by Ellen Harvey, Harness Racing Communications

Freehold, NJ — Trainer Greg Peck sent out a stablemate to early Hambletonian favorite Muscle Hill (1:53.3, $817,301, eight wins in nine starts in 2008) at the Meadowlands last week, and this one is easy to spot — a big red horse. My Back Pages, also Hambletonian eligible, won his qualifier by 2-1/2 lengths over last season’s undefeated New York Sire Stakes champion Donttellmywife, in his best time yet, 1:56.2, with Daniel Dube driving.

Like his stablemate, Dan Patch Award winner Muscle Hill, My Back Pages is Hambletonian eligible.

“I bought him as a yearling for $20,000 at the New Jersey Classic Sale,” Peck said of the Revenue S–Windsurfing V C colt then owned by Irving Bork. “He’s a beautiful chestnut, he could be a Thoroughbred. I measured him the other day, he’s 16.2. He won his baby race (last year), but then had an issue with an ankle. Over the winter, I privately bought half of him from Mr. Bork for Jerry Silva and the Pontones (Thomas and Louis) in January.”

Though this was not a selling point for the colt, Peck noted that he also looked up the etymology of his name.

“My Back Pages is a Bob Dylan song; a great song,” Peck said. “You can see it on YouTube, but nowhere in the song does it contain the words ‘my back pages.’

“He had an excellent pedigree, the last chestnut in the family was Mister Goal (1:52.2, $231,079) and he beat Moni Maker (in 1999 in an invitational trot at the Meadowlands in his record time) and he was a chestnut, so that color worked for that family.”

My Back Pages’ mom is a half sister to I Wanted Wings, who was the New Jersey Sire Stakes 2-year-old Filly Trotter of the Year in 2008. His maternal family also includes 1994 Kentucky Futurity, World Trotting Derby and Yonkers Trot winner Bullville Victory.

“I wanted to stake him because I felt he was good enough and thought he could be a buddy for Muscle Hill,” added Peck.

My Back Pages, who was winless in two starts last year, had a pair of second-place finishes in the Super Bowl Series at the Meadowlands in January, but did not advance to the final and Peck stopped racing him.

“We stopped because of the fact that we staked him to everything and I knew he’d need three months off to get ready for that,” Peck said. “There was nothing wrong with him when I stopped. I wanted to give him three months off, gain weight and get him ready for the stakes season.”

Peck is aiming the big chestnut for the New Jersey Sire Stakes.

USTA/Ken Weingartner photos

My Back Pages gets some special attention from his caretaker, Sylvia Hovde.

“I’ll either race him again in another qualifier or non-winners of two and then the sire stakes start May 25,” Peck said. “He’ll be part of what I call ‘Operation Hambletonian.’ On May 1, I called Louie Pontone at about 7:00 in the morning and I said, ‘Louie, today starts ‘Operation Hambletonian.’ Part of the team is My Back Pages. I took him off Lasix today, he showed where he’s had that, but he was great today without it.

“He beat Donttellmywife, who was undefeated in seven starts last year. I knew he was good and it’s only a qualifier. But Dontellmywife looked very good and I’m proud of that accomplishment. That’s a great horse, Donttellmywife. He’s rated sixth at 1:51.3 in Stan Bergstein’s Experimental Ratings (in Hoof Beats magazine).

“(My Back Pages) is very strong on the end of a mile; I think he’s not as quick as Muscle Hill. I’ll tell you what I think you’ll see — the Revenues will get better with age, as he did. Both Caviart Annie (a newly-arrived filly in the Peck Stable) and My Back Pages are by Revenue. It looks like his 3-year-olds are going to be good, several of them have showed up very sharp. What they are is great mannered; part of the reason I bought him is that I was a great admirer of Revenue; to race with no head check and no boots (standard equipment on most trotters). He’s a gorgeous specimen of a horse.”

Peck may have a stablemate to send out in the Hambletonian Oaks for fillies, as well.

“Caviart Annie, who we (TLP Stable, Jerry Silva and Peck) bought from California, looked very impressive in her qualifier (also May 7 at the Meadowlands; won by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:57.2) and she is eligible to the Hambletonian Oaks. We’re going to try to get her ready for the Hambletonian Oaks (on August 8 at the Meadowlands) and hopefully next year, she’ll be Muscle Hill’s girlfriend.

“I wanted some Revenues and I saw Caviart Annie (race on TV) and saw she was by Revenue. I called John McKeon (her former owner/trainer) in California and literally bought her that day. I knew him; he’s a retired airline pilot. He owned her, trained her and drove her. I called him from my living room and the deal was done. I trusted him so much there was no look at her, no veterinary pre-purchase, nothing. I picked her up at Newark Airport the following Wednesday. She’d won about four in a row (at Cal-Expo in Sacramento, California) and last time she won in 1:57.2, last half in :57.1. Rarely do you see the owner/trainer/driver angle any more. I was impressed with that and I knew John would do a good job with her.

“For both of them, the plan is to race May 25, my 45th birthday, in the New Jersey Sire Stakes at the Meadowlands. Muscle Hill will start (in the sire stakes) the following week. I trained him (May 7) at the Meadowlands in 1:56 and a piece. When I trained him (at 9:00 a.m.), I would say the track was two, maybe three seconds off (from persistent rain).”