from Harness Racing Communications, a division of the USTA

Freehold, NJ — Like a big freight train that needs a long stretch of track to get up to full speed, Mister Big spent a long time tuning up for the 2008 season.

Mister Big raced and won five qualifiers, starting in early April, before he made a start for money, on May 25. Since that time, he’s won two races and been second, with his most recent victory coming in 1:48.1 — the fastest mile ever on a five-eighths-mile track — in his $50,000 elimination race for the $500,000 Ben Franklin Final on Sunday, June 15, at Harrah’s Chester outside Philadelphia. Artistic Fella won the other Ben Franklin elim in 1:48.2.

“It was by design,” trainer Virgil Morgan, Jr. said of Mister Big’s conditioning regimen. “In getting his game plan ready, you can’t really treat him like an ordinary horse. Considering the money he made last year ($1.3 million), he was going to have to go right in a free for all, preferred or open. Knowing they were going to go sub-1:50 right off the bat, I didn’t want to race him until he was more than ready. We just took our time; hopefully it will pay off later in the year.”

Mister Big, owned by Joseph Muscara, won his qualifiers in 1:56.1, 1:56.4 (the first two at Hoosier Park), 1:51.2, 1:52.2 and 1:50.4 (the final three at The Meadowlands). He is driven this year by Brian Sears.

“I really didn’t want to go on any more after the (1):51 mile so we backed up and went in (1):52 and then we went again knowing what he was going to have to do right off the bat,” Morgan said. “It held true. His first start at Chester (on May 25) he had to go in 1:50 and he won. Then the next start they went in (1):47.3 at the Meadowlands (he was second by 1-3/4 lengths to Soul Chaser) so we’re definitely glad we kept him on the routine that we did.”

Mister Big got a long rest at the end of the 2007 season, leaving the track on November 3 and not returning to Morgan’s training center in Bloomingburg, Ohio until the new year.

“After the American-National (he was third in that race on November 3), we quit with him for 60 days,” Morgan said. “He’d had a long season, he’d been racing since January ’07, he spent the (early) winter at Spring Haven Farm. He’s filled out, he put a little more muscle on; he was always a good looking horse, but he looks the part now.”

Morgan says the horse also has the ability to keep a sharp mental attitude throughout a rigorous season.

“You just try not to empty them out when you don’t have to; no need to make him do any more than he has to,” Morgan said. “He’ll do what you want; you just have to let him know. I was glad to see when Brian cleared at the head of the stretch (in the Ben Franklin elimination) he kind of grabbed him up and took care of him as opposed to chasing him. Those situations will catch up with you later in the year. You take care of them when you can, because sometimes they are all out to do what they have to.”

Mister Big will need to live up to his name in Sunday’s $500,000 Ben Franklin Pace after drawing post eight, on the extreme outside of the starting gate.

“With him, he’s not a front-runner, so the post doesn’t make as big a difference,” Muscara said. “The only trouble at Chester is it’s a short stretch, which hurts when you’re coming from behind. But at this stage, I think he’s a little better this year than last year. He got a little stronger.”

Artistic Fella, last week’s other elimination winner, drew post three. Trained by Steve Elliott and driven by Tim Tetrick, he nearly equaled Mister Big’s record time, pacing 1:48.2. Artistic Fella, a 5-year-old who has earned $1.8 million lifetime, won the 2006 Meadowlands Pace and last year’s Breeders Crown.

The remainder of the Franklin field, from the rail, includes (with driver): Total Truth (Yannick Gingras), Won The West (Greg Grismore), Tivoli Hanover (Tony Morgan), Mr Feelgood (Andy Miller), Special Report (Larry Stalbaum), and Sharky Osborne (Eric Goodell).

Post time for Sunday’s first race is 3:00 p.m.