1991 Breeders Crown

All the ingredients were present in the 1991 freshman colt trot to make it an eagerly anticipated event. Several talented youngsters had taken their turns at the head of the class, and yet by the end of October it was fair to say that divisional honors were still undecided. Eleven colt trotters swelled the entry box, and a case could be made for each one to step forward into the spotlight on Breeders Crown night.

Royal Strength, a colt out of the top stakes mare Berna Hanover, was made the pre-race favorite. The blaze-faced son of Royal Prestige was the soul of consistency all season long, not missing a single check in his 14 starts. His back-to-back wins in an elimination and the final of the Bluegrass-Walnut Hall Cup at Lexington just prior to the Breeders Crown made him the people's choice. Baltic Striker, a $4,000 purchase in the spring, had made his owners more than $150,000, mostly on the New Jersey Sire Stake circuit. Other entrants included Program Speed, a half-brother to the top performer Cayster, who scored the fastest time in the field, a 1:56.1 mark, taken at Springfield, Illinois. Ship's Watch was the richest in the field, having finished second in the Peter Haughton Memorial at the Meadowlands. Canadian invader Sharp S Collins etched a sparkling slate of four wins and two seconds in six starts, including a three-length 1:57.1 romp at Lexington over many of the same colts that he would face in the Breeders Crown.

Everyone expected a good horse race. What came as a total shock to all involved was a stupendous wire-to-wire world record performance from a somewhat unexpected quarter. Bill Gale, driving the Per Eriksson-trained King Conch, erupted from the starting gate, simply left the talented field bobbing his wake, increased his lead at every pole and motored under the wire in 1:56.2 by an awesome eight lengths.

That margin of victory in Crown competition was last seen when three-year-old pacing colt Goalie Jeff decimated his peers on his way to "Horse of The Year" honors. It was to be exceeded one race later by the freshman trotting filly Armbro Keepsake, who trotted off by nine and a half lengths. The longest winning margin was recorded by only one horse, the mighty Mack Lobell, who drew off by 12 3/4 lengths in his sophomore Crown event, also enroute to "Horse of The Year" honors.

The time, a new world record, obliterated the standard set by Valley Victory in the 1988 Breeders Crown, also at Pompano Harness Track. Thomas Moberg's King Conch, a son of Speedy Crown and the Hambletonian Oaks winning-mare Conch, had left the Continental Farms Stable in early fall and gone into the Eriksson shedrow. Coming into the Breeders Crown, his record of four wins and three seconds in nine starts was outstripped by many of the other colts, and his earnings of $32,925 and mark of 1:59.1 were not particularly impressive.

But observers will not soon forget his performance on the racetrack that sultry Florida evening. Though trainer Per Eriksson felt the colt had a decent shot to win he was speechless over the time and manner of victory. For Eriksson, it was the first of two Breeders Crown titles he would claim that evening, as King Conch's sophomore stablemate Giant Victory was "Crowned" in his event. King Conch, bred by Hugh A. Grant Jr., president of the Hambletonian Society, became the tenth son of Speedy Crown to secure the Crown crystal.

Marshall and Lois Field's Royal Strength finished a solid, if distant second, but would be voted divisional champion after winning the Valley Victory stake at Garden State Park. Herschel Walker finished third for the Continental Farms Stable, and King Conch would assume the role of future book favorite for the Hambletonian.

The freshman pacing colts represent the embodiment of an owner’s hopes and dreams. In the brief timespan of a year, from purchase at the yearling sale to the following fall, a colt pacer can win $1 million, pace faster than any other colt has, cause their owners to dream of the three-year-old classic titles, a lucrative stallion career, untold riches,… Anything’s possible when your colt’s going good The Breeders Crown event for two-year-old pacers has been a proving ground for youngsters and a stage where owners highest hopes are finally realized.

Fifteen colts carried those hopes into the two $25,000 Crown eliminations. In the first, Digger Almahurst lowered the national season's mark by two full seconds to 1:52.3, with Scooter's Boy, driven by Norm McKnight, Jr., in hot pursuit for second. Shannon Recruit and Air Assault also qualified for the final.

The second elimination showcased Joseph Alflen's Direct Flight, a colt who had assumed a very high profile in the weeks leading up to the Breeders Crown. With eight wins and a second in nine starts and a mark of 1:52.1 taken at Lexington, Direct Flight seemed to peaking at the right time. A flashy three-length 1:53.1 romp in his elimination assured him .50 cents on the dollar popularity by post time of the final. Second place in that elimination went to Woodrow Wilson winner Sportsmaster, show honors to Metro Pace winner Shipp's Saint, and the final slot was taken by Carlsbad Cam. Surprisingly, the highly touted Western Hanover encountered enough traffic problems to just muster a fifth place finish, not good enough to advance to the final. Niatross winner Cole Muffler was a late scratch due to a high temperature on race day, and Shipp's Saint became another casualty by the final, scratching after warming up sore.

For trainer Kelvin Harrison, Direct Flight represented access to the same heady air he'd breathed in 1989, when he sent the lightly-regarded Sam Francisco Ben to the gate in the $900,000 Woodrow Wilson. Sam Francisco Ben, driven by Ron Pierce, won that race despite starting from the 10 post, and Harrison got a taste of just how high a special colt can take you. Right up to post time Harrison was confident his colt was a legitimate 1-2 shot, and once the finalists stepped on to the stone dust, only fate could affect the outcome.

The race began auspiciously. Digger Almahurst, guided by Doug Brown stepped quickest from the gate and by the middle of the first turn was settled enough to allow Scooter's Boy to take the lead from him. But by the 3/8 pole, Brown decided he wanted to go back to the front and paced right around Scooter's Boy to reclaim it. The fractions of :27.2 and :55.2 saw Direct Flight begin his advance on the leaders uncovered, and as they rounded the final turn, he drew within a length of Digger Almahurst.

A roar of disbelief rose from the crowd as Direct Flight broke into a wild gallop. A slight misstep was all it took to shelve the dreams of Alflen and Harrison for a long dreary winter. Meanwhile, owner Bob Grand's hopes were ballooning with every stride Digger Almahurst took that drew him closer to the wire. With Direct Flight out of the race Brown urged Digger Almahurst to call on any and all reserves. The son of Nihilator and the top stakes mare Dateable, responded with another burst of pace. Scooter's Boy, forced to maintain a rail-hugging pocket for most of the mile, had cut off his air and was fading to fifth. Air Assault found clear room to charge up the middle of the track in a futile attempt to lessen Digger Almahurst's victorious four-length margin. The time of 1:52.1 shaved another 2/5ths off the season's record, and Bob Grand, who had won two previous Breeders Crowns as a member of the Pro Group Stable that raced Town Pro, was deliriously happy to win another as the sole owner of Digger Almahurst. Sportsmaster finished third and Direct Flight returned to the barn unharmed except for the vagaries of dame fate.

Prub-Almahurst, a partnership offshoot of Almahurst Farm, claimed the breeders credit for Digger Almahurst, made all the more bittersweet by the untimely demise of the great race horse and stallion Nihilator later that winter. Babic Final winner Western Hanover, who like Royal Strength, won the last stakes race of the season, (Governor's Cup) was named divisional champion, while Digger Almahurst nailed the Canadian version, the O'Brien divisional championship honors.