Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Ponder was a $67,000 yearling purchase from the first crop of The Panderosa. He showed promise early on, but fractured a hind ankle after winning his first career start, in 1:581, in July 2003 at Flamboro Downs. The colt was turned out and pointed toward a 3-year-old campaign, but McIntosh cut his sophomore campaign short in 2004 after the ankle appeared to be bothering the colt.

That conservative approach paid off in 2005 when Ponder earned $804,702 and finished on the board in 22 of his 27 starts. His eight victories included the $217,250 Molson Pace at Western Fair Raceway and the $673,110 Canadian Pacing Derby at Mohawk Racetrack. At the Meadowlands, he was third in both the $700,000 William R. Haughton Memorial and the $250,000 Classic Series.

Ponder began his five-year-old season when he established a new track record at Hazel Park of 1:51, and then romped to a seven-length victory in his $50,000 Graduate Elimination in 1:48.3, a time equal to his lifetime mark. He also won the $77,800 Winbak Pace for older horses during the Little Brown Jug week at Deleware, Ohio. By winning the Winbak Pace, Ponder equaled the all-age track record and world record of 1:49 set by Jet Laag in 1999, over the same racetrack.

Ponder is the fourth foal out of the Abercrombie mare Empty Feeling, and is a half-brother to the 17-race winning gelding Gotta Feeling (by Camluck) p, 2, 1:54.2s, 3, 1:52.4f ($201,380).

“He was a real nice colt in 2005 but really grew during the break,” driver Ron Pierce said. “He must have got five inches taller, eight inches longer, and put on 200 pounds. He’s really filled out nice.”

"He grew a lot between four and five,” trainer Chris McFaden--assistant to Bob McIntosh--confirmed. McFaden has worked with trainer Bob McIntosh for the past 10 years. “In 2005 he raced wearing a 59-inch hobble. In 2006 he is wearing a 61-and-a-half. It shows a lot of growth. We are looking forward to a good year with him.”

“He made 27 starts last year and started out in non-winners of three (race) and worked his way up," trainer McIntosh noted. "We kept him at home, and he got paddock time every day. We brought him back (into training) around the first of December. After he raced at the Meadowlands last year, I noticed he’d dropped a lot of weight; he was tucked up a bit. All the racing, it was difficult on him, but he made $800,000 and he eats fine. It was just hard racing."

Ponder's Career Racing Statistics
Year   Starts/Wins/2nds/3rds   Earnings     Age/Record     Date of Record
2006       20      6      8      0           $679,191      5, 1:48.1M M        08/05/2006
2005       27      8      11    3           $804,702       4, 1:48.3M Lex      10/01/2005
2004      8       2      2      1           $37,008       3, 1:53.0F WR        05/30/2004
2003       1        1      0      0           $2,035         2, 1:58.1H FlmD   07/13/2003
Total     56      17     21     4           $1,522,936   5, 1:48.1M