Harness Happenings for the week of May 16-22, 2004
By Kimberly Rinker & Bob Heyden

Four Starzzz Shark Making History
The way he's come out of the box as a six-year-old, we'd better hold onto our hats. The rampaging son of Cams Card Shark-by virtue of winning the Graduate-is now responsible for all of the following:

• His 1:48.1 win was the fastest Meadowlands race in 47 months. Not since June 16, 2001 when Lease On Life posted the same time has any horse at the Big M gone this fast.
  
  
• It was the 47th race mile in harness history under 1:49, and the 8th in the career of Mike Lachance. John Campbell leads the way with nine sub-1:49 miles-having done so in the Classic Leg II with Royal Mattjesty-1:48.4.
  
  
• The time was the fastest ever in the history of the Graduate and the margin of 4 lengths was the same as well.
  
  
• It was the third fastest driving mile in the illustrious career of Mike Lachance. Twice before he has won in 1:48 flat: with Color Me Best in 1999 and with Western Ideal in 2000.
  
  
• The time of 1:48.1 is the co-fifth fastest mile in Meadowlands history.
  
  
• It marked the sixth straight year that the Graduate has gone in under 1:50. In 2003 the 1:48.3 posted by E Dees Cam stood up as the fastest mile in all of harness racing.
  
  
• Four Starzzz Shark is now the co-fastest six-year-old (1:48.1), in the history of the sport, along with Lease On Life and Armbro Positive.
  
  
• He is only the eighth horse to win both the Graduate and the Haughton.
  
  
• He is also just the third horse to win the Graduate and the Haughton in DIFFERENT years (2002 & 2004). Dream Maker did it in 1978-Graduate and 1979-Haughton, and Jaguar Spur did it in 1988-Haughton and 1989-Graduate. "Sharkie" won the 2002 Haughton.
  
  
• He is the 16th millionaire at the Meadowlands ONLY, and has banked $1,103,725 lifetime at the East Rutherford, New Jersey facility. Year by year stats for Four Starzzz Shark are as follows at the Big M:
          2000-$800
          2001-$222,375
          2002-$401,625
          2003-$273,925
          2004-$202,500
  
  
• He is about to join Bettors Delight and Royalflush Hanover as double-million dollar winning sons of double-millionaire winning sire Cams Card Shark.
  
  

For Mike Lachance, this was the 11th millionaire he has handled in the Graduate-not bad considering he didn't drive in his first Graduate until 1988. Lachance had one he drove twice (Ball And Chain). Others include Matts Scooter, T Ks Skipper, Camluck, Tune Town, Bad Bert, McArdle, and of course, Western Ideal.

Another Malabar Man?
Can it happen again? Can Malvern Burroughs come up with another top trotting colt? Mal seems to think so, and it is a brother to the 1997 Horse Of The Year.

"Malabar Aqua-he's a son of San Pellegrino, a half brother to Malabar Man," Mal noted. "He had a chip taken out of his left hind knee, so I didn't keep him eligible to the Hambletonian. But the Zweig, the Kentucky Futurity, the Breeders Crown, he's in all of those. This colt is bigger and stronger than Malabar Man. And he's got a brush you cannot believe. I'll start him up in July in the Ontario Sires Stakes. This is the horse I'd like to race at three, four and five-years-old. I'd take him to the Prix D'Amerique. He's a very special horse, you'll see."

Ok Mal, We can't wait!

Days of Their Lives
The sub 1:50 race mile isn't what it once was. But there are only four horses-out of ALL the horses who've won in under 1:50 in a race-who've had at least 1,000 days from their first sub 1:50 winning race mile to their most recent:

Life Source: 1,372 days August 5, 2000 to May 8, 2004. He's now seven-years-old.

Riyadh: 1,232 days July 10, 1993 to November 23, 1996. Ages three and six. He was the first horse to win a Meadowlands Pace elim in under 1:50, scoring in 1:49.4 in 1993. He then finished third in the final to Presidential Ball and Life Sign.

Color Me Best: 1,204 days May 15, 1999 to August 31, 2002. He has eight total, and is the ONLY horse to do it four years CONSECUTIVELY

Always A Beach: 1,050 days (still racing at the Meadowlands) July 17, 1999 to June 1, 2002.

