by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — Obviously they had their eye on him because they thought Lorenzo Dream, who was recently honored as Saratoga Casino and Raceway’s Older Trotter of the Year, Trotter of the Year, and Horse of the Year, possessed the necessary attributes to race well and pick up some checks, but Jackie Rousse, the gelding’s trainer, acknowledged the horse’s name and not his potential may have been the final factor for sealing the deal.

“We purchased him very late in the fall of last year,” explained the 42-year-old Hudson Falls, N.Y., resident. “I have an agent I work through that called and said the horse was for sale. Mr. (Vincent) Laurenzo and I had watched him race for a few starts before that and liked the horse. Obviously the names of the horse and Mr. Laurenzo kind of went together. He was real interested in the horse, but the name situation was a large part of what made this click.”

Bred in Quebec, the 4-year-old altered son of Taurus Dream-Langala Dream raced as a homebred for Reve Avec Moi Dreamwithme Stable of Ontario before Vincent Laurenzo, of Clifton Park, N.Y., bought him on Dec. 2, 2010. Before entering Rousse’s barn, Lorenzo Dream trotted 16 pari-mutuel miles during his freshman and sophomore seasons, earned $56,747 with a resume of 3-6-2 and a lifetime mark of 1:55.4s.

Dave Oxford photo

Lorenzo Dream has won 16 times in 2011 and banked $155,860.

Since he began competing for his new connections, the gelding has been photographed in the winner’s circle on 17 occasions, with four second and four third place finishes. While performing primarily at Saratoga, he has collected $159,110 in purse money, lowered his speed badge to 1:54.4h and is tied with Chat Chat atop the North American polls as the winningest trotter of the year with 16 triumphs. He also made more money at the upstate New York venue in one season than any other horse in the track’s history.

“We raced him one start and then gave him time off,” said Rousse, who was selected as the 2006 Horsewoman of the Year and 2010 Trainer of the Year by the Saratoga Chapter of USHWA. “Since the track closes from December until March and he was a 3-year-old coming into his 4-year-old year, we thought that would be the best plan. We brought him back in March to qualify and then began racing him in April.”

This is the second time in four years a horse owned by Laurenzo and conditioned by Rousse captured the Horse of the Year hardware. In 2008 Prime Interest earned the same accolades and was also named Older Trotter of the Year in 2010. In fact, he was indirectly involved with why Lorenzo Dream came to reside at the Spa.

“Mr. Laurenzo owned Prime Interest and we were kind of looking for a horse to replace him in the Open Trot here at Saratoga,” Rousse, who began training horses in 2004, said. “That really probably was the biggest reason behind his purchase. I expected him to be competitive, but I certainly didn’t expect him to be as dominant as he was. We got lucky.”

Like most nice horses, Lorenzo Dream has a great attitude which enhances his ability.

“I would say he prefers coming from off the pace, but he’s won some races from the front end as well,” Rousse said. “You really couldn’t ask for a nicer horse; he doesn’t do anything wrong.”

The gelding is currently enjoying a bit of a winter break, but Rousse will follow the same program in 2012 she implemented for this season’s campaign.

“He’s done racing until March,” she said. “When we bring him back, we will do all the same things as last year. Things really did work out with him.”