by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — He was impressed with her attitude and ability as soon as he began to break her, but Virgil Morgan, Jr. also feels her intensity could have hurt Action-Broadway’s freshman and sophomore campaigns.

“She has a good pedigree, but her attitude early on when we were breaking her was second to none,” explained the 45-year-old Grove City, Ohio, trainer. “I think early on her attitude might have been a hindrance because she was so eager to trot and she wanted to go from second gear to fifth gear. She made a couple of breaks as a 2-year-old, but now she’s seasoned, much more mature and a better racehorse for sure.”

The 4-year-old daughter of Broadway Hall-Photo With Molly races as a homebred for Kenneth Sommer of Sheffield, Ohio, and has earned $376,185 from 34 lifetime starts with a mark of 1:52.4s. This year Action-Broadway has amassed $81,013 and sports a record of 6-3-2-0 while competing primarily at The Meadows in the Filly and Mare Preferred Handicaps. She did, however, contest the Glorys Comet Series at Woodbine and in the $126,250 final on Jan. 17 she finished second to San Pail, Canada’s 2009 and 2010 Trotter of the Year.

USTA/Mark Hall photo

Action-Broadway faced the top horses in her class as both a freshman and sophomore and earned more than $100,000 each season.

During her 2- and 3-year-old seasons, Action-Broadway was kept in top company. At two, she finished tenth in the Merrie Annabelle Final, eighth in the Goldsmith Maid final after capturing her elimination, third in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes final, and tenth in the Breeders Crown final. At three, she won the Casual Breeze, was seventh in the American-National, ninth in the Buckette, eighth in her Breeders Crown elimination, third in a Bluegrass division and eighth in the Matron final after finishing second in her elimination.

“She’s always had talent and I knew right when I broke her there definitely wasn’t going to be a problem with her trotting fast,” Morgan said. “We had to do some things to keep her calm, but she was certainly a treat to break and train down.

“We changed her bridle, because she is more relaxed in an open bridle and she’s definitely a candidate for ear plugs and a hood,” he continued. “I have a few special bits I put in her mouth just to relax her.”

Action-Broadway does possess enough speed to win on the front, but her conditioner thinks she is much better coming from behind.

“She loves to pass horses,” Morgan said. “She can cut a mile, but she’s much better from off the pace if you can keep her wrapped up for awhile.

“When she won in Canada in (1):52(.4 in the Casual Breeze on June 11, 2010) she was scary that night,” he continued. “I think she set the track record for 3-year-old trotting fillies. She was extremely good then and the following week (in an elimination for the Elegantimage in which she was favored over eventual winner Poof She’s Gone) she drew bad and her cover wasn’t good. It was just too much for her to overcome.”

Her connections intend to keep Action-Broadway at The Meadows for most of this year, but they are eyeing other stakes spots for her to contest.

“Mr. Sommers has her staked to a few things,” Morgan said. “The Meadows is obviously geographically the greatest place to race trotting fillies because very few tracks cater to them like they do. Also, you aren’t going to find a Filly and Mare Trot race going for $22,500 on a consistent basis. They pretty much fill that there every week, so she will definitely make her home at The Meadows, but there are four or five stakes for aged mares that we looked into throughout the year and that we will venture out into.”