Between the Breeders Crown and stakes races that have followed, some divisional honors will come down to the wire.

by Brett Sturman

My thoughts on the year-end awards in the sophomore divisions.

3-YEAR-OLD COLT TROT DIVISION

Immediately following the Hambletonian in which career-to-date phenom Karl made good on the highest of early-season expectations, it didn’t seem like the season-ending leader of this division would ever be in doubt. But as mid-summer turned to late summer and then fall, the division took a different turn, and it now looks as if Sig Sauer will have accomplished enough to earn the distinction of 3-Year-Old Colt Trotter of the Year.

I hate to say it because of what Karl accomplished in winning the Hambletonian and how brilliant of a 2-year-old he was last year, but he lacked his best punch in the final couple months of his career. Since that Hambletonian win, which was his final notable win of the year, Karl was able to string together three wins in preliminary Kentucky Sire Stake legs but came up a neck short in the $400,000 final, before then concluding the season by finishing fifth in the Kentucky Futurity and sixth-placed-fifth in his Breeders Crown elimination.

On the other hand, Sig Sauer has come on to close out the year with massive back-to-back wins the Kentucky Futurity (over Karl) in a season’s best time of 1:49.3 being the only sophomore trotter to trot in under 1:50 this year, and then just got up over T C I in the Breeders Crown final. While Karl did beat Sig Sauer in the Hambletonian, Sig Sauer beat Karl in the Stanley Dancer a couple weeks prior. Throw in the $300,000 Earl Beal that Sig Sauer won at Pocono in August, and it can be said with a degree of comfort that he went out and earned the divisional title.

3-YEAR-OLD COLT PACE DIVISION

It was painfully difficult to separate the top pair in this division with another one not far behind, but I’ll just get right out with it. I think Nijinsky is the most deserving and would be my pick, but I could see the USHWA voters siding with Captain Albano. There really isn’t a wrong answer either.

I’ve mentioned before in this column a bias where wins in Canada get sometimes overlooked, and Nijinsky’s most high-profile win came early in the season to boot, but his North America Cup win shouldn’t be forgotten. Nor should his Simcoe win at Woodbine Mohawk Park from September when he prevailed in a slugfest against chief rival Legendary Hanover. Nijinsky was runner-up in the Meadowlands Pace final after having won his Pace elimination the week prior in a time of 1:47.3, good for the third-fastest time of any 3-year-old pacer this year. After another solid runner-up finish, this time in the Breeders Crown, Nijinsky won another open stake two weeks ago in the Monument Circle at Hoosier. With 11 wins from 15 starts and another three races where he was second, he’s proved himself worthy of the divisional honor.

An equally strong case could be made for Captain Albano. His resume includes wins in the Max Hempt, the Adios and the Little Brown Jug where he won both heats on the same day (over Nijinsky). He further proved his versatility by not only conquering Delaware, OH and then the five-eighths mile tracks in Pennsylvania, but he showed he can win on the mile track too when he won his Breeders Crown elimination at The Meadowlands in 1:48.1. He would have been a no-brainer for the division if he won the Crown final, but he took pressure throughout on the lead as the 3-5 favorite and finished third behind Mirage Hanover and Nijinsky; I would have loved to have seen at least one major win in a final come on the big track. But to his credit, he bounced back when seen next out in the Matron at Dover and turned the tables on Mirage Hanover and that should count for something.

Interestingly, had Mirage Hanover won that race as he was expected to do so, a late season case could have been made for him too. Catching fire with Dunn and winning the Tattersalls, Breeders Crown elimination and then final, and then capping it off with a win in the Matron would have made things interesting. A mention also to Legendary Hanover who won both the Meadowlands Pace and the Cane Pace, but it looks like it’ll be between Nijinsky and Captain Albano for the division.

3-YEAR-OLD FILLY TROT DIVISION

Where a sudden late-season charge may wind up being successful is in the case of Allegiant. Always a filly with talent going back to the earliest days as a 2-year-old last year, a recent change in barns has brought back out the best in her. In the span of less than the last month, she won her Breeders Crown elimination and then the Breeders Crown final, with rival R Melina second-best both times. I don’t know if the Breeders Crown alone would have been enough to propel her to the division’s top, but Allegiant followed up those wins with, once again, another win over R Melina which came last week in the Matron. She’s clearly been the best horse to finish the season, and probably the best horse in the division overall when factoring in a win in the $100,000 Moni Maker at Scioto from the summer.

R Melina, with a string of solid second-place finishes as above, saw her signature win of the year come in one of the year’s best races, her take-no-prisoners win of 1:50.1 in the Kentucky Filly Futurity. She raced well in many of the year’s other big dances and owns a win from the Del Miller Memorial in June at The Meadowlands; I just think that Allegiant beating her three straight times to close out the year tilts the division in her favor.

3-YEAR-OLD FILLY PACE DIVISION

My Girl EJ was victorious in the Breeders Crown just as she was last year, but this time around she should be safe to capture her first Dan Patch award as the best pacing filly in her division. It’s been a contentious and hard-fought year for this group and despite the ups and downs, My Girl EJ also has wins in her Breeders Crown elimination, Jugette elimination, the Adioo Volo final and a divisional-best 1:48.1 win in her division of the Glen Garnsey last month. The hiccup when finishing third last out as the beaten favorite in the Matron shouldn’t cost her.

Honorable mentions can be given to Rocket Deo who in addition to finishing one place ahead of My Girl EJ in that Matron race last out, won her division of the Glen Garnsey as well the Shady Daisy and her Bluegrass division. Direction closed out the year by winning the Matron after a close-up third in the Breeders Crown final; KYSS-final champ has had a decent year. It’s A Love Thing was consistently strong for the second consecutive year in her career.