by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — Although he has yet to eclipse the $20,000 mark in purse money and drew the seven hole for his $175,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes final on Sunday (Aug. 30), owner/trainer Phillip Peavyhouse likes Cracker Cam’s chances to boost his bankroll.

“He’s a nice horse,” said the 76-year-old Michigan resident. “My brother Russell bred him down in Florida and that mare has been really good to us. She has been some kind of producer and was a good race horse too.”

The mare Peavyhouse is referring to is Nasty As Can Be, a daughter of Scoot Outa Reach. She made just under $150,000 on the racetrack and has been an absolute treasure trove as a mom.

Her first foal was Dark Sign (Life Sign, p,1:51, $418,603), her second was Cracker Pullet (Raging Glory, p,4,1:51.2f, $199,573) and her third was Cracker Coffee (Six Of Diamonds, p,2,1:54.3f, $111,729). Her next two foals, Real Nice Girl (Real Desire) and Home On The Beach (Jenna’s Beach Boy) failed to break the $100,000 mark like their older siblings, but have won six and four races, respectively, during their careers.

Nigel Soult photo

Cracker Cam has won four of his five career starts, with earnings of $16,477.

Cracker Cam, a son of Cambest, is her sixth foal and the last of her progeny that will race for the Peavyhouse brothers as they sold her last fall. He will attempt to become a Kentucky champion at approximately 9:51 p.m. when the 10th race, the last Sire Stakes final on the card, is scheduled to go off. He will have the services of regular reinsman and native Kentuckian James Stiltner II in the sulky and undoubtedly will be the favorite.

“We decided it was time to cut back,” Peavyhouse said. “My brother Russell is even older than me and it’s getting to be too much to chase these babies around. I still have two or three I’ll have to break in Florida this winter and they, along with the couple of 3-year-olds including Cracker Cam, will be enough for us. We are pretty much out of the breeding business now.”

The Peavyhouse brothers, with more than four decades of experience in the business, definitely know a nice horse, so when Phillip uses that term for this gelding he deserves some attention.

“I had a mare (Duchess Faye) that won the World Trotting Derby (filly division) in Du Quoin in 1981,” he said. “We even took her to Sweden to race in the Elitlopp. She was some horse. I’ve had some other horses over the years that were very good, like this one, his brothers and sisters and his mom, but I have never had a horse like her since.”

Peavyhouse is not saying Cracker Cam is anywhere near the quality of that special filly, but he does possess talent in his own right and the owner/trainer would be thrilled to see him become a Kentucky champion.

The gelding began his career with a sixth place finish in a $3,200 non-winners contest at Northville Downs on June 24. He captured his maiden-breaking victory in his next start for a $363 purse at the Hastings Fair on July 19 and followed that performance with another win in a $2,500 non-winners event at The Red Mile on Aug. 1, where he paced in 1:54.1 after being timed in 2:06.1 at the fair.

Cracker’s Cam’s next appearance was in the first $15,000 leg of the Kentucky Sire Stakes on Aug. 9, which he won in 1:54 and annexed the second $15,000 race in 1:55.3 on Aug. 20. He paced in :27, for the swiftest last quarter-mile of his life and seems to really relish the surface at The Red Mile.

“He is still very green but he’s learning how to race and he does seem to like it in Kentucky very much,” Peavyhouse said. “His first two races were just to teach him what to do out there, but when he had his first start in the Sire Stakes you could tell he likes the track. I don’t think it has anything to do with the mile (oval) because he can get over any surface very well. It’s just something about that place that agrees with him, which is good to see because the final has been our goal with him all along.”

Cracker Cam did experience a bit of sickness that slightly concerned Peavyhouse during his time in the Bluegrass, but it appears he has gotten over it and has fully returned to health.

“For the last two weeks he has been all snotted up and coughing all over the place,” he said. “It was nothing serious, but he’s all over that now and we are looking forward to Sunday night. My brother and his family are coming in from Florida to see him so that makes it special for us.”

After the gelding competes Sunday evening, he may be given a very extended vacation.

“I think I’m just going to turn him out after the race,” Peavyhouse said. “I don’t need to rush him and I don’t like my horses to have a lot of starts anyway. I always try to space them about two weeks apart even during the season and that goes especially for my 2-year-olds. We will just let him have time and probably bring him in around Jan. 1. That’s when we will see what we have and decide on what we will be doing with him next year.”

$175,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes Final-2-year-old Colt/Gelding Pace
PP-Horse-Driver-Trainer-Morning Line
1-Best To Hurst-Tyler Smith-Steve Carter-6-1
2-Kentucky’s Best-Josh Sutton-Bobby Brower-8-1
3-Whiskery-Dave Palone-Tyler Shehan-15-1
4-Mandalay Hall-Tom Jackson-Peter Foley-8-1
5-Dragallthemoni-Chris Page-Steve Carter-4-1
6-Rupp-Dan Noble-Brian Georges-3-1
7-Cracker Cam-James Stiltner II-Phillip Peavyhouse-8-5