by Keith Gisser, assistant publicity director, Northfield Park

When Rose Run Hooligan, a bay son of Corleone from the Armbro Solar mare Centergy, entered the sales ring at the 2004 Buckeye Yearling Sale on a crisp fall day, nobody was paying all that much attention. After all, this was just Corleone’s third crop since moving to Ohio from Florida and Centergy’s first two foals had combined to earn a whopping $280. But when Ron and Linda Randall, of Berlin Center, picked up Rose Run Hooligan for $7,500, they thought they might have a decent county fair performer.

“I can’t afford to pay top dollar for colts. I try to get county fair horses. Hooligan was an athletic-looking colt. I liked him, and I liked the sire, Corleone,” says Ron Randall, a 62-year-old Youngstown, Ohio native who trains at a farm track in Berlin Center, Ohio. “But, after I got him home, I didn’t think he was a very good horse. He would get sideways and make breaks. Of course it might have been the lions, tigers and bears.”

Trainer Ron Randall pilots Rose Run Hooligan to victory at the Pickaway County Fair in Ohio last year, kicking off an 11-race win streak that resulted in the 2-year-old trotter being named Ohio Horse of the Year. Photo by USTA Photographer, Ed Keys.

No, Randall doesn’t train in the Land of Oz. His farm track adjoins Noah’s Animal Park and the animals can be seen from the training track. Rose Run Hooligan didn’t take well to the wild critters, often throwing himself.

But Randall and his wife couldn’t have been more wrong about Rose Run Hooligan being ‘not a good horse,’ or a county fair performer. True, he did open his season with county fair wins at Circleville and Ottawa and he did wrap up his freshman season with a county fair win, too – in the $27,651 Ohio Breeders Championship at Delaware. But in between, he won five legs of the Ohio Stakes; a $23,000 split of the Ohio State Fair Stake and the $100,000 Ohio Sires Stakes Championship at Northfield, making him an Ohio Triple Crown winner and an Ohio Performance Award winner. The freshman season – 11 wins and a second in 12 starts – was enough to earn the trotter Ohio Horse of the Year honors.

Rose Run Hooligan first went behind the gate at a May 8 matinee in Painesville. With Fred Hess driving, Hooligan overcame a break at the quarter, trotting his final panel in 31.1 to finish just a length back of his stablemate Jack Sparrow. He made breaks in his next two matinees and then headed to the Meadows for a $300 baby race. Scoring from post seven, trainer Randall held him well back early, and then let him roll home. Rose Run Hooligan finished second, trotting his last panel in 29.4, and losing by just a head. It would be his first – and last — loss in a purse race all year. He qualified the next week at the Meadows in 2:02, finishing third in a 1:56.3 mile, and was ready to begin his campaign in earnest.

“He was still making breaks. I took him to the Meadows to train with another horse. He went a mile in five, with the last half in a minute,” Randall recalls.” I thought my watch was broken. Then we baby raced him. The qualifier was fast. He was just following other horses, but for a two-year-old to go that fast, that was the start of things.”

At the Circleville fair, Randall and his colt were sent off as the 6-5 favorites and they didn’t disappoint, moving three-wide to the lead from third as the field approached the half and cruising to a 2:08 win, to establish a lifetime standard. Randall called on young Jeff Nisonger to drive his colt at Ottawa and the colt wired the field to pick up win number two. It was a good tightener for the first $20,000 Ohio Sires Stakes leg, scheduled just three days later at Scioto Downs.

Randall explains, “He raced so good in the fairs, we thought he deserved a shot. Jeff chose to drive another horse and we picked up Chip Noble, who was available. I just reminded Chip of the fast mile he went at The Meadows and let him go from there.

Despite having post eight, Noble got the colt away second and sat through an opening half of 1:03.3. Hooligan took over the lead a bit later and trotted home in a 59.2 back half, posting a three-length, 2:03 win.

For Randall, who has had other good trotters, it was a great win, but he wasn’t getting too excited yet. He had won an Ohio Sires Stakes title in 2003 with Rose Run Elvis and the trotting specialist knew there were a lot more races ahead.

