Chapter Seven looks to pay off in Hambletonian

from the Meadowlands Media Relations Department

2011 Hambo Contender — Chapter Seven from USTA on Vimeo.

East Rutherford, NJ — Richard Gutnick knows he should be nervous.

But for some reason, he isn’t.

Maybe it is the fact that his horse, Chapter Seven, has overcome enough health issues in his career that trying to win the biggest harness racing event of the year will almost pale in comparison.

It won’t, of course. Winning Saturday’s $1.5 million Hambletonian would be huge for all involved — owners Gutnick, Gary Cocco, Jerry Silva and Southwind Farm as well as trainer Linda Toscano and driver Mike Lachance.

But considering the horse is competing at all after a long bout with pneumonia this year makes it a feel-good story worth enjoying.

“The funny part is I’m really not nervous,” Gutnick said. “I should be and I’m not. I’m nervous about the post draw. If we get the seven on in, we should be OK. If we get an eight, nine or 10 it will be very tough.

“But I think he’s good enough to overcome anything. Hopefully (Lachance) will give him a good trip and hopefully we’ll beat the other horses.”

Lisa photo

Chapter Seven stopped Big Rigs by a head in their Stanley Dancer Memorial division on July 16.

Chapter Seven finished a late-closing second to Broad Bahn in his Hambletonian elimination last weekend to give Gutnick his first Hambletonian finalist. While he waited 28 years for this moment, Cocco is enjoying the ride with the first horse he ever purchased. The Newtown Square, Pa., resident bought 25 percent of Chapter Seven, which was set in motion by Gutnick’s association with Cocco’s son, Lou.

“I wasn’t planning to sell but I said ‘Why not?’” said Gutnick, who also resides in suburban Philadelphia. “I knew Gary through another person I worked for but I really didn’t know him that well. We’ve become friendly ever since.”

It had been a trying year up to this point for the two friends, as Chapter Seven was shut down nearly all summer after having an outstanding 2010 season. Last year, the colt won seven of eight races, including the Matron Stakes at Dover Downs and the New Jersey Sire Stakes fall championship at Freehold Raceway. He earned $211,549.

Slowed by the pneumonia, Chapter Seven raced only once this year prior to the Hambletonian elim, winning a $166,000 division of the Stanley Dancer Memorial on July 16 at the Meadowlands.

Trainer Linda Toscano felt it was best to hold him out of the New Jersey Sire Stakes the week prior to the Hambletonian eliminations.

“We started five weeks behind everybody else,” Toscano said after the elim. “I have leaned on him to get him to this point. I discussed it with the owners and told them don’t be surprised if I give him the week off.

“When I heard the weather report and that it was going to be 110 degrees and we just had the Dancer and we had to come back in six days I just said to myself, ‘How can that benefit him?’ I had to believe the week off made the difference. He was trotting strongest at the wire.”

Gutnick approved of the move to hold Chapter Seven out of the sire stakes. After getting involved in racing as an owner in the mid-1980s, Gutnick got licenses to drive and train horses, and even picked up a training win at the Meadowlands, because he wanted to learn more about the sport.

“I know enough to be dangerous, so I give my input to the trainer,” said Gutnick, who is the CFO of a medical supply company. “But I know they’re working with the horse day in and day out, so the final decision is theirs.”

Chapter Seven’s ability to overcome obstacles is nothing new. A son of Windsong’s Legacy-La Riviera Lindy, he was purchased for $42,000 at the Standardbred Horse Sale (under the name Windsongs Proxy) and his family includes stakes-winner Sir Taurus.

His career got off to a tough start. First, he required stitches in an ankle after jumping a fence (“At least we know he’s athletic,” Toscano told Gutnick) and he later needed surgery to correct throat troubles. After paying the medical bills, Gutnick, a former bankruptcy trustee for the state of Delaware, told his wife he was going to rename the horse Chapter Seven. When she laughed heartily, he decided to use the name.

“To me it’s amazing what he’s overcome,” Gutnick said. “I know Linda has done everything in her power to get him here and it’s really now up to the horse. I’ve always had enough confidence in the horse and his desire.”

Because of that confidence, anticipation is replacing jitters as the big day approaches.