by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — When J.D. Finn received the call he definitely needed to pull up a chair. He always knew Captain Greedy was talented, but never thought he had the credentials to be the 2015 Illinois Horse of the Year.

“To say I was surprised is an understatement,” said the horse’s co-owner, conditioner and pilot. “As far as 3-year-old trotting colts go he was the best in his division, but Horse of the Year? I thought there were other older horses out there that deserved that honor. Not that I am complaining. I was just shocked an older Open horse was not selected.”

The son of $170,000 yearling purchase Yankee Valor and the Armbro Tropicana mare Tropical Trixie will seek his first triumph of 2016 on Thursday (Jan. 28) when he faces nine rivals at Hawthorne Racecourse in the eighth race. Jared Finn will be holding the lines on the 6-1 morning line selection.

“We have tried him at Dayton and brought him to Hawthorne,” Finn said. “He’s been tying up on us, but we have been working on him. We will get it figured out over time and I think he will be just fine when we do. It could be that we have just been shipping him around.”

REB photo

Captain Greedy won seven races and earned nearly $93,000 on the way to being named Illinois Horse of the Year.

Captain Greedy, also owned by Charles Doehring, earned $60,593 from 17 trips to the post as a freshman. Although he failed to capture the Prairie State’s most noteworthy stakes such as the Lincoln Land or Cardinal, the gelding hit the board in both contests and was victorious in the $30,000 State Fair final.

It was as a sophomore that Captain Greedy truly blossomed. He collected just under $93,000 and posted a record of 17-7-6-2 with a mark of 1:55.4. Captain Greedy was a model of consistency as he was second in the $16,200 Cardinal Stake on May 30, annexed the $20,600 Hanover Stake on July 4 and the $74,000 Su Mac Lad final on Sept. 12.

He closed out 2015 with a sixth, fifth and third at Dayton Raceway and was eighth and ninth in his two engagements this year at Hawthorne. Finn is confident the gelding, who has banked just over $153,000 lifetime, will regain his form.

“He has never done anything wrong from the moment I hooked him up for the first time,” he said. “He was always just a very nice colt. I never had to do anything special with him and he is a dream to drive. You really can drive this horse with two fingers. He will do anything you ask him to and he is so willing.”

Finn and Doehring thought enough of this mating that they also have Captain Greedy’s full younger sibling, Lilbitoftrixie. Despite a lack of experience, the filly has one win on her resume versus her older brother’s 16. Finn is not quite as enamored of this youngster as he was of Captain Greedy.

“She has kind of disappointed me,” he said. “But then again she was sick most of the year. She kept coming up with mucus all the time. I think once she is healthy she will be a nice horse, but the colt was so outstanding from day one. I’m not sure if she will ever be the horse he is.”

The gleam of his recently acquired crown does not blind Finn in regards to Captain Greedy’s future.

“I don’t plan on going East with him,” he said. “We have bought some horses to race in Indiana and other places so we don’t plan on concentrating in Illinois, but we will definitely keep racing him here. We are not opposed to sending him other places to compete. All I can hope for is that he will be a nice Open horse. He certainly has the ability, the gait and the attitude. I think he has a bright future and I’m looking forward to seeing what he will accomplish.”