by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — It was no simple task to get Take My Picture to the races and his conditioner, Taylor Gower, admits he still has a lot to learn, but has faith in his ability.

“Believe it or not, training him down was terrible and he never went a traditional training mile until after his first baby race,” said Gower. “He would virtually stop on the track and wouldn’t go. It was a constant struggle to find a horse to train with him, because he wouldn’t go unless another horse was in front of or alongside him. It wasn’t always feasible to have a horse train with him, so I trained him half-miles and quarter-miles to get him down to race speed. He was a bit of a project, but I think right now he is finally starting to get it, although he doesn’t have it all figured out yet.”

Gower is hoping that Take My Picture could find himself getting his picture taken after the $573,770 Yonkers Trot final, the first leg of the Triple Crown, on Saturday night (July 10) at Yonkers Raceway.

Tom Berg photo

Take My Picture (#4) was second in his Yonkers Trot elimination, a head behind Senor Glide.

The son of Classic Photo-Habit’s Lady, who is owned by Joseph and Laurie Davino has earned $126,366 and has started 21 times with two victories, seven second-place finishes and two thirds. As a freshman, he participated mainly in New Jersey Sire Stake contests and from nine starts this year has six second-place finishes. The gelding has been beaten on the wire on several of those contests, including the $52,000 Mr Muscleman Final at the Meadowlands on May 21, and his connections feel that soon he will be the one getting his picture taken after the race mile.

“He deserves to win a race this year,” Gower said. “At the Meadowlands he cut the miles out for the horses that got their picture taken. It wasn’t that he was tired, it’s just that he gets passed, stops and then comes on to race again. He still acts like a green 2-year-old and he just hasn’t gotten the picture yet.

“In the ($156,000) Dexter (when he made a break before the quarter and finished seventh) I think he was a little too fresh,” he continued. “It was his one miscue this year. The wind was blowing and he was jumping out of his skin. He wants to race and has as good of an attitude as you can get, but his fault is he doesn’t want to settle down and relax in a race.”

After seeing Ray Schnittker ride champion Deweycheatumnhowe, Gower decided it might be an excellent way to further physically prepare his horses and Take My Picture was the first horse in his 24 horse stable that he rode.

“He’s like a big pet really,” he explained. “He does have his quirks though and I think riding him has helped keep him fit.”

After the Yonkers Trot, the gelding is headed to the Stanley Dancer and possibly onto the Hambletonian. It simply depends on how he performs in the coming weeks.

“He is in all the premier trotting events,” Gower said. “But we are just going week and week and letting him tell us where to go. He needs to jump up and win one of these to go to the Hambletonian, but he does need some luck.

“In the Matron as a 2-year-old he had the seven hole, then he drew the nine hole in the Mr Muscleman,” he continued. “Now he has the seven hole for Saturday night. I think he’s as good as anyone in the field, but if we had drawn better I would be more optimistic about winning the race. The seven hole is a handicap, but it is a horse race and if he gets that right trip, things could work out Saturday night. I don’t think we have even touched on what he could actually be and he’s still a green horse. He just needs to keep learning.”

Here is the field for the $573,770 Yonkers Trot, in post position order, with named drivers, trainers and morning line odds:

1. Senor Glide–-Cat Manzi—Jimmy Takter–6-5
2. Carnegie–-Stephane Bouchard–Kathleen LaMontagne–4-1
3. On The Tab-–David Miller—Jimmy Takter–6-5
4. Big Stick Lindy-–Ray Schnittker—Ray Schnittker–3-1
5. Hard Livin–-Ron Pierce—Jimmy Takter–6-5
6. Shaq Is Back-–Steve Smith–Ray Schnittker–3-1
7. Take My Picture-–Jeff Gregory–Taylor Gower–8-1
8. Waldorf Hall–-Jordan Stratton–Per Henriksen–15-1

There is a three-horse Jimmy Takter Stable entry (Hard Livin, On The Tab and Senor Glide) and a two-horse Ray Schnittker Stable entry (Big Stick Lindy and Shaq Is Back).

Owners: 1. Christina Takter, John Fielding, Frederick Hertrich III; 2. Kathleen LaMontagne; 3. Christina Takter, John Fielding, Louie Camara, Falkbolagen AB; 4. Ray Schnittker, KR Breeding, Steven Arnold, Jerry Silva; 5. Christina Takter, John Fielding, Falkbolagen AB; 6. Givemethecredit Stable; 7. Joseph Davino, Laurie Davino; 8. Steve Organ, ASA Farm.