Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Harness Happenings for June 14, 2004
June 14, 2004
by Kimberly A. Rinker

Odds On Charmaine Racing Thursday at Balmoral
Odds On Charmaine will step postward Thursday night in Balmoral's $16,500 Filly & Mare Open. Trainer Robin Schadt has given Tim Tetrick the driving assignment behind the four-year-old Western Hanover mare. She'll be facing some of the toughest mares in North America right now, including Cinder Best (post ten-Eric Ledford), Parklane Powerful (post five-Ron Marsh), Madura (post six-Tony Morgan) and Giggles The Clown (post eight-Andy Miller).

To date Odds On Charmaine has raced over every size racetrack throughout North America, pacing to a winning 1:52 record at Woodbine last August in a division of the Fan Hanover. In only seven starts this season, she's scored three victories and one second, pacing in 1:52.2 at the Meadowlands and earning $70,857, pushing her career earnings to $202,647.

Odds On Charmaine is the tenth foal out of the Abercrombie mare Angel Be Good and was purchased by Robin at the Tattersalls Sale for $50,000 in the fall of 2001. She has a slew of prolific half-siblings, including: Mattcando (by Matt’s Scooter) p, 5, 1:53.1, a winner of 37 races and $231,820 in earnings; Angel Be Great (by Presidential Ball) p, 1:54.1 $170,816; Mattcandotoo (by Matt’s Scooter) a 26-race winner with a mark of 5, 1:56.3 and $104,501; Mattican City (by Matt’s Scooter) p, 4, Q1:55 $116,736; and Brandon’s Cowboy (by The Panderosa), p, 3, 1:51.2, a winner of $114,212.

Dion Takes Bridesmaid Role
Odds On Dion finished second Sunday night at Balmoral, pacing in 1:51.4, bested only half a length by the winning Armbro Ambush and driver Dave Magee. Piloted by Jason Dillander for trainer Robin Schadt, Odds On Dion paced his final quarter in :26.4, and closed from nearly dead last at the head of the stretch in the $6,900 event.

This well-bred bay gelding, a son of sire No Nukes pushed his lifetime earnings to $19,039 in lifetime earnings from 17 career starts, and has scored two wins, two seconds and four thirds. He took a record of 1:59 last year as a freshman at Mohawk Raceway in Canada, and this year scored a 1:57.1 mile in a Balmoral Park qualifier on May 26.

Abigail Nabs Second at Balmoral Sunday Night
Odds On Abigail nabbed a second-place finish for driver Dale Hiteman and Odds On Racing's trainer Robin Schadt, in only her fourth start of 2004. The Jate Lobell sophomore filly finished one and a quarter lengths behind the winning Columptuous, pacing in 1:56.1 with Hiteman at the controls. "Abigail" used a :28 final quarter in her 12th lifetime start, and pushed her career earnings to $12,107. To date she's scored a pair of wins and a pair of second-place finishes.

Taser Gun Wins Again
The ageless gelding Taser Gun, now nine-years-old won again for the sixth time this year in only seven starts. The Henry Letsgo star paced in 1:50.2 for driver Andy Miller Saturday night (June 12) at Balmoral Park. He scored his neck victory over the hard trying Silver D Moon (Dale Hiteman) for trainer Bob Walker and pushed his seasonal earnings to $70,212 and is well on his way to the $1 million plateau, with $968,592 in career earnings.

Boston Red Sox Pitcher Claims One at Balmoral Park
Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling plunked down $45,000 on Saturday night, June 12 for the nine-year-old New Zealand import, gelding Thunder Storm N. Schilling, 27, sports an 8-3 record for Boston this season and has 171 career victories.

Thunder Storm N will be trained by John Podres in Illinois, and is the son of father Johnny Podres, who was Schilling's pitching coach during his years with the Phillies. Schilling has remained good friends with the elder Podres. This was his first Standardbred investment.

E Dees Cam Calls It A Career
At eight-years-old, E Dees Cam is wrapping up his career. He's from the next to last crop of the legendary Cam Fella and was the fastest horse in the sport a year ago by virtue of his 1:48.3 stirring Graduate win. Now, he heads to the breeding shed will look forward to a possible dual-hemisphere role as a stallion.

Noel Daley trained him for the last 3 and 1/2 years.

"I wasn't happy with the way he trained recently," Noel said. "He just doesn't want to do it anymore. I didn't want to take the chance of breaking him down. I just couldn't get him tight enough to go 1:49. I could put him in a $50,000 claimer and he'd be competitive, but we don't want to cheapen him in any way. He's been too good a horse to all of us."

That's for sure. A $65,000 claim early in 2001, he has steadily risen through the ranks for owner Adam Victor and son to the highest levels. This is a horse who was off the board in the 1999 Suslow final and five years later one of the top Free-For-All horses around.

"One of my best moments was when he won the Graduate last year in 1:48.3." Noel recalled. "The best pacers in the world couldn't get close to him. McArdle, Mini Me and those horses. I'll never forget that. He's been an overachiever for sure. I hate to see him go. What a tough guy he's been-just like his dad. He'd yell and scream at the farm, but he'd never hurt a flea. A wonderful horse to be around."

"He's like Fools Goal in a way." Noel added. "Tough old hard-hitting horses. Lots of class."

Charles Connor, Jr. also remembers E Dees Cam quite well. He trained him for almost a year as well.

"I got him late in his two-year-old season," Conner remembered. "Joe Holloway broke him as a yearling. I was getting him ready for his three-year-old campaign. He was a big growthy colt. He acted nice. I had him until July, and he had a cracked sesamoid. We quit with him to give him time to heal and mature. That's why you didn't see him in the Jug or any of the classics at 3."

Adam Victor, Jr. was the person reponsible for the claim. He urged his father to take him, and the rest is history--to the tune of $850,000+ lifetime. He remembers everything about E Dees

"He never needed a trip. He made his own," Victor, Jr. said. "He was the one horse we never worried about. He loved it first over, too--he won the Dan Patch, the Graduate and the Presidential first up in all of them. He still loves to race-he gets all excited when he comes here. But because he doesn't train any more--he didn't finish his miles. You'll notice that the final sixteenth in his last few races he just tired. He wasn't finishing off his miles. He'd be right there until late."

The plans are now to have E Dees Cam stand stud in both Australia and in North America.

"We are going to stand him in Australia under a lease agreement, and we are looking for places here," Victory, Jr. said. "So far it is down to Ohio, Canada and New York. There's a lot of interest in the Cam Fella line, and he's going to be the last son of Cam Fella to ever go to stud, so that helps him too."

Noel Daley thinks he has a future as a sire.

"Down under, Fake Left was being bred to 400 mares a year. He died, Presidential Ball came down and is now the rage," Noel said. "There's plenty of interest in Cam Fella's line down there. E Dees Cam-he's not going to get the mares a Western Ideal or a top stud like that gets here, but I think he'll hold his own and pass it on."

"E Dees Cam was a horse you didn't want in front of you on the lead," Noel added. "He didn't like giving it up. As a driver out there, you also didn't like seeing him alongside of you in the stretch. He would want to beat you and chances were good he'd go by. You don't find horses like that all too often."