by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner

Freehold, NJ — Daniel Dube last drove in the Little Brown Jug five years ago, and when he returns to the race on Thursday afternoon, it will be with one of the event’s favorites. Dube will pilot 8-5 choice Vintage Master in the second of two opening-round heats. The top four finishers from each heat will advance to the second round. A horse must win twice to claim the Little Brown Jug.

“It’s always something to look forward to. It’s always fun to go there,” Dube said about the Jug, which is held at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in central Ohio, 25 miles north of Columbus. “We’ll see what happens. I don’t want to say anything before the race. I don’t want to jinx myself. But I guess we’ve got a good shot.”

The Little Brown Jug is the second jewel in the Pacing Triple Crown. Vintage Master won the first jewel, the Cane Pace, on September 7 at Freehold Raceway.

In the Cane Pace, Vintage Master went to the lead and never looked back. He won by 5-1/2 lengths over Clear Vision in 1:50.4, which equaled the track record. Regarded as “lazy” by both trainer Jimmy Takter and Dube, Vintage Master typically raced from off the pace prior to the Cane Pace. When he won the Delvin Miller Adios in August, the colt was eight lengths behind the leaders at the halfway point.

USTA photo

Daniel Dube will drive in the Little Brown Jug for the first time in five years when he pilots Vintage Master on Thursday.

“Before the Cane Pace, I didn’t know if he could cut a mile like that,” Dube said. “He showed me he could do it and he showed me he could have gate speed. So far, the horse is good. I hope that everything goes right.”

It took 21 races for Vintage Master to break his maiden, although the horse was second in both the $200,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes championship and $500,000 Anthony Abbatiello New Jersey Classic. Since winning for the first time on July 2, Vintage Master has won the $677,665 Adios and $325,000 Cane Pace in addition to finishing second in the million-dollar Meadowlands Pace and third in the $500,000 Battle of the Brandywine.

Vintage Master has earned $1.03 million this year, second to only Well Said’s $1.6 million among all pacers.

“For sure, he is real lazy. If you don’t ask him much, he’ll only give you what he wants to give you,” Dube said, adding with a laugh, “That’s why he’s getting better and better, because he doesn’t hurt himself.

“But he’s starting to mature a lot. He is just coming around at the right time. Now, he looks like he knows what to do.”

Dube, who finished second in the 2000 Little Brown Jug with Gallo Blue Chip, also has a drive in Wednesday’s $350,000 Jugette. He will start from post No. 2 with Perfectionist, who is 6-1 in the morning line, for trainer Takter and owner Brittany Farms in the first of two eliminations. She finished second to Showherthemoney in the Shady Daisy on September 7 at Freehold Raceway. The time set the track record for 3-year-old pacing fillies.

“She is real good on the half-mile track,” Dube said. “She’s quick on the turns. She can do anything. She’s got all the good qualities for the half-mile track. With a little bit of racing luck anything can happen.”

Following are the first-heat fields for the Little Brown Jug in post position order with listed drivers, trainers and odds. A horse must win two heats to be declared the Jug winner. The top four finishers from the first heats will return for the second.

Heat One: 1. Straight Shooting, Dave Palone, Ron Burke, 10-1; 2. Bunkmeister, Andrew McCarthy, Steve LeBlanc, 12-1; 3. Keep It Real, John Campbell, Joey Shea, 8-1; 4. Mr Wiggles, Corey Callahan, George Teague Jr., 2-1; 5. River Shark, Luc Ouellette, David Sabatelli, 4-1; 6. Annieswesterncard, Peter Wrenn, Joe Seekman, 6-1; 7. Doubleshotascotch, Jim Morrill, Jr., Noel Daley, 12-1; 8. Clear Vision, David Miller, Richard Norman, 10-1; 9. Pedro Island, Mike Wilder, Dave Rankin, 15-1; 10. If I Can Dream, Tim Tetrick, Tracy Brainard, 7-2. Pedro Island and If I Can Dream start from the second tier.

Owners: 1. Bulletproof Enterprises; 2. Badlands Racing, Jerry Silva; 3. Wayne Whebby; 4. Elmer Fannin, George Teague Jr. Inc.; 5. El Lobo LLC, Aaron Waxman, VIP Internet Stable; 6. Sawgrass Farms; 7. David Scharf, Adam Victor & Son Stable, Lindy Farms of Connecticut, Kenneth Tucci; 8. John Fielding, David McDuffee; 9. DM Stables; 10. Bulletproof Enterprises.

Straight Shooting won a division of the Nassagaweya last year . . . Bunkmeister won multiple legs of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes this year and was fifth in the championship on September 12 . . . Keep It Real won a division of the Burlington Stakes and was third in the North America Cup . . . Mr Wiggles won the Hoosier Cup and was second in the Adios . . . River Shark won the Suslow Series and was second in the Confederation Cup . . . Annieswesterncard won the Monument Circle and Berry’s Creek . . . Doubleshotascotch won the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship . . . Clear Vision was second in both the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship and the Cane Pace . . . If I Can Dream won the Confederation Cup and Art Rooney Pace.

Heat Two: 1. Carnivore, Jody Jamieson, Jack Darling, 4-1; 2. Vertical Horizon, Jim Morrill, Jr., Tracy Brainard, 8-1; 3. Chasin Racin, David Miller, George Teague, Jr., 8-1; 4. Vintage Master, Daniel Dube, Jimmy Takter, 8-5; 5. Born To Rockn Roll, John Campbell, Ron Potter, 20-1; 6. Nob Hill High, Tim Tetrick, Bill Webb, 20-1; 7. Fireintheshark, George Brennan, Jim Campbell, 15-1; 8. Well Said, Ron Pierce, Steve Elliott, 5-2; 9. Sheer Desire, Dave Palone, Ron Burke, 6-1.

Owners: 1. Jack Darling Stable; 2. Bulletproof Enterprises; 3. Elmer Fannin, George Teague, Jr. Inc.; 4. Brittany Farms, the estate of Brian Monieson; 5. F.T.F. Inc.; 6. Robert Mondillo, Donald Robinson; 7. Arlene Siegel, Jules Siegel; 8. Jeff Snyder, Lothlorien; 9. Burke Racing Stable, Randy Ringer, JJK Stables, Lawrence Karr.

Carnivore won a division of the Burlington Stakes, was second to Sheer Desire in the Kentucky Sire Stakes championship and was second to Well Said in a division of the Simcoe . . . Vertical Horizon was second in the Monument Circle and second in a division of the Simcoe . . . Chasin Racin won the Matt’s Scooter Series and was second in the Hoosier Cup and Battle of the Brandywine . . . Vintage Master won the Cane Pace and the Adios and was second in the Meadowlands Pace . . . Nob Hill High won the Hayes Memorial and was third in the Hoosier Cup . . . Fireintheshark was second in the Art Rooney Pace . . . Well Said won the North America Cup, Meadowlands Pace, Battle of the Brandywine and a division of the Simcoe . . . Sheer Desire won the Kentucky Sire Stakes championship.