Harness Happenings During the Week of May 23-May 29, 2004
Thursday, May 27, 2004
by Kimberly A. Rinker

Carl Allen Passes
One of the classiest horsemen in the harness racing industry passed away on Monday, May 24. Carl Allen, 74, whose name is synonomus with the trotting end of racing, died after incurring an accident at his farm in Ocala, Florida.

Born in 1929, Carl bred and developed some top trotters over the decades, and was the only man in racing ever to win a race at the Meadowlands in his 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. He grabbed his first win at the Big M with Shank Hanover in 1979. He scored his richest victory in 1983, with his homebred standout Carl's Bird, taking the $1.7 million Woodrow Wilson. That same year his pacer Its Fritz became the fastest horse in all of harness race at the time racing on three different sized racetracks.

Carl and sons Rod, Mike, and Marty all drove and trained horses together-in fact, he and son Rod are the ONLY father-son tandem to each drive a winner in a million dollar race (Rod did it in 1992, winning the Meadowlands Pace with Carlsbad Cam).

His other top performers include Somollison, CR Renegade, CR Trackmaster, No Smoking, CR Kinetic, CR Commando, Dance With Me Henry and of course, his star trotting sire, Royal Troubador. In 1995 he campaigned the Horse of the Year, CR Kay Suzie who set the second-longest standing track record for trotters at the Meadowlands for a mile, that of 1:55.1 that she set while winning the Merrie Annabelle. That record still stands.

In that same vein, at 69-years-old, Carl piloted his CR Commando to a 1:53.2 clocking world record-the fastest ever for any two-year-old-set in 1998, it still stands. As do wonderful memories of Carl Allen.

Grand Circuit Action This Week at Hoosier
Hoosier Park will host Grand Circuit events this weekend, on Saturday, May 29. The featured events are the $500,000 (est.) Hoosier Cup (three-year-old colt pacers); a $100,000 Invitational Pace; four $100,000 (est.) Indiana Sires Takes Finals (three-year-olds, colts & fillies, trotters & pacers); and two $40,000 (est.) Genesis Series Finals (three-year-old filly trotters & pacers).

Shark Alert
Mark Kesmodel trains Spirit Of A Shark, a son of Cam's Card Shark who won his New Jersey elimination one week after he became the 18th horse to break the 1:50 barrier at the Meadowlands as a sophomore (1:49.4-NJSS opening round).

Spirit Of A Shark has post seven in the $500,000 New Jersey Classic, the 7th race on the Saturday, May 29th card.

"He trained well on Monday," Kesmodel noted. "I'd say I'm optimistic and confident at the same time. He's doing very well and coming along as I'd hoped, but this is a tougher group. He's trained down well all year since I got him (from Frank McEchearn). He's not a one-dimensional horse, he's got two to three moves, and at this level, you need that. You have to be versatile at this level to have a chance."

And Speaking of Sharks...
Sire Cams Card Shark was the 1994 NJ Classic winner, and he's already sired the winner of this race twice: in 2000 with Riverboat King and again in 2001 with Bettors Delight. Now, the double-million dollar winning son of Cam Fella, a Meadowlands Pace winner and Horse Of The Year (1994), will send out half the field--five of the ten finalists--in this years New Jersey Classic.

Bridgette Jablonsky is the vet at Hanover Shoe Farms and may know Cams Card Shark better than anyone.

"He is a very laid back horse," Bridgette said. "Great to work around, and he's not mean or especially high-spirited. His libido is not great and it can be difficult to collect his semen. If you have a mare or even a gelding he likes, he is OK, but if you don't, you may be in for a long afternoon. He is under the direct supervision of Patti Murphy (resident manager of the New Jersey Farm) and is in fact an extremely fertile, and of course, a great sire."

The Cat in the Hat
A driver's hat, that is. The leading driver in the history of the state of New Jersey (wins) is also the leading driver in the long history of the New Jersey Sire Stakes--Cat Manzi. If he can pull off a win with Apple Krisp in the Miss New Jersey this weekend, he'll join John Campbell as the only two drivers to win the NJ Classic and the Miss New Jersey--at least TWICE each. If he can pull off the double with Dr No and Apple Krisp, he'd become the FIRST driver to ever win both the NJ Classic and the Miss New Jersey in the SAME year.

"Apple Krisp surprised me last week," Cat noted. "I didn't know going in if she was anything special. I basically sat close with her, and pulled her out hoping she'd go on to qualify. But she was a handful, and just paced on, and took off all by herself. She stepped it up and just kept going like a real horse. I don't see any reason why she can't put forth that kind of effort again this week."

Cat Manzi holds the unique distinction of having won the New Jersey Classic twice-21 years apart. He captured the second ever NJ Classic in 1981 with Caramore (Howard Camden trained) and then in 2002 with McArdle. Now he looks for his third with the Remmen-trainee, Dr No.

"I am very happy with this colt," Cat said. "I was definitely going by Ron Pierces' horse (I Am A Fool) but then I got in tight and had to take a hold of him. I had to shut him down. He was just starting to roll (finished 3rd). I don't know if it was the change of environment (this No Nukes colt shipped in from Kawartha Downs where Doug Brown handled him), but he acted like he loved it here. He impressed me for sure. He drew well (post 3) and I think he stands a good chance of being right there with these other colts."

The Bunny is Back
John Stark gives Bunny Lake a clean bill of health as the Classic series resumes at Mohawk this weekend. "She been battling some sinus trouble, but she's OK now," Stark said. "I trained her at Saratoga and she seems very good."

Five Times A Charm
What do the following horses have in common: Artsplace, Bunny Lake, Life Sign, Harmonious and McArdle? All were driven three times or less by Cat Manzi. Cat drove Artsplace once and posted a lifetime mark on him of 1:49.2 on June 20, 1992. He drove Bunny Lake once and put HER lifetime mark of 1:49.4 (July-2002) on as well.

"I drove McArdle a few times, and he was a very top horse," Cat recalled. "Life Sign I drove maybe two or three times, but he wasn't at his best when I had him. That's funny-because right after that he went to the Jug and probably had the best race of his life. I got the drive on Harmonious in 1990 and won the World Trotting Derby with him. I love it when I get to drive horses like this. Usually it's when some of the other guys are out of town."

Retired Sires Continue to Influence Major Stakes
No Nukes and Balanced Image, the two richest sires in the pacing and trotting ranks currently standing in the sport both retired last fall. This came just two months after Balanced Image's son Amigo Hall won the Hambletonian, the second son of Balanced Image to do so in three years (Yankee Paco-2000). Balanced Image himself almost raced in the 1981 Hambletonian, but was unable to make it due to injury. He raced at age four in 1982 and then retired to become one of history's most prolific sires. He was 25 Years old last year when his son Amigo Hall won the Hambo.

No Nukes raced in the NJ Classic in 1982, finishing fourth as the favorite. Now, at age 25, he looks to duplicate what Balanced Image did a year ago-to be a quarter century old and send out the winner of a major stakes race. He has one son and two daughters looking to hit paydirt this weekend in the New Jersey Classic and the Miss New Jersey. Dr No in the Classic, and Gina Spur and BJS Sunset in the Miss New Jersey. No Nukes is already the leading sire in these two events through the years, with a stunning NINE credits-five Miss New Jerseys and four NJ Classic winners. And three of his four sons who won the NJ Classic are double-millionaires: Jate Lobell (1987), Die Laughing (1991) and Western Hanover (1992). Dexter Nukes (1989), is the other.