by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — In her final prep race for the $500,000 Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old Filly Trot at the Meadowlands on Friday (Nov. 21), Riveting Rosie demonstrated to her rivals she is a force to be reckoned with by virtue of a powerful track record performance in 1:53 in a $17,800 conditioned trot at Woodbine Racetrack this past Saturday (Nov. 15).

“Of course she does have a 10 or 11 hour ship,” said her 2001 O’Brien Award winning conditioner, John Bax. “You never know how they will handle that, but I could not be any more pleased with how she is coming into this race.”

And who could blame him? After capturing four of her last five miles, in addition to tying and setting a track record in two of those trips to the post, Riveting Rosie will attempt to cap off her season in style when she leaves from post position eight with regular reinsman Paul MacDonell in the bike. MacDonell is no stranger to the Breeders Crown winner’s circle as he has brought home eight trophies in championship action.

“I don’t like to tie a driver’s hands before a race,” Bax said. “Paul knows the horse well and he will be able to tell how she reacts when she warms up. He will take it from there. She has more than $800,000 on her card so it’s worked out for us more times than it has not.”

New Image Media photo

Riveting Rosie was track record sharp in her last start before the Breeders Crown, winning in 1:53 on Nov. 15 at Woodbine.

The daughter of Muscle Mass and the Balanced Image mare Rose De Vie Stena, was a $17,000 purchase at the 2012 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale and even without the hefty purse the Breeders Crown offers, Riveting Rosie has more than paid her own way.

Last year’s O’Brien Award 2-year-old champion trotting filly, she is the prized possession of Parkhill Stud Farm, Don Allensen, Joseph Parkinson and J.F. Hayes.

Her exemplary freshman campaign consisted of triumphs in the $362,780 Peaceful Way final and $194,000 Ontario Sire Stakes Super final. When her season was complete, Riveting Rosie had collected $452,618 in purse money, sported a record of 8-6-1-1 and established a speed standard of 1:55.3s.

“One of the main reasons we bought her is her mother is by Balanced Image,” Bax said. “I’ve always liked Balanced Image and those are the kinds of horses we look for.”

Obviously, her connections and the racing community held high expectations for the filly’s return in 2014, but a twist of fate complicated the beginning of her year.

“When we brought her back from Florida she got caught up in the trailer and stripped all the skin off her hind legs,” Bax said. “It was in a bad spot where you can’t sew anything up, although there was no structural damage. Manuka honey was suggested by our veterinarian so I went to the health store and using it did the trick. It just took her some time to come back from that.”

After two qualifying races in late April and early May, Riveting Rosie was 10th in her seasonal bow at Woodbine Racetrack on May 10. She also failed to hit the board in her next two starts, by finishing sixth and eighth, respectively, before seeming to find her old rhythm with a pair of thirds in Ontario Sire Stakes company on June 16 and July 3. In her next five miles, however, the filly only garnered a win and a second, plus was sixth in the Simcoe and Casual Breeze.

It was a second place finish to 2013 Dan Patch Award winner Shake It Cerry in the $368,100 Elegantimage at Mohawk Raceway on Sept. 13 that served notice the Riveting Rosie of old had returned. The final margin of victory was 9-1/4 lengths, but it took some time for Bax’s filly to shake free before she could begin her rally.

“She wouldn’t have beaten the other horse,” Bax said. “But if she could have gotten out sooner she would have been closer.”

Since that date, Riveting Rosie captured two Ontario Sire Stakes legs and the $222,500 Super Final on Oct. 11. In doing so, she became only the ninth horse to win back-to-back finals.

The only blemish on her record was a trip to Hoosier Park Oct. 31 for the $193,000 Moni Maker. After leading at the first pole, she faded to finish seventh with MacDonell simply taking care of her in the stretch.

Obviously, she experienced no ill effects from the excursion to the Midwest as she returned with the track record last weekend.

Her record for this year now stands at 16-5-2-2, with $371,088 in the bank. Riveting Rosie has accumulated $823,706 from 24 contests.

“Sometimes horses are smarter than we are,” Bax said. “I think she felt as bad as I did when she was not doing well earlier this year. She wants to win. She has that desire and I feel it could have affected her when she wasn’t.

“It did take some time for her to come back, but maybe that will help her at this point in the season. Whether she wins or does not, I know she will go out there and give a strong performance. She will not disappoint us.”

Riveting Rosie will have to overcome the Jimmy Takter-trained duo of Shake It Cerry and Lifetime Pursuit in Friday’s Breeders Crown.

Shake It Cerry won last year’s Breeders Crown for 2-year-old filly trotters and will try to become the first filly trotter since Cameron Hall to win at ages 2 and 3. Cameron Hall accomplished the feat in 2001 and 2002.

Shake It Cerry has won 22 of 27 career races and $1.80 million. A daughter of Donato Hanover-Solveig owned by Solveig’s Racing Partners, Shake It Cerry has won 14 of 16 races this year and $980,411. She has won eight consecutive starts since finishing fourth in the Hambletonian Oaks.

Lifetime Pursuit won the Hambletonian Oaks as part of a six-race win streak during the summer. She has finished second in her past four starts, three times to Shake It Cerry and once to Cee Bee Yes. A daughter of Cantab Hall-Queen Of Grace, she has won eight of 17 races this year and $795,216 for owner Brittany Farms.

Here is the nine-horse field for the 3-Year-Old Filly Trot in post order: 1. Market Rally, 2. Lifetime Pursuit, 3. Shake It Cerry, 4. Struck By Lindy, 5. Cantabs Fortune, 6. Heaven’s Door, 7. Vanity Matters, 8. Riveting Rosie, 9. Cee Bee Yes.