by Charlene Sharpe, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Charlene Sharpe

Seaford, DE — On the Delmarva peninsula, the name Givens is just about synonymous with sire stakes success.

Delaware trainer Les Givens, as well as his brother Wayne, year after year produce some of the top contenders in local stakes action. The former — with more than a dozen Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund final wins — has conditioned young standouts such as Nanticoke Snazz 5,1:58.2h ($139,775), All This Snazz 6,1:57.1f ($202,980), The Queen Of Trash p,3,1:50.4 ($478,354) and Juanita 4,1:57.2h ($403,621).

He is currently expanding on the success of one of his recent stakes winners, Tough Challenger. The former Maryland Sire Stakes winner set the track record for 4-year-old trotting horses at Harrington Raceway last week with a 1:56.1 win in the Open.

“He’s been natural from day one,” said Givens, who trains a stable of more than 30 horses.

Charlene Sharpe photo

Orlando Greene jogs Tough Challenger at Les Givens’ farm in Seaford, Del. The 4-year-old has banked $172,935 in his career with 18 wins in 31 lifetime starts.

Teresa Givens’ Nanticoke Racing and Delaware driver Jim Morand own the son of You Betcha-I Juanna Win (Super Juan). Les Givens picked the colt out as a yearling at the Sept. 2008 Chick’s Harness Horse Sale in Harrington.

The pair was optimistic about their $7,500 purchase from the start, as Tough Challenger’s mother is a full sister to the dam of Juanita, who made them more than $400,000.

Givens said the colt trained down well as a 2-year-old and once he reached the races he won six of seven starts, taking a mark of 1:59.4f.

“He won all the Maryland stakes,” Morand said.

His success continued into his 3-year-old year. He boasted wins in the Maryland Sire Stakes final, a pair of Maryland Race Fund events and a Junior Open at Harrington. Fittingly, he took his lifetime mark of 1:54.4 in his biggest race of the year, the $52,000 Mr Muscleman series final at the Meadowlands.

In spite of his early success Morand says Tough Challenger has matured with age and should not disappoint as an older trotter.

“He’s nice and manageable,” he said. “As a young horse I’d always send him because he got a little grabby.”

The trotter wears no unusual equipment, Givens said, racing in just hind shin boots and a blind bridle. He doesn’t require any special training methods either, jogging and training a mile and a half on a regular basis.

“Nothing special,” according to Orlando Greene, Givens’ assistant trainer. “He’s pretty easy.”

He’s not hard to keep happy, either, with his two biggest enjoyments being horse treats and getting turned out in the field, according to groom Wendi Buxton.

“He’s a good horse to be around,” she said. “But he is the big mouth of the barn.”

The low maintenance horse has started 2011 off well, with three wins from seven starts and earnings of $27,580.

Greene said he was impressed with the horse’s 1-1/16th mile win at Yonkers in just his second start back after a winter layoff. For driver Cat Manzi, Tough Challenger made a three wide move at the three-quarter pole to take the lead, crossing the wire in 2:03.3.

Fotowon photo

Tough Challenger crossed the wire in a track record 1:56.1 on April 27 at Harrington.

The trotter’s best race thus far, though, he says was last week’s track record mile at Harrington. Greene said he’d expected the horse to race well that night.

“He’d trained super that week,” he said.

Recalling the race against some of the area’s best trotters, Morand said he’d hoped to work out a two hole trip, but when that didn’t happen he was forced to change his strategy. He situated the trotter third behind Second Hand News and Allmar Surprise. At the three-quarter marker he made his move.

“When I had to come he came,” he said. “He responded.”

Tough Challenger bested his competition by a length, crossing the wire in 1:56.1 with a :29.1 final quarter.

Lifetime, he now has a record of 18-4-1 from 31 starts.

Givens plans to continue racing Tough Challenger locally to prepare for a summer series at Ocean Downs.