She is clearly dominant in her older pacing mares division, but does that make her better than Hambletonian-winner Karl?

by Brett Sturman

Another week and the Twin B Joe Fresh machine continues to roll on. With a 1:48.2-timed win last Saturday (Aug. 17) in the $100,000 Cleopatra Invitational at Scioto Downs, Twin B Joe Fresh extended her winning streak to seven and doesn’t show the slightest indication of letting up. Stream rolling the field first-over at Scioto just as she did in her 1:48 win in the Lady Liberty at The Meadowlands prior — as well as a 1:47.3 win in the Dorothy Haughton before that one — Twin B Joe Fresh increased her vote share even further when this week’s edition of the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll was issued.

Admittedly, I don’t take the weekly Top 10 poll as the be-all end-all for official rank of talent, but it does serve as a barometer as to where the most current industry pulse is. Plus, it does have some influence on the year-end Dan Patch awards, so it’s worth exploring from time to time.

No issue whatsoever with Twin B Joe Fresh leading the way in the latest series of polls, as either she or Karl are more than fitting in that top spot. It shows, though, just how much of an impact Twin B Joe Fresh has made, to be placed over the once-beaten Hambletonian champion in Karl and the Meadowlands Pace and Cane Pace champion in Legendary Hanover. There’s no doubt that thus far, Twin B Joe Fresh has been the “wow” horse.

Is it more of a subjective feel than a standardized review of resumes that drives where horses reside on the poll from week to week? Usually the 3-year-old divisions take up a lot of the poll real estate this time of year and seven out of the 10 horses on this week’s list are, indeed, sophomores. So, I think that speaks even more to how spectacularly Twin B Joe Fresh has been received, to have a 4-year-old pacing mare at the top of the list. It is a big “if” for any horse, but if she were able to win out the rest of the year (and could even do so potentially without winning out) and become Horse of the Year, she would become just the second older female pacer ever (Shartin N) to win the award.

If we’re basing the top spot on which horse is most dominant in their division, then it’s absolutely Twin B Joe Fresh. Though, it is, perhaps, a slightly weaker division than it’s been in recent years with some stars from last year not coming back exactly to their A-1 best this year. That’s combined with Twin B Joe Fresh becoming even more of a monster. She’s towered over her competition all year and is unbeaten in stakes competition. Visually she has been amazing.

But is she the fastest pacer, period? Could she beat Legendary Hanover, for example? For that matter, could she even beat Ruthless Hanover who went the mile of the decade this past Saturday at Pocono?

Obviously, the top spot in the poll isn’t a speed contest, I understand that. But it’s interesting to ponder the placings between Twin B Joe Fresh and Legendary Hanover, who despite winning the Pace and the Cane and doing so in back-to-back 1:46-and-change miles, something only accomplished by a small number of horses. How Legendary Hanover only had one first-place vote to Twin B Joe Fresh’s 22 prior to Legendary Hanover’s loss to Captain Albano in Saturday’s Hempt was curious. This week, Legendary Hanover fell to number five behind stablemate Nijinsky.

Don’t be mad about me using this column for another thoroughbred comparison or hypothetical matchup that will likely never happen, but it’s timely that the thoroughbreds have a similar dynamic where their top-rated horse is also a filly. In their case, it’s a 3-year-old filly named Thorpedo Anna. The difference is, there, the best rated horse is going to be decided on the track when Thorpedo Anna takes on top colts in the $1.25 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga. 

I’m venturing to guess that the connections of Thorpedo Anna elected to race her in the Travers not to secure a spot in a poll, but rather for the pure sport of giving her the opportunity to see how great she can be. I’d love if the same opportunity presented itself to Twin B Joe Fresh at some point. 

For whatever the reason, and I’ve tried finding answers to this in the past, female trotters are able to beat male trotters at the highest level and with regularity but the same has never translated on the pacing side. At the same time though, it’s rarely even attempted. I thought Shartin N may have had the confidence to give it a go against boy’s after pacing a 1:46.4 mile in her championship season but that never happened. But if anyone could do it, Twin B Joe Fresh seems that at the very least she’d account well for herself. It’s also important to remember she was 3 when she defeated older pacing mares in last year’s FanDuel.

When it comes to sizing up Karl at the top of the poll it’s always going to be a matter of subjectivity because there’s no way to realistically compare a trotter and a pacer that can never race together. You could even argue that because of that, trotters and pacers should have separate polls and then the suspense would come at the year-end Horse of the Year honor. 

Turning back to the pacers, what I guess I’m clamoring for is to find out on the track who is best. If there is a way to leave as little to subjective chance as possible and in the process create a race that would truly be unique, that’s the route that should be made to try to happen.