by Ellen Harvey, Harness Racing Communications

Freehold, NJ — Captaintreacherous, from the first crop of 2008 Horse of the Year Somebeachsomewhere, made a big splash with his first stakes appearance, winning the $309,050 Woodrow Wilson on Hambletonian Day (August 4) at the Meadowlands Racetrack in 1:49.3.

Captaintreacherous took the lead on the backstretch and never looked back, winning the Wilson for 2-year-old male pacers by 10-1/4 lengths. The time was a stakes and track record. Western Shooter had set the previous Meadowlands track record for a 2-year-old pacer of 1:50 in 2001. Hail The Taxi finished second and Martini Hanover was third. Captaintreacherous paid $2.60 to win.

USTA/Mark Hall photo

Captaintreacherous set a stakes and track record of 1:49.3 in the Woodrow Wilson at the Meadowlands Racetrack.

Captaintreacherous, who was the 1-5 favorite, is owned by Brittany Farms, Marvin Katz, Joe Sbrocco and White Birch Farm. He has won two of three races for trainer Tony Alagna and driver Tim Tetrick.

“It’s a great feeling to win with that horse on Hambo Day, especially to have won (the Wilson) with Major Bombay last year,” said Alagna. “The way he did it and the time he did it in, it was a great thrill. He showed he had the potential to go that kind of mile. It doesn’t surprise me that he went that fast.

“He’ll go to Canada next. He’ll go to the Metro (August 25 eliminations at Mohawk Racetrack) for sure; we’re up in the air about the Nassagaweya (August 18 at Mohawk). We’ll play it by ear.”

Alagna says the colt seems to revel in his work.

“It’s just the way that he does it,” he said. “When Timmy drove him the first time in a baby race he came back and said, ‘Wow, this horse is so professional.’ He acts like a horse that’s done it his whole life. That’s how he trained down. When you have a horse with his kind of talent and you can team it up with the manners and laid-back demeanor, then you have the potential to have a superstar. It’s just a matter of how far it goes.

“In our game of speed nowadays, it’s so important that a horse is able to leave for position, completely relax, go again, and completely relax. Our game has changed so much, where it’s touch and go and speed and release. The horse needs the manners to handle that and not get too hot.

“He’s always been my top horse from the get-go. He had the attributes of a good horse and the pedigree behind him to get him there.

“He was my favorite colt (at the sale, $250,000 at the Lexington Selected Sale). We liked his pedigree, we liked him as an individual. He was great at the farm. When you’re buying horses with Brittany, they use me, Trevor Ritchie and Perry Soderberg. There were three of us that gave him high marks and Myron Bell approved his pedigree. It was definitely a team effort. Trevor and Perry loved the colt.”

“He was very impressive,” Tetrick said. “At the top of the lane, I just asked him a little bit and he paced right away from them. He coasted all the way to the wire. He’s a very nice colt. He takes care of himself. He doesn’t know how fast he is going and that’s the best attribute of this colt.”

Captaintreacherous’s mother, Worldly Treasure, is a full sister to pacing mare Worldly Beauty, who was a two-time Dan Patch Award winner and earned nearly $2 million lifetime.

“He always showed that he had that little bit extra you look for in a top colt,” Alagna said. “He went through everything so easy and every time you asked him he just found a little bit more. He was just a very professional horse from the get-go.

“I wasn’t (surprised by the time in the Wilson) because I think that highly of this colt. Timmy’s done a great job of managing him for us. I think he’s that kind of horse.”

— Ken Weingartner also contributed to this story