by Harness Racing Communications, a division of the USTA

The Big Cat is nothing but a pussycat, but that doesn’t mean he should be taken lightly during the ongoing Su Mac Lad Series for free-for-all trotters at the Meadowlands Racetrack.

On Sunday, The Big Cat finished fourth in his Su Mac Lad opening-round division, beaten by three-and-one-quarter lengths by Yankee MJ in 1:56.2 over a track labeled as “good” because of rain. Great George Two was second and Muscles Marinara was third. Hez Striking won the other division, finishing ahead of Mr Dream OM and Smooth Muscles in 1:55.2. The series continues April 2 and the $126,500 final is April 9.

“The way the race went for us, there was no way to get near them,” said Gunther Unflat, who bred and owns The Big Cat with his wife, Margaret. “We got the ‘Meadowlands shuffle’ and down the stretch we had to go around a bunch of horses. Most horses wouldn’t have even finished fourth with that. I know what this colt is. He just needs a little bit more opportunity. The betting public didn’t really appreciate him (35-1), but I think he’s getting better and better. I think he’ll show better [Sunday], but it’s a race. You never know what’s going to happen.”

A four-year-old by Lion King out of Seashore Hanover, The Big Cat has won 11 of 32 lifetime starts and earned $193,306. Primarily trained by Howard Okusko Sr., The Big Cat has spent most of his career competing on the New York Sire Stakes circuit. Last season, he was third in the NYSS final after going off stride behind the gate.

“He doesn’t like to be rushed off the gate,” Unflat said. “If you can time the gate perfectly you’ll get a good start. But once he gets going, he can take a lot of air. Once he’s got the air on the outside he really rocks and rolls. He won six in a row at one point last year. He’s racing mostly on half-mile tracks, so when you can do that, you know he’s got some guts.”

In addition to racing in New York, The Big Cat raced a couple times in Pennsylvania and several times at Dover Downs. In a division of the Currier & Ives at the Meadows, near Pittsburgh, last October, The Big Cat finished second to Hambletonian champ Vivid Photo – who trotted 1:54.1 to equal, at the time, the world record for three-year-olds on a five-eighths of a mile track.

“We were locked in and there was no way for us to get out,” Unflat said. “When he finally got free up the rail, he left those other horses like they were standing still. There was no chasing Vivid Photo, he can really move. I don’t think we would have beaten him, but I think we would have been right behind him instead of 11 lengths back.”

The Big Cat was the third foal out of Seashore Hanover, and the first to make it to the races. The first two foals, both fillies, were described as “lunatics” by Unflat.

“We had to give them away,” Unflat said. “But he was like a pussycat. He’s easy to handle and get along with. You can’t believe this colt. He’s a stud colt, but you can go in his stall and he’ll put his head on your shoulder. He’s a real gentle, nice colt.

“He’s got a full sister (Scandalous Lady) who is three right now and she’s one of the best horses in training at Vernon Downs. But she was a total lunatic, too. It took Howard a month just to be able to get into the stall with her. He told me that he would have sent her back to me, but he couldn’t get her out of the stall. She’s getting there now. She’s bigger than The Big Cat and trots like heck.”

The Unflats have nine horses in training. They breed and raise their horses on a 400-acre farm in Hawley, Pennsylvania, located about 35 miles east of Scranton. Much of the property is wooded and features a number of ponds, streams and springs. Gunther Unflat is a retired oil burner mechanic and steamfitter. He bred and owned 2000 Berry’s Creek winner Whelan Willie.

“I enjoy the sport and I’m having fun doing it,” said Unflat, who has a cousin, Magnus, who races in Germany. “It gives me an opportunity to be out in the air, which is quite a bit different from what I had been doing. I was on my knees all my life working in boiler rooms; it sort of took its toll on me. This is a good life.

“As long as my horses show good, that’s all I care about. They’re like my children. We raise them and try to do the right thing with them. When you see them do good, it makes me feel good.”