Major Blur could be the next to do it. He's competing in the $75,000 claimers at the Meadowlands and is already past $100,000. If he does it, he'd become the first horse to do it with 5 YEARS from first to last. He did it on July 3, 1999. He did it again on October 21, 2000. If he can pull it off this year at age nine, he would also have the distinction of having the longest time BETWEEN with the four-year gap from the second to the third occurance.

Real Desire heads the sub 1:50 list of race wins with nine, followed by Western Ideal with eight. Big Tom and Color Me Best also have eight, as well as the fastest performer Jennas Beach Boy with eight, and Dragon Again with seven.

Speaking of Real Desire, how many horses can say this?? ZERO is the answer. He made $604,750 at the Meadowlands in 2001, the year he won the Meadowlands Pace and set the co-track record of 1:49 in the Holmes. He made $657,500 the following year (His Horse Of The Year season in 2002) at the Meadowlands, meaning he is the ONLY horse to win the Meadowlands Pace and then make more money the FOLLOWING year at the Meadowlands.

Only At The Racetrack...
It was the late 1980s, and it was the thoroughbred meeting at the Meadowlands. Bob Heyden, the genius whiz kid of the harness racing world worked the stats for the thoroughbreds at the time. One day he got a call from a guy he knew reasonably well (Joe M), at around 7:20 p.m. in the evening.

"Bobby, I'm running late, can you put two $20 doubles in for me?"

Joe M gives Bob the numbers, who puts out the $40 and put the tickets in his pocket. His double comes in ($134.00), so he gets back $1,340 minus Bob's initial $40 outlay. He shows up an hour or so later and Bob gives him the winnings. The man doesn't say thanks, and is pre-occupied by a couple of ladies in the midst. Now of course Bob is thinking he'll come in to the press box later and say thanks, and probably throw him a few bucks or something. But the guy never shows, and Bob doesn't see him the rest of the night, or the next week, or the week after that, either.

Now Bob's not too thrilled about it, but he just files it away in his memory banks. Then, the same guy calls again about three weeks later with the exact same line.

"I'm running late. Can you put two $20 doubles in for me."

At first Bob's ready to slam down the phone, but then thinks, "maybe I'll do it, and hope they come in and play my own game."

"OK Joe, give me the numbers."

Bob bets the doubles and neither comes in. Joe M doesn't show up that night. Or the next. Or the next. Or the next meet, thoroughbred or harness. Bob doesn't see Joe M again until FOUR YEARS later when they crossed paths in Paramus Park Mall, only ten minutes from Bob's house and 20 minutes from the Meadowlands. With a straight face, Joe M reaches into his pocket and says, "I've been meaning to get this to you."

He handed Bob two $20 bills, and Bob hasn't seen him since.

Ponder This...
Fools Goal was fourth at the Meadowlands in the Cutler final, bringing his total for the year at the Meadowlands to $39,400. He is the third winningest trotter in Meadowlands history, with $1,673,315. He trails only Moni Maker and Magician. But with just $150,000 separating him from the top spot (among all horses, pacers too), who'd put it past this never-say-die trotter to wind up there sometime in 2004?

1:48 and change-before 1:49 and change? Only one driver in harness history can say that he has won a race in 1:48 and a piece but NOT won a race in 1:49 and a piece. Give Up? Bill Gale-who scored with Riyadh in 1:48.4 on August 17, 1996 at Woodbine holds that unique distinction. Others who won in under 1:49 first (race or time trial) before winning in 1:49 are Bill Fahy-(1:48.4 with Jennas Beach Boy 9/30/95), Wally Hennessey (1:48.2 with Pacific Fella 4/24/98), and Trevor Ritchie (Real Desire 1:48.3 June 8, 2002 Woodbine)

Stanley Dancer remembers John Patterson, Sr. "A complete-good horseman. I raced Cardigan Bay against his Overtrick and they were very close in ability. He did a lot of good work for Leonard Buck and the Allwood Stable."

Roger Mayotte was a strong second with Escape The Wind in the Graduate final. A victory would have put Mayotte over $35 million lifetime. In finishing 5th in that same $280,000 final, Mini Me surpassed $500,000 for his career at the Meadowlands.

