The Canadian Sportsman
July 22, 2010
A tip of the hat to the eight Dream Stable managers who count newly minted Meadowlands Pace champion One More Laugh among the three-year-olds in their barns.
As discussed previously here, one man, trainer Ray Schnittker, has One More Laugh in his barn — both literally and figuratively.
Reached by phone, one day after winning his first Meadowlands Pace to become only the sixth trainer in history to harness both a Hambletonian (Deweycheatumnhowe) and Pace winner, Schnittker got a chuckle over his jump up to 60th position in the contest thanks to One More Laugh’s big win.
“I like that thing, the contest,” said Schnittker, who selected eight of his own trainees when he filled out his entry form back in January and had no qualms about doing so, saying that a trainer simply must have confidence in his own crew.
Not surprisingly, when playfully reminded that the Dream Stable earnings were intended to represent fictional earnings for the contestants, Schnittker responded with a laugh once more.
The seven others who selected One More Laugh and were credited $500,000 for the win — but didn’t get to actually hoist the Pace trophy or cash any purse cheques — were as follows:
Jack Tindale (currently ranked #116)
Wayne Rowe (#185)
N R Clark (#236)
John Kuhns (#250)
Old Quarters Stable (#261)
Dave Landry (#270)
Thomas Wray (#274)
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July 12, 2010
The North America Cup final may have been the first kingmaker of the Dream Stable season, with the 261 managers who selected Sportswriter for their stables catapulting to the top of the heap, but the upcoming million-dollar Meadowlands Pace will be another huge watermark for the prime contenders.
Will Sportswriter’s supporters surge even farther ahead of the competition? Will Pace elimination winner Rock N Roll Heaven’s backers take back the momentum? Will one of the other finalists, perhaps a horse that was only picked by one or two Dream Stable entrants, slide a few unexpected owners in the driver’s seat?
Just for fun, let’s look at just how popular the Pace finalists were back when the stables were picked at the beginning of the year.
Sportswriter won the early popularity contest in a landslide, with 261 Dream Stable managers selecting him as their go-to three-year-old colt pacer.
The breakdown for the other finalists is as follows:
Rockin Image (189)
Rock N Roll Heaven (26)
One More Laugh (8)
Kyle Major (3)
OK Commander (1)
Fred And Ginger (0)
Im Gorgeous (0)
Nova Artist (0)
Valentino (0)
Clearly, things are about to get very interesting. Good luck to all and enjoy the Pace.
July 07, 2010
Okay, so I’m a huge dork. I get a tremendous amount of joy out of seeing the new horse names each year, as well as some of the most curious name changes that people come up with. Getting a chuckle out of the cute and/or clever and/or groan-inducing names is really the only way to keep my sanity during the many hours of Dream Stable data entry.
Of course, the theory behind many of the names can be easily deduced by the sire, the dam or the breeder’s standard prefix or suffix. There are others, however, that I’d love to know the story behind.
Here are a few highlights from my running list this time around:
The English Lit Award:
Madame Defarge; To Kill A Rockingbird
The Great Expectations Award:
Goshen Seelster; The Queen; Im A Centerfold; Prodigal Seelster; Man O War
The Lower Expectations Award:
Entry Hanover; Break Even; Food Money
The Best Rocknroll-insired name (and, believe me, there’s a lot to choose from) Award:
But I Like It; Stoneroll Jackson
The Worst Rocknroll-inspired name (and believe me, there’s a lot to choose from) Award:
Arockalypse Wow, which has thankfully been changed to Pretty Katherine.
The Tiger Woods-Jagged Little Pill Award:
Andover The Prenup; Home Wrecker; Massive Drama; Philander
The At-A-Theater-Near-You Award:
Invictus; Mr Josey Wales; Shutter Island; Field Of Dreams
The Cheeky Wordplay Award:
Mater Deo; Nobama
The Two-Men-Enter-One-Man-Leave Award:
Master Blaster
The Workin’ For A Livin’ Award:
Mailman Bob; Salesman Joe; Pastor Stephen
The Most Curious Name Change Award:
Royal Lookout becomes Royal Outlook…. Anyone?... Anyone?... Bueller?
The My-Spellchecker-Will-Never-Forgive-Me Award:
Gntlmnstarturngins
Anyone come across a new horse name that you love or hate? Something that gave you a chuckle? Drop us a line by clicking “Comment” below.
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