by Jeff Renton, Woodbine Entertainment Group

Toronto, August 24, 2004… After a world record-tying 1:49.2 mile in her Fan Hanover elimination last Saturday, one would assume that the three-year-old filly pacing phenom Rainbow Blue would have left it all out on the track. According to her trainer George Teague Jr. that is not the case.

WEG Photo

Rainbow Blue won her Fan Hanover elim in a world record-tying 1:49.2.

“She has got more in the tank, I can honestly tell you,” Teague said when contacted Monday evening.

It is yet to be seen if the Artiscape—Vesta Blue Chip bay can surpass the world record (which was originally set by Incredible Tilly in 2000), but if you ask Teague he will tell you that he really doesn’t know how fast this filly can go.

“I wasn’t a bit surprised,” said Teague, a Virginia native. “One night at the Meadowlands [July 23, Tarport Hap final] she won in [1]:50 in the slop and I said right then and there that I didn’t know how fast she could go. And she did it equally as easy as she did it the other night, so even that was a pretty amazing mile.”

Her next test will come this Saturday evening at Woodbine in the C$705,900 final of the 22nd annual Fan Hanover Stakes. The rich final has been programmed as the evening’s seventh race, which has an approximate post time of 9:46 p.m.

After starting from post position two in her elimination, Rainbow Blue and driver Ron Pierce led to the quarter in 26 seconds flat. In the second panel, Shes My Belle (Chris Christoforou) went to the lead from third and reached the half in :54.2. Calmly retaking after the 1:22.1 third quarter, Pierce tipped the Winbak Farm-bred out and it was game over from there. Under the wire in 1:49.2, Rainbow Blue had come home in :27.1, victorious by two lengths with Pierce virtually motionless in the sulky.

“Ronny [Ron Pierce] does such a wonderful job with her because he is always back down with her before she gets to the finish and saving a little bit until November [Matron],” explained Teague. “My favourite line to him is ‘November is quite a while away when you start in April.’ So every little second we can save now means we can go a little further in November and the Breeders Crown in October. That is why he hasn’t been ‘gung-ho-ing’ I think. Ronny has just got a great style of driving anyway, but he has never gassed her to her limit and that is a wonderful thing.”

In a new format on the Woodbine Entertainment circuit this year for major stakes, the three Fan Hanover elimination winners were able to select their post positions for the final. Drawing after Kikikatie (PP2) and L Dees Val (PP3), the Rainbow Blue camp selected post position four.

“It was more of a toss up because of the draw,” Teague said regarding why the four-hole was chosen. “Kikikatie had the first pick and then L Dees Val. Ronny didn’t really want the rail and it was really his decision to start with the four.”

When asked how Rainbow Blue came out of her mile last weekend, Teague quickly responded: “She stays fresh. She’s amazing to me. I can race her and the first head I see sticking out of a stall the next day is hers. She can ship for three or four hours from where I’m stabled to the Meadowlands and 7:00 the next morning there she is just screaming and yelling. She doesn’t get tired too easily.”

Along with his sister Brenda, George Teague Jr. has been stabled at Delaware’s Harrington Raceway for 28 years now. The duo have 20-25 head on average in their stable and together comprise Teague Inc., who co-own Rainbow Blue along with K And R Racing LLC, which is also based out of Houston, Delaware.

Brenda is currently at Classy Lane Stables keeping a watchful eye on the star pupil.

“She’s [Rainbow Blue] pretty versatile; she loves chasing horses believe it or not,” Continued George, 41. “She’s always on the front-end and it is a good spot for her to be as long as you are winning. But she just loves chasing horses.

“She’s on her game and she is going to give them all they want. I don’t want to stick my foot in my mouth, but she feels pretty fresh coming out of the last race. If everything is on cue they [the rest of the field] are going to get beat I’d say.”

The complete field for the final of the Fan Hanover is as follows:

PP – Horse – Listed Driver – Trainer
1 – Shakeitupamy – D. Dube – J. Anderson
2 – Kikikatie – D. Miller – J. Seekman
3 – L Dees Val – J. Campbell – M. Capone
4 – Rainbow Blue – R. Pierce – G. Teague Jr.
5 – Special Magic – S. Condren – B. McIntosh
6 – Pans Culottes – D. Dube – B. Wallace
7 – Glowing Report – G. Brennan – J. Silverman
8 – Serious Comfort – R. Mayotte – R. Atkin
9 – Front Page News – TBA – R. Van Dreason
10 – Invitro – P. MacDonell – G. Irwin

Always Cam shooting for Roses Are Red

Always Cam has missed the board in her two starts since capturing the Breeders Crown Open Mare Pace at the Meadowlands in upset fashion. Yet, being off the tote board in those races doesn’t necessarily mean the five-year-old Western Hanover miss isn’t ready to strike in the second of two C$50,000 Roses Are Red eliminations this Friday at Woodbine.

A former Jugette winner, Always Cam has paced in 1:50.3 and 1:51.1 in her past two dashes. Her speed mark of 1:49.2 was taken on July 31 during the Open Mare Pace, where she received little support at the windows and went off at 20-1.

With Bunny Lake (PP6, Luc Ouellette) and Eternal Camnation (PP7, Eric Ledford) capping off the field, Always Cam has drawn the rail and Mike Saftic has been listed to be at her reins for the evening’s sixth race (9:20 p.m.).

The top five finishers from each of the divisions will return to Woodbine on September 4 to contest the C$376,500 final, which will be the 25th installment and richest to date.

“We raced her back in the Golden Girls at the Meadowlands [on August 7],” said Zendt. “She drew outside and got away last. They were gapped and she never had a chance. I wouldn’t say that she raced badly, she raced okay, but it is just hard to pick them up from way back there. I can’t remember how far back she was at the half, but you just can’t make that up in a mile like that.”

From there, the career winner of 22 dashes performed at the Meadows on August 14, where she went off at 3-1 and finished fourth by four lengths.

“At the Meadows that was another deal where we didn’t go out of there with her and maybe we should have left,” Zendt said of Always Cam, who is owned by Pennsylvania’s Cam Land LLC and has banked over $876,000 for her career. “We decided to take her back and race her from behind. There were a couple horses there that didn’t figure in. We were gapped again and ended up first-over. She paced in [1]:51.1 after being off a ways, gapped, first-over and raced pretty well over a five-eighths track.”

Earning driving titles early in his career, Zendt, a Pennsylvania native, learned the ropes of the harness game from his father, Wilbur. Heading into Friday, Zendt explained what Always Cam has been up to since her last charted mile.

“She had last week off,” said Zendt, who in his career has driven winners of over 2,900 races and $11 million in earnings. “I trained her lightly this morning. She doesn’t get trained really hard, but when I trained her this morning she seemed sharp.”

Recently victorious with You Rock in his $94,500 division of the Cleveland Classic at Northfield Park, Zendt currently has in the range of 25 head in training, which includes a handful of three-year-olds that he is particularly fond of.

Zendt will be searching for his ever title in this year’s rendition of the Roses Are Red.