlier.”
