Crown finalist State Treasurer has been a joy for his connections
November 14, 2014,by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent
Kimberly French
Louisville, KY — Shortly after Ian Moore began training State Treasurer down for his 2014 campaign, he explained to Sally and Paul MacDonald, who own the 5-year-old stallion, that the horse could quite possibly be in the best form of his life.
“We were down in Florida and he just felt tremendous,” Moore said. “I have had him since he was a 2-year-old and it was as if he had finally really matured. I told his owners I felt that we had a horse that was ready for a career year.”
The son of Real Desire and the Western Ideal mare Ideal Treasure has not only fulfilled his conditioner’s predictions but exceeded them.
When State Treasurer, this year’s Allerage Farm and Molson Pace victor, goes to the gate to compete in race six, the A-1/FFA Handicap, on the Meadowlands card on Saturday (Nov. 15), he will be completing his preparations for his first appearance in a Breeders Crown final. Hall of Famer David Miller will do the driving honors and guide the stallion from post seven. Clear Vision, the 8-5 morning line favorite, will be right beside him in the six hole, with the always dangerous Thinking Out Loud (2-1) leaving from the fifth spot.
The $400,000 Crown Pace did not require eliminations this weekend. A compact field of seven open pacers set for Saturday (Nov. 22) in alphabetical order are Bettor’s Edge, Clear Vision, Foiled Again, Modern Legend, State Treasurer, Sweet Lou and Thinking Out Loud.
“He (State Treasurer) had a rough trip in the American-National (ninth place finish on Oct. 11),” Moore said. “Then I put him in the race at Woodbine (Oct 25, Preferred, fourth place finish) and was going to race him one more time there, then the next spot would be the Breeders Crown.
“But when I went to Harrisburg, I shipped him down to New Jersey because that condition that was filling for several weeks at Woodbine suddenly did not. I put him in at Pocono and they went a heck of a mile (second in Mach It So’s world record 1:48), so when the Meadowlands asked if I wanted to put him in the race on Saturday I said yes. He likes the track and with this race will only have three more races this year, including this one, the Breeders Crown and the TVG at the end of November.”
A $6,500 yearling purchase at the 2010 Standardbred Horse Sale, State Treasurer has competed at the top levels of his division each season since his debut while collecting $865,607 in purse money. He has paced 68 miles with a record of 21-12-5, established his lifetime mark of 1:48.1s last June and earned $391,311 in 2014, which is a seasonal best for his career. His 2014 record stands at 20-8-3-1.
There is no financial quota, however, for the joy the stallion has brought to his connections and it’s obvious when Moore speaks of the horse, how much he truly enjoys him.
“He is by Real Desire and that is the best word to describe him, he’s all desire,” Moore said. “He gives you 100-plus percent every race and when he jogs as well as trains. He has such heart and doesn’t know when the end of a mile is. I usually train him a mile and a half and when I train him just a mile, it’s hard to pull him up. Even in a race, he has to be pulled up after the finish line when a lot of horses pull themselves up.
“If he has a rough trip, like he did quite frequently when he was younger, because he would draw a lot of nine and 10 holes, he always bounces right back. Some horses just can’t do that and he has also never taken a lame step since we got him in May of his 2-year-old year.
“Also, he has been so special for his owners, not only for the places he has taken them, but because with the money he has earned, they have been able to buy several more yearlings this year and become more involved with the sport. That’s all because of him. In fact, we have three down in Florida preparing to train right now.”
Although his owners are very emotionally connected to him, Moore and State Treasurer also share a unique bond. Actually on many occasions, it seems like the stallion can read his trainer’s mind.
“Anyone can jog him,” Moore said. “But I’m almost always the one that puts all his fast training miles into him, so he grabs right on when I’m with him. He’ll go nice and slow for anyone else, but not me.
“For example before the Molson Pace, he went :53 and a piece over the half there for the last part of his training. When I want him to slow down and make sure his last quarter is not :26, I have to let him go free-legged. He can’t go that fast when I do that.
“He’s a very intelligent horse and that is why he only does that with me. He has it figured out that when I’m driving it’s time to go.”
Regardless of whether or not State Treasurer captures all of his remaining three starts, including a Breeders Crown championship contest, he will always be the star in Moore’s barn.
“Right when he was being broken as a yearling, I was told we might have a nice horse,” he said. “He wasn’t quite mature enough when he was two and three, but he always gave everything he has and was right there with top horses. He always is if he has the right trip.
“He has been nothing but a pleasure to us all. He is number one with us and that is why he has the first stall and always will. That’s just the way it is with Treasurer.”