The Canadian Sportsman
Archive for February, 2010
February 10, 2010
After off-season surgery to remove a large bone chip from his back ankle, last season’s Cinderella of the trotting ranks, Zorgwijk Kingpin, is back jogging in preparation for his three-year-old season and for what his excited connections hope will be a continuation of the fairytale.
Featured in our Dec. 3, 2009 edition, Zorgwijk Kingpin was a $3,700 yearling that trotted his way to four wins, $244,716, and a mark of 1:56.1 under the tutelage of trainer Ronnie MacLean, who shares ownership with Murray Neilson, Joe Serratore and Scot Wood.
Following his surgery in late November, Kingpin got an extended break for rest and relaxation and now, Serratore reports, is back jogging and looking lively for the season ahead.
“Watching him jog around the track, it looks like he has not missed a beat,” said Serratore, who said plans call for MacLean to jog the gelding for another few weeks before training him down and returning to race action in late May.
“We are staked to race 18 times for total purses of $3.1 million. Of course, as a three-year-old, the competition in racing becomes tougher,” he said.
“Kingpin looks good, he is healthy — touch wood — and he is keeping us all in excitement mode for the upcoming season.”
Miller becomes a media darling
Marcus Miller has come a long way since we featured him, along with his father and top trainer Erv, back in our July 3, 2008 issue.
Since then, he’s become a media darling in the Chicago-area news for his unique dual identity — DePaul University student by day; catch driver at Maywood and Balmoral at night.
Over the past few months, the 20-year-old has been featured in the Chicago Tribune as well as a television feature on Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
It is a hectic schedule, running back and forth between the tracks and the university — where Miller, now a junior, is working towards a degree in marketing.
According to his proud father Erv, Marcus is excelling at both endeavors.
“They just started back racing at Balmoral. The day they came out to do the story on him for Chicago SportsNet (on Jan. 27), he won three qualifiers in the morning, went to his classes in the afternoon and then won four races back at the track at night,” said Erv.
Marcus’ adventures have also caught the eye of his aunt, Julie Miller, who is married to Erv’s brother Andy — two more Millers who have increased their Q rating of late, thanks to eye-catching older trotter Lucky Jim.
“Marcus is loving life right now. What a life for a kid… going to college and racing horses at night,” said Julie, with a laugh.
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February 05, 2010
Dave Palone had a canine whip caddy at The Red Mile in 2006 (in this Dave Landry photo).
Now…. You write the cutline. Click “comment”.
February 05, 2010
I’ve been in enough backstretches to know that the words ‘harness racing’ and ‘classy’ don’t always go hand in hand.
The place where they always seem to dovetail, however, is the O’Brien Awards, an event consistently organized and executed by Standardbred Canada — specifically through the hard work of Kathy Wade Vlaar and her crew — in a way that never forgets the class.
Between various racetracks and industry associations across North America, the banquet circuit can become a grind, glad-handing one’s way through another roast beef buffet.
The O’Brien’s are different, adding the glitz with the black tie dress code, iconic trophy, elegant venue, superb meal and high overall production values from the video tributes to the well-rehearsed hosts that keep the awards presentation moving along at a reasonable pace — which, in itself, is no small feat. Taken in sum, it’s an event befitting of our nation’s top honours.
Aside from the aesthetics, the O’Brien committee also holds its own, taking pains to develop fair and reasonable eligibility criteria, then publishing the vote totals when all is said and done to ensure transparency.
When there is controversy, as there seems to be every year regarding the eligibility of certain horses and people, the awards committee acts swiftly and decisively so all parties know where they stand.
This year was no different, when the Ontario Racing Commission announced the suspension of Bulletproof Enterprises, owner of three nominated horses, just 48 hours prior to the awards. In response to the suspension, the committee quickly assembled and declared the Bulletproof horses ineligible for O’Brien honours, allowing the evening to proceed with dignity and without ambiguity.
For an event that was designed to recognize the horses and people who have made the greatest contribution to Canadian harness racing, let us not forget to congratulate those responsible for the O’Brien Awards themselves, for developing and maintaining a tradition for which we should all be proud.
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