With a win in the Shady Daisy, she equalled the mark for sophomore pacing fillies held by Agent Q and Dancinwiththestarz.

by Dave Briggs

Bruce Trogdon said he knew Blazin Britches was primed for a big mile on the big track. That’s why her owner and breeder said he and trainer Brian Brown decided at the last minute to put her in Saturday’s $113,950 Shady Daisy for 3-year-old fillies at the Meadowlands.

“We weren’t going for the track record, but I just knew to win the race it might be the track record,” said Trogdon, owner of Emerald Highlands Farm of Mount Vernon, OH.

Blazin Britches cruised home to a 1:48.4 victory, breaking the stakes record of 1:49.1 set last year by Darlinonthebeach, with an impressive four and three-quarter length victory over Caviart Alley.

The 1:48.4 clocking matched the track record for three-year-old fillies shared by Dancinwiththestarz (2010) and Agent Q (2017).

Driven by David Miller, the 1-5 favorite, went three-wide prior to the half-mile pole, taking control, and coasting to the her fourth straight victory, paying her backers $2.60, 2.40, and 2.10.

The 13-1 longshot Caviart Alley, driven by Andrew McCarthy, paid $4.40 and $2.60 for second and 2-1 second-choice Idyllic Beach, last year’s Dan Patch Award winner for best two-year-old female pacer, completed the payouts, with $2.10 for third, five and three-quarter lengths back.

“Britches had an abscess on her foot and some issues or people would have heard about her earlier,” Trogdon said. “We showed her to the world at The Adios and Trace Tetrick – he’s been her driver. He taught her lessons and he’s had a lot to do with this. He’s driving horses back (in Indiana) and we let David (Miller) drive, because it’s good for everybody. She’s a great filly, just the fastest that I’ve ever owned. It was just getting her together to show what she could do.”

Brown said Blazin Britches’ team was ready to go to the Fan Hanover “and she popped a gravel (in her foot). I give credit to her groom Kim Carruthers and the grooms at Bruce’s farm, they got her finally to pop it. That took two weeks and took us right out the Fan Hanover and the Lynch. We thought she was a good horse, but I can’t tell you I thought she was this good.”

The daughter of Rock N Roll Heaven out of Soggy Britches is a part of an equine family Trogdon has long owned.

“Soggy Britches, was a really good mare and made a couple hundred thousand. She was a big and tough mare. She gets her good looks, partly from Rock N Roll Heaven, but she looks just like her mother,” Trogdon said. “The next dam, the grandmother, Soggy Dragon, died earlier in her career, but she lived long enough to have a couple of foals. She was a beautiful grey filly that I bought at the Harrisburg sale as a weanling. So we’ve had the family for a long time.

“(Blazin Britches) was fabulous just to look at her. Like, one day old and you thought, ‘Wow.’”

Trogdon, who also owned top-rated sophomore pacing colt Fear The Dragon, said he has joked about retirement.

“I told Brian Brown in the winner’s circle of The Adios last week, ‘Maybe I should retire right now because I’m never going to have a day like this one again,’” Trogdon said.

“My broodmare band is really good, just because I’ve been doing it for 40 years… these are not big time, high-priced horses, but they are nice horses. I’ve been culling and every year adding a couple and the last few years the broodmare band has just sort of matured and I’ve got some nice foals coming… but I never won this much until I got connected with Brian Brown. I think it’s been about three years. I’m Mr. Take Care Of The Horse and Brian trains them and when we came together, it’s been a really good team.”

— with files from Lou Monaco