Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

JandJ Art Ships in for Windy City Pace

November 15, 2006

JandJ Art proved he could compete with some of harness racing’s best three-year-old pacers when he finished second to Shark Gesture in a Bluegrass division in September at Lexington’s Red Mile. Whether he can duplicate the effort from post seven in Friday’s $250,000 Windy City Pace at Chicago’s Maywood Park remains to be seen.

Jereme’s Jet, My Boy David and Bono Bests were made the top choices in the morning line for Maywood’s showcase event. Also on Friday’s card are the $105,000 Abe Lincoln, the $100,000 Galt Memorial and the $100,000 Cinderella.

The winner of five lifetime races and $90,409, JandJ Art is trained by Joe Seekman for YA Post LLC, a partnership of breeder Yousif Yousif and Ameer Najor.

"He’s a very good horse," Yousif said. "He’s got speed. The problem is he’s not gelded; sometimes, he doesn’t put all his mind to work. Maybe we will geld him, we haven’t decided yet. But he’s a real good horse, a fast horse, with good breeding."

JandJ Art (Artsplace-Can We Talk Direct) is a half brother to steady earning mare Cambest Connection. His mother’s family includes hard-knocking winners like Macho Bravo, Tequila Pete and Pistolero Pat.

After an eighth-place finish in a Burlington division at Woodbine Racetrack in early May, JandJ Art was sidelined by a throat infection and minor surgery. He returned to the races two months later with a win at Hazel Park, and then finished third to Jereme’s Jet and Real Mean Art in a Review Stakes at Springfield. His performance September 30 at the Red Mile might have been his best so far this year; among the horses he finished ahead of were Dave Panlone and Cactus Creek.

"I hope he does good," Yousif said. "I know there are a couple of good horses over there, but if he races like that race (at the Red Mile), yes, he has got a chance. The main thing is we need a good driver; we need somebody to wake him up."

Jereme’s Jet was the sport’s top two-year-old male pacer in 2005, but has struggled at times this season. He has won five of 13 races and earned $177,820. He had a problem with allergies early in the year and also has had tough luck drawing posts (nine in the Breeders Crown, eight in the Little Brown Jug, 10 in the North America Cup). Lifetime, Jereme’s Jet has 11 victories, including the 2005 Breeders Crown, and $1.2 million in purse earnings.

My Boy David, the winner of $538,260 this year, was second in the Meadowlands Pace in July. He has two wins and four second-place finishes in his last seven starts and has been off the board just twice in his last 17 races.....