“I thought he was good, and getting better, but other horses had gone faster, “ Randall comments. “It wasn’t until Dan Ross won with him at Northfield in the Summit Stakes. We were in against some good ones. Bob Lippiatt’s horse, Strike-A-Mac, and Master Begonia. Danny came back and said he could have gone by Lippiatt’s horse anytime he wanted to. That’s when we started getting a little excited

Prior to that, the Sires Stakes had moved to Northfield on Independence Day weekend and Rose Run Hooligan posted another easy 2:03 win, this time by four lengths as a 3-5 favorite. Two weeks later, driver Noble, trainer Ron and caretaker Linda made the trip to Raceway Park. Rose Run Hooligan again wired the field in the $20,000 race, this time lowering his lifetime mark to 2:01.2. The neck win would be his closest of the year. The pocket-sitting, 2:02.1 effort in the Summit County Fair Stakes that Randall referenced wrapped up July. With Dan Ross in the bike, Rose Run Hooligan was an even-money favorite and was ¾ lengths the best.

Rose Run Hooligan was now well set up for the Ohio State Fair Stakes at Scioto Downs and proved it with a lifetime-best, 1:58 win. Rose Run Hooligan, teamed up with Chip Noble once again, exploded to the front and drew off in the lane, winning by 6¾ lengths with a 28.3 closing panel. The $11,500 winner share of the purse put his earnings at $50,548 and his summary stood 8-7-1-0. It was pretty good, but the best was yet to come.

Nine days later, Noble, the Randall’s and the Hooligan were back behind the Scioto Downs starting gate and the colt trotted gate-to-wire in 1:59.4. A 28.4 last quarter gave him a 6½ length margin at the wire. One final OSS preliminary remained, and it was at Northfield Park, which was also set to host the $100,000 Championship two weeks later.

The track came up sloppy for the $20,000 fifth leg on August 20 and the railbirds were concerned with how the colt would handle the racing surface. Not taking any chances, Noble moved his charge right to the front and cruised from there. The 3¾-length, 2:02.4 win was not impressive on paper, but it was as good as it needed to be.

Randall says, “We had to hold our breath. The track was really bad that night. Then he got sick right after that race and the final was just two weeks away. We had no idea how he would do. I couldn’t give him any fast work prior to that race.”

In the $100,000 Ohio Sires Stakes Championship, Rose Run Hooligan drew post six. He got away third, but was not content to sit through a 28.2 opening panel. At the 58.4 half, the 1-2 favorite was on top by 21/2, and he basically maintained that margin throughout, winning in 1:58.4 on the half-mile oval.

Rose Run Hooligan wrapped up his season with the $27,651 Ohio Breeders Championship at Delaware and this time trouble looked imminent. Although sent off at 1-5, he had the eight-hole, a tough place to win from over the saucer-shaped track. On top of that, the track was very heavy and tiring that day. Noble floated the colt out in the 29-second opening panel. He was fourth as he began to rally and was just a nose back at the 59-second half-mile. He cleared to the pylons and hit the three-quarters in 1:28.1. It looked like another huge effort was coming, but the colt tired after his overland journey, wining by a head in 1:59.4. The 31. 3 last quarter was his slowest closing split of the year, other than a couple of matinee efforts.

“Chip deserves a lot of credit. The horse could have gone faster…posted a big mark, but Chip really took care of him. He didn’t extend him and more than he had to, says Randall. “ Hooligan will start back the first of the year and it will be interesting. He’s really the first sound two-year-old I’ve had. Usually, when I bring them back at three, they are eligible to non-winners of one or something like that. It will take longer to train him down to where he needs to be.

And what does the coming year hold?

“We’ll race in the Sires Stakes, and we may try a few Open Stakes. We are looking at The Canadian Trotting Classic, for one. But we will have to wait and see. He’s a much better horse than Elvis, so we’ll see,” says Randall.

And as long as his trotter can avoid any wild animal shows, Rose Run Hooligan should have a big 2006.

Article is reprinted courtesy of The Buckeye Harness Horseman.