by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner

Freehold, NJ — Nob Hill High has not started many races this year from an inside post, but he has taken advantage of the chances. On November 22, the colt won his Matron Stakes elimination race at Dover Downs from post No. 1, beating Clear Vision by a neck in a career-best 1:50.3, at odds of 39-1.

For the season, Nob Hill High has won three of four races when starting from the rail. He also is 1-for-1 when starting from post No. 2. For the year, he has won six of 20 starts and earned $177,097.

Driven by John Campbell and trained by Bruce Saunders for the Matron elim, Nob Hill High drew post No. 6 for Sunday’s (Nov. 29) $259,486 eight-horse final.

“It was very nice to get the win,” said Don Robinson, who owns Nob Hill High with fellow Ohio resident Bob Mondillo. “We’ve just had some terrible posts in the past. It was nice to have some post relief. The six (post) in the final is going to be a challenging location; so much of it is being in the flow. He’s a horse that likes to be up close to the action.”

Fotowon photo

Nob Hill High held off Clear Vision by a neck in their Matron elimination.

Nob Hill High was third in the $500,000 Hoosier Cup in May (starting from post No. 11) and started from post seven in a division of the Burlington Stakes and post eight in his elimination for the North America Cup. After failing to advance to the North America Cup final, he drew post nine for the consolation. He got post six in the final of the Confederation Cup and post seven in the Monument Circle Stakes. He also got post six in his first heat of the Little Brown Jug and post nine in the American-National Stakes.

In his Matron elim, Nob Hill High was third behind Schoolkids and Hoosier Cup champ Mr Wiggles as they battled through an opening quarter of :25.4 seconds, half of :53.4 and three-quarters of 1:22. Campbell moved Nob Hill High off the rail in mid-stretch and won by a neck.

“I was hoping to just stay in the flow,” Robinson said. “When we saw John grab the right line to go into the middle of the track we all started cheering. Bruce has trained several horses for us the last five or six years and does a masterful job. We really appreciate having someone like him to look after the Ohio boys.”

Robinson and Mondillo, who work together in the financial advising industry, bred Nob High Hill (McArdle-Anniecrombie) by embryo transfer. They contemplated supplementing the colt to the Windy City Pace at Maywood Park in Chicago because the horse had been racing in the Midwest, but decided to ship him east to the Matron, where he was already eligible to race.

“We staked him with the hopes he could somewhat be at the top level,” Robinson said. “We hoped he could compete and perform well. We had a couple complicated decisions to make. We wanted to do what was best for the horse. We felt we might as well give it the last shot of the year.”

Robinson expects Nob Hill High to remain with Saunders over the winter and race at the Meadowlands.

“Depending how he shakes loose from there, hopefully he can race some at the stakes level of the aged horses,” Robinson said.

Following is the field in post position order for Sunday night’s $259,486 Matron Stakes for 3-year-old male pacers, with listed drivers and trainers: 1. Hypnotic Blue Chip, Andy Miller, Mark Harder; 2. Straight Shooting, George Brennan, Ron Burke; 3. Clear Vision, David Miller, Richard Norman; 4. Schoolkids, Tim Tetrick, Tracy Brainard; 5. Mr Wiggles, Corey Callahan, George Teague Jr.; 6. Nob Hill High, John Campbell, Bruce Saunders; 7. Ideal Race, Mark MacDonald, Tracy Brainard; 8. Arctic Warrior, Yannick Gingras, Sam Beegle.

Owners: 1. Deena Rachel Frost, Stable 45, Mark Harder, Robert Murphy; 2. Bulletproof Enterprises; 3. John Fielding, David McDuffee; 4. Bulletproof Enterprises; 5. Elmer Fannin, George Teague Jr.; 6. Robert Mondillo, Donald Robinson; 7. Bulletproof Enterprises; 8. Wahoo Stable, Paul Eyerly, Carl Vizzi, James David Novinger.

Vintage Master, coming off a third-place finish in the Progress Pace at Dover Downs, won the other Matron Stakes elim, but was not entered for the final. He beat Straight Shooting by three-quarters of a length in 1:50.4. Earlier this season, Vintage Master won the Delvin Miller Adios, the Cane Pace, and divisions of the Bluegrass and Tattersalls stakes.