Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

When trainer Bill Gallagher signed the ticket for the then 4-year-old Hellava Hush in January 2004, he was looking for a horse that would be a "nice open trotter." He added over $500,000 to his bankroll—pushing his career total past $800,00 for Gallagher and co-owner Joe Chnapko. And when the 5-year-old romped in 1:51 to win the Nat Ray at The Meadowlands, he became the sport’s fastest trotting gelding.

"Joe and I thought we’d have a nice open horse initially," Gallagher recalled. "We thought we’d have to race in some tough spots for this horse to earn back the money we paid for him—but we never dreamed we’d have a 1:51 trotter!"

When the altered son of Linda Lane was offered for sale at the January Winter Mixed Sale at the Meadowlands, he was one of a several horses being considered by Gallagher, 41 and Chnapko, 83.

"We had a number we were looking at that we thought would fit our program," Gallagher said. "I was impressed with Hellava Hush, because he had cut track records wherever he raced, and was extremely versatile. And, he was simply a beautiful individual to look at."

With a bid of $155,000 Hellava Hush was on his way to Gallagher’s winter base at Pompano.

"Joe told me to find him a good open trotter for Canada, and he didn’t care what the price was. We only bid on Hush once. The price was at $150,000 and the auctioneer started reading his pedigree and Joe said ‘go to $155,000’ and that was it. Price wasn’t an issue…he just wanted this horse. We had looked at 12 horses total, and between us, it came down to Hush," Bill said.

Originally a $20,000 yearling, Hellava Hush had a modestly successful freshman year for O’Donnell, starting 10 times, and winning four. He earned $94,820 and recorded a mark of 1:58.2 at The Meadows. At 3 he amassed $238,070 while winning the $100,000 Pennsylvania Sires Stakes at Pocono Downs, the $72,500 Galt at Maywood Park and the $70,000 Hanover Stake at Balmoral Park, where he cruised to a sophomore record of 1:54.3.

"The horse was very consistent at 2 and 3, and with Kelly training him, I knew that he hadn’t hurt the horse and had only done what the horse was capable of doing through those first two seasons," Gallagher said. "When we first got him, he was still kind of a feminine looking horse. He was still growing through his 4-year-old season, and that’s why we took our time with him and I think it’s paid off. I think the reason for his success this year is maturity more than anything else."

Hellava Hush scored his first victory for his new connections on April 16, 2004, at Pompano Park, winning in 1:56 with Charlie Sells at the lines. He then shipped north, racing throughout the rest of the season in the conditioned, open and free for all events at the Canadian raceways. He scored wins at Woodbine (in 1:52.4—a new career mark), at Georgian Downs (in 1:54.3), at Mohawk (in 1:53.3), and ended 2004 with $144,719 on his seasonal card, with six wins from 22 starts.

The gelding began 2005 with a trio of Pompano qualifiers in January with Sells back in the sulky. He then cruised to a 1:56 clocking by winning the $15,000 Mack Lobell preview, but finished third in the final to Argentine invader Chucaro Ahijuna in late February.

Gallagher gave the 5-year-old a two-month break, then qualified him in mid-April in 1:58.3. He shipped north to The Meadowlands and was second in a pair of open trots before finishing third in both the elimination and final of the Arthur Cutler Memorial in May.

He next took the $60,000 Classic at Woodbine in a speedy 1:52.2 on June 4 and next qualified at Mohawk in 1:55.1 on June 17.

"It usually takes a race or two to get this horse into shape," Gallagher explained. "He can race with a week off, but he needs a tightener. That’s the reason we qualify him. It’s purely management."

Hellava Hush was second in a Meadowland’s free for all in late June, losing by a neck in 1:51.3, and then finished a disappointing ninth in the Titan Cup on July 2.

"If you took a look at his last line last fall (2004), he won by three lengths in 1:52. It was freezing colt and Mr Muscleman was second. We put him away sound for the winter. He was just as good that start as he was in his first start for us. Based on that final performance of 2004 we thought he was ready to go with the big timers. He had shown glimpses of that all season, but those last few starts he was really sharp and that’s when we decided just to stake him to everything as a five-year-old."

"We found out he had bleeding gastric ulcers, and on a 1-5 scale they were a 5-plus," Gallagher said. "We treated him for a week with the Gastro Guard and he turned right around. The weird thing is, though, the horse’s appetite never waned—he loves to eat. We found out through his blood work that there was something going wrong somewhere—and we scoped him and sure enough—the ulcers were there.

"He had been fine the week before when he was second in 1:51.3, but they just developed that quick, and because his appetite never changed, we wouldn’t have figured out what was wrong without doing the blood chemistry."

Hellava Hush rebounded to finish second to Mr Muscleman in the Classic Series final at the end of July, and then put together a heart-stopping performance in the $300,000 Nat Ray invitational at The Meadowlands on Aug. 6. The gelding trotted to a career best of 1:51—the fastest trotting mile for the year—winning by a length for driver Cat Manzi, and besting rivals Mr Muscleman, and Sand Vic, to name just a few.

Chnapko, who owns a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Fairfield, N.J., has owned horses for nearly three decades, but says Hellava Hush’s victory that day was the highlight of his years as an owner.

"We knew he could trot fast, but that mile was unbelievable," Gallagher added. "Especially when you consider that there have only been two trotters in history who have every gone faster than he did. That’s very scary."

After that big mile at The Meadowlands, Hellava Hush went gone on to finish third in a $41,000 Mohawk Open, and then fifth in the $800,000 Breeders Crown on Sept. 3 at Mohawk, losing to Mr Muscleman.

Gallagher said his top charge gets a lot of turn out time and is like a pet in the barn. Rigged with a simple bridle and bits, Hellava Hush wears vet wrap behind, covered by a pair of trotting boots, "simply for protection," Gallagher said.

After racing out the year in Lexington and Illinois, Hellava Hush headed to Florida for a winter rest. He has a full dance card for 2006, and has started out the New Year with a perfect four-for-four record as of March 1, including winning all legs and the final of the $82,600 Mack Lobell Final at Pompano Park.

Hellava Hush's Lifetime Statistics as of March 1, 2006
Year   Starts Wins/2nds/3rds  MoneyWon    Age/Record/Track/Date of Record
2006        4      4      0      0        $63,800           6, 1:53.3F      PPK      02/10/2006
2005      21      5      5      5       $522,720          5, 1:51.0M      M        08/06/2005
2004      22      6      6      4        $144,719          4, 1:52.4S      WDB    10/25/2004
2003      17      10    2      0       $238,070          3, 1:54.3M      BMLP    10/25/2003
2002       10      4      2      3       $94,820            2, 1:58.2F      MEA      09/06/2002
Total     74     29    15     12     $1,064,129      5, 1:51.0M