Can anyone remember Brett Pellings' first sub 1:50 win? It came on June 1, 1996 and Howard Parker was driving. Shadow Dance paced in 1:49.4. The first Austrailian-bred horse to do it? Smart Son N the same year-August 10, 1996, pacing in 1:49.3 with Jimmy Morrill, Jr. driving.

Age discrimination? NOT here. In the Classic leg two of the four betting favorites were all different ages: 4YO Burning Point, 5 YO Carolina Sunshine, 6 YO Bunny Lake and 7 YO Eternal Camnation. Very unusual. But-it happened in the Graduate too! 4 YO Escape The Wind, 5 YO Mini Me, 6 YO Four Starzzz Shark and 7 YO Life Source.

Earhart Hanover was recently sold by S. Ian Smith (PEI) to the partnership of Craig Lipka and Mike Gulotta (Worldly Beauty's owners). They will race the daughter of Artiscape in the NJSS and will look for their THIRD Miss New Jersey together. They won it in 1994 with Wendy M Hanover and in 2002 with Worldly Beauty.

John Campbell has an unusual record in the Hiram Woodruff. He's won it three times, but far apart: in 1979, 1985, and 2002. His first win was with Glencoe Pride, and that represented his first ever Trotting final win at the Meadowlands.

All American Theory is back and readying up for a four-year-old campaign. He's going to put his 2-2 record on the line when he heads to the Meadowlands for the Haughton. He is the ONLY horse ever to win the Meadowlands Pace without racing at least once as a freshman.

Smarty Jones…is now mentioned in the same breath with Secretariat? Why not? Big Red is his great great grandfather. BIG RED won the 1973 Derby and Preakness by identical margins: two and a half lengths. Smarty won by three and 11 and 1/2 lenghts. BIG RED was the first in 25 years to win the Triple Crown in 1973. Smarty will attempt to better that by one year this year in the mile and half Belmont.

Bob Glazer of Peter Pan Stables, "Pan Culottes (Breeders Crown winner-the ONLY horse to defeat Kikikatie at two) is coming back racier this year than last. She's not the type of horse to come right out of the box, and she'll need a few starts before we see her best."

Off the board finishes for both Rotation and H P Paque in the Oslo Grand Prix, the biggest event in Norway. Gidde Palema won comfortably on the lead. Per Henriksen watched the race, "He's going to be very tough to beat in the Elittlopp too.

This year marks the 25th edition of the NJ Classic-and the 14th straight year of a $500,000 pot. Mike Lachance has taken four of the past six editions.

In the seven years that Artsplace has had sophomore crops racing in the Miss New Jersey, he has taken 11 of the 21 board spots and over 40% of the starters in the final were HIS daughters.

Eternal Camnation has $748,500 made lifetime at the Meadowlands, but more ($863,449) earned at Mohawk. She remains the only horse to put together five straight $500,000 seasons among pacers.

May 22, 1987- a day that will live in Meadowlands infamy. That was the day that Run The Table handed Jate Lobell his first ever loss-in the $200,000 NJSS final. The time was 1:51 flat, in MAY, and stood up as the fastest mile in the sport all year. Jim Campbell and John teamed to hand the Mark O'Mara trained and driven superstar their first loss after 18 straight, but Jate Lobell (from the first crop of No Nukes) would quickly bounce back and take the NJ Classic in what turned out to be a lifetime best of 1:51.2.

Ron Pierce had I Am A Fool as his hope this year of winning the NJ Classic for the very first time. Dave Miller was the same with Modern Art. Cat Manzi was also in the mix with My Roomie, and Cats' NJ Classic bio is more unusual than most of the other drivers. He won it in 1981 with Caramore, and then 21 years later in 2002 with McArdle.

Spirit Of A Shark won the NJSS opening round in 1:49.4, the second fastest ever mile in the NJSS, but he is not a Meadowlands Pace eligible.

It has been now 19 years since the very first sophomore won Meadowlands, or any race, in under 1:50. Nihilator did it on August 3, 1985, pacing in 1:49.3 over Falcon Seelster. Modern Art will attempt to do what only Nihilator has done prior: win the Wilson and the Meadowlands Pace. That's right! It's been 19 years since this has been done, and only dad-Niatross-did it before that.