by Rich Fisher, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Rich Fisher

Trenton, NJ — The mare Q And A gave racehorse owner John Mortberg his first Meadowlands triumph in 2004. She never had another victory but is still producing wins for Mortberg. Or at least winning horses.

Q And A is the mother of Mortberg’s top horse, Johns Polyview. The homebred 3-year-old colt pacer has won four of 10 lifetime starts, finished second on four occasions, and earned $195,120. Last season, Johns Polyview won three of seven races and was second in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship.

Johns Polyview entered this season rated No. 9 in the Hoof Beats/TrackMaster Predictive Rankings, which appear in the May issue of Hoof Beats and attempt to forecast the fastest 3-year-old pacers for 2013. Defending Pacer of the Year Captaintreacherous tops the list.

“That’s really nice to know,” Mortberg said about Johns Polyview’s ranking. “I was hoping we’d get on there somewhere. I didn’t know where, but I was hoping.”

Mortberg, who lives in Torrance, Calif., is hoping for big things on the East Coast for his 3-year-old this season. Johns Polyview makes his first stakes start of the year in Saturday’s $39,615 Simpson Memorial at the Meadowlands. Johns Polyview will start from post three in the seven-horse field, with David Miller driving for trainer Donna Marshall.

USTA/Ken Weingartner photo

Johns Polyview has banked $195,120 in his career.

Johns Polyview is the 5-2 second choice on the morning line behind the John Butenschoen-trained entry of Johny Rock and Duel In The Sun. Johny Rock was last season’s New Jersey Sire Stakes champion; Duel In The Sun was the Kentucky Sire Stakes champion.

In addition to the Simpson, Johns Polyview’s stakes schedule includes the Battle of the Brandywine, Pennsylvania Sire Stakes, Keystone Classic and Matron.

“If luck is still with us, we’ll be in the Matron in November,” Mortberg said. “Those are the races we’ve identified now, and that’s not to say he won’t be in some others. It depends on how he stays in condition. Hopefully he’s free of injury and also turns in some good performances along the way.”

Mortberg is a 1970 graduate of Cal Poly Pomona. After a career in municipal government and as a civic leader in Carson, Calif., he retired in 1997. He still remains active in civic life as a member of the Redondo Beach Elks, and contributes to fundraising efforts that benefit veterans and the handicapped.

While still working, John and a friend used to hit the track and talk about owning a horse.

“I’ve always been a track junkie all my life,” he said. “When I retired my friend called and said ‘Do you still have the dream?’ I knew what he meant right away.”

The two met on the East Coast, got some input from trainer Mike Fagliarone and claimed a horse.

“We thought we were on our way at that time,” he said. “But we got in and out of the business rather quickly with that first horse. We bought him one week and two weeks later he was claimed and we were out of business again. We made a little money but we were in and out.

“Unfortunately my friend and partner in the venture passed away within the year of that. I took a couple years off deciding what I wanted to do and resumed my interest in the business again. But since then I decided I only wanted to do it on my own, I didn’t want to have a partner.”

Mortberg claimed a series of horses with mixed results. After buying Q And A nine years ago, she gave John his first win at the Meadowlands.

“Shortly thereafter we decided to turn her into a broodmare and she gave me my first foal, Sir Sisu,” Mortberg said. “He’s still racing today and has made over $100,000.”

But when Johns Polyview, a son of stallion McArdle and full brother to Sir Sisu, was born Mortberg knew he wanted to race him and sold Sir Sisu at a private sale.

“I still watch his races from time to time,” Mortberg said. “I’m fond of all my horses.”

He is gaining a definite fondness for Johns Polyview, whose name is derived from Mortberg’s alma mater. While he was attending college, Cal Poly Pomona had a weeklong fair called “Polyvue.”

“I got involved in the university and I still am,” the Californian said. “I retained ties, did a lot of work with the university so I wanted to name a horse in commemoration of the university. I met with the president and was able to get approval for a series of names.

“The only problem is there is a company named Polyvue, so the USTA wouldn’t let me use the correct spelling. I had no problem using Polyview. If you don’t get it one way you get it the other way. If there are some Cal Poly alums out there in the country who happen to be at the racetrack, they’ll know all about it and what it means.”

They might even want to put a few bucks down on their unofficial mascot, who showed his potential in his first career race at Harrah’s Philadelphia, which he won by three-quarters of a length in 1:53.3. That gave Marshall and Mortberg the incentive to see what they had, and Johns Polyview finished second to Double The Dragon in a division of the Pennsylvania All-Stars.

From there, it was game on.

“We thought we had a horse that was quite capable and I’ve always wanted to race against quality horses if I ever had a good one,” Mortberg said.

In a division of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes at The Meadows, Johns Polyview won by a neck over Twilight Bonfire in a stakes- and track-record 1:51.1.

“He was really sharp that day,” Mortberg said. “We were vindicated there that this horse had potential.”

Two weeks later, he won another sire stakes division, this time at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in 1:52.4. In the final, at The Meadows, Johns Polyview led going into the final 20 yards before Good Day Mate found an opening, made a move and squeezed out a neck win.

Although he lives 3,000 miles away, Mortberg watches Johns Polyview race on his satellite TV hook-up. He makes an occasional visit to Central Jersey, where the horse is stabled at Gaitway Farms.

“He just goes about his business and he knows when he gets on the track, what to do,” Mortberg said. “He’s a smart horse in that he stays out of trouble usually, and when he wants to go, he goes.”

And that’s always quite a thrill for the Cal Poly Pomona alumni rooting section.

Especially considering the colt was bred by one of their very own.