Like fine wine, Art Attack only gets better with age
August 18, 2004,by Lynne Snierson, publicity director, Rockingham Park
SALEM, NH — Like fine wine, good cheese, or a work of art, Art Attack only gets better as he ages.
The huge, handsome Standardbred may be 10-years-old now, but with nary a gray hair in his glossy bay coat and those bright, sparkling eyes, he does not look a day older than horses half his age.
Rockingham Park photo
Art Attack and driver-trainer Ted Wing go through their paces in preparation for the New Hampshire Sweepstakes
“He’s a good-looking guy, isn’t he?,” owner and trainer Ted Wing asked as he fed carrots to his stable star. “I call him ‘Gramps’, but the truth is he can still get it done out on the racetrack. Every year, he’s gotten better.”
Wing out to know. When Art Attack was age seven in 2001, Wing claimed the regally bred son of Artsplace and the Tyler B mare Seven O’Clock on Hambletonian Day at the Meadowlands for $50,000. From that point forward, Art Attack has brought home over $430,000 in purses.
“Claiming an aged horse, and then having him win like that, well, that’s something that just does not happen with older horses,” said Wing, who is based at the Meadowlands but raced at Rockingham Park from 1969 until 1976. “That’s like winning the lottery.”
Wing plans to win the sweepstakes — the $112,000 New Hampshire Sweepstakes, that is — with Art Attack at Rockingham on Saturday.
The other eight contenders he’ll face are all younger than he, and the two morning line favorites, Artesian and Boulder Creek, are each only 4-years-old and in their racing prime. Nevertheless, Wing, who remains the winningest driver in Rockingham PArk history, is unfazed.
“He is one very tough dude,” Wing said, “He wants to win. The younger horses are quicker, but he is more determined. And he does not get tired. A slow pace is what can hurt this horse, but if the pace is fast, he’ll be right there. If the race is close, he does not lose.”
With Art Attack, size does matter.
“He’s the biggest Standardbred I’ve ever seen. He’s 17 hands high, and the last time we weighed him he tipped the scales at 1,247 pounds,” said Wing, who has been racing harness horses for 40 years. “He’s huge but he is not clummsy. He’s graceful. When he’s out there pacing he just floats over the track.And he’s so long. He will get by other horses just on his length.”
In post position order with driver and odds, the field for the New Hampshire Sweepstakes includes Artesian, Michel Lachance, 2-1; Boulder Creek, Bruce Ranger, 5-2; Landmark Honor, Irving Mauran, 12-1; Art Attack, Ted Wing, 8-1; Glors Boy, James Marohn, Jr., 20-1; Coastocoast Yankee, James Pantaleano, 6-1; Whosurboy, David Ingraham, 6-1; Armbro Animate, Gary Mosher, 9-2; and Whatanartist, Jim Morand, 15-1.
Coastocoast Yankee and Whosurboy will race as an entry, and Joshua is also eligible for the race.
On Sweepstakes Day, everybody age 18 and over who pays admission will receive a free instant scratch ticket from the Granite State Lottery, and everyone may also register to win a child’s mountain bike from Coca-Cola. The track will host the Coors Light/Rockingham Park Harness Handicapping Contest, and there is no fee to entry, although completed contest forms must be turned in no later than 12:45 p.m. (EDT). Cash prizes of $1,000 will be paid to the top three finishers in the finals, to be held on the following Saturday.
Post time will be at 1:05 p.m., and the New Hampshire Sweepstakes will go as the 10th race on the 11 race card and will start at approximately 4:15 p.m.
On Wednesday, Bruce Ranger won two races to keep his local win streak alive, and his record setting meet total now stands at 170 victories.