by Bill Galvin

Another bright new star is bedded down in the Stable That God Loves.

McWicked, a gem of consistency in his 3-year-old campaign sported a 12-5-4 record in 23 starts, with earnings of $1,472,937 for his Toronto owner, Ed James, who purchased him at Harrisburg for $210,000.

He was a multiple stakes winner with victories in the Hempt and the Adios, among others, before capping his season with an impressive 1:48.4 victory in the $301,560 Progress Stakes.

The big bay gelding was the recipient of 3-year-old male pacer of the year honors in Canada and the United States in 2014.

McWicked is one of the finest and richest campaigners Ed James has owned in his long tenure in horse racing.

“I bought my first horse 59 years ago and I am still trying to get even,” he said.

Following McWicked’s victory in the Progress he enjoyed three months off and is currently being prepped by trainer Casie Coleman at her Florida training center for an extensive 2015 stakes campaign.

Some of McWicked’s big name stablemates in the Stable That God Loves include Adriano Sorella’s 2013 Little Brown Jug winner Vegas Vacation, John Craig’s 2013 Breeders Crown winner Luck Be Withyou, John Fielding’s Shake It Cerry, recipient of a 2014 Dan Patch Award, and Mac Nichol’s Kentucky Derby hopeful Madefromlucky, who is scheduled to go postward in the $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 11.

The members of the Stable That God Loves will contribute one percent of their 2015 purse earnings to the Standardbred Racetrack Chaplaincy of Canada.

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