from Harness Racing Communications, a division of the USTA

Freehold, NJ — Trainer-driver Ray Schnittker sent out a power-packed team in eliminations for the Valley Victory Stakes for 2-year-old trotting colts at Woodbine Racetrack on October 20. Both Schnittker-trained colts, Deweycheatumnhowe (1:54.2, $252,345, 8-8-0-0) and Make It Happen (1:58.2, $97,749, 10-3-2-3), came home winners; the former by nearly two lengths in 1:56.4, the latter in a late rush at the wire in 1:58.2. The two will start from posts three and two, respectively, in the C$666,050 final on October 27 at Woodbine.

Schnittker first saw Deweycheatumnhowe long before he bought him as a yearling for $80,000.

Nigel Soult photo

Deweycheatumnhowe has won each of his seven starts this year, including this triumph in a Bluegrass division at The Red Mile.

“I knew a lot of the family because my mares are at (breeder) Steve Jones’ farm (in Montgomery, New York) and I knew the foals out of the mare,” Schnittker said. “I actually just liked the looks of the horse. I probably saw him once every couple months from the day he was born.

“He was just kind of a big colt, but I thought he was pretty correct and every one out of that mare (Trolley Square) has been kind of close to maybe getting the job done.”

Eight of the nine foals of Trolley Square have winning marks faster than 2:00 and two have sub-1:55 marks.

“I always figure if I can get the one that goes over the edge a little bit more, you’ve got the right one.”

Schnittker had similar designs on sons and daughters of Meadowbranch Magic, mother of Make It Happen.

“I had Man Of Action (his Malabar Man half brother; 1:57.3, $187,736), who was a nice 2-year-old and a real nice colt and then Jersey Gal (another Malabar Man half sister; 1:54.1, $194,872). She was a midget that was actually a pretty good horse. (Make It Happen is) a New York-bred; I was kind of looking for that so I bought him for 100,000.”

While Schnittker has not regularly bought horses in that price range, the rising economics of the purse structure in New York is giving him greater buying power.

“I’ve been getting up there (in that price range) lately, we’re going for more money and making more, so I guess you spend more,” he said.

Make It Happen has stepped up his game of late, winning his Valley Victory elimination in a career-best time of 1:58.2.

“He may be better on a mile track, plus I changed his shoeing after the (New York Sires Stakes) final (at Yonkers on September 15, where he finished fourth) and it seems like it helped him some,” Schnittker said. “He did just get beat in the Historic Stake (at the Meadowlands on June 28). He really raced pretty good that night; got beat in the last stride. He’s been wearing a 5/8-inch flip-flop shoe and I changed him to straight aluminum. It’s lighter and I think it keeps him from climbing, he goes lower now. He’s more efficient now.”

Schnittker drove both horses in their elimination races, but will enlist the services of John Campbell for the stable entry in the final.

“We had to pick posts, so I picked the three for Dewey with myself and I put John Campbell on Make It Happen out of the two. It’s not bad to get John, ever,” he laughed.

Deweycheatumnhowe, whose name comes from the Johnny Carson routine featuring a law firm called “Dewey, Cheatem and Howe,” has been on the lead by the half in six of his 10 wins, but Schnittker isn’t concerned about his ability to come from off the pace.

“He has probably the best line a Standardbred has ever raced at the Meadowlands (on July 18 in the New Jersey Sires Stakes final). He sat last in that final, behind brutal cover and he made up maybe 10 lengths. A horse is not supposed to win from where he was coming from (he was three-wide at the three-quarters from eighth to win by a neck in 1:57 with a :27.4 last quarter). But usually he’s the best and by the quarter pole, you try to get to the front, get out of everyone’s way, set your own fractions and you don’t have to worry about getting run into. He’s actually probably better racing from behind, but he’s good from anywhere.”

THE TIME Photography by Frank Becker

Ray Schnittker is pictured with his prize colt Deweycheatumnhowe earlier this year at Walnut Hall Ltd.

Schnittker said if both horses come out of the Valley Victory in good shape, Make It Happen will likely head to the November 10 Matron Stakes at Dover Downs while Deweycheatumnhowe will take some time off before the Breeders Crown; or maybe he’ll go for a ride. Schnittker, who’s based at the Goshen Historic Track in the barn used by Walter Cox, who won the 1929 Hambletonian, hopped up on “Dewey” for some fun this summer while on a hiatus from the racetrack.

“He had a 10-week gap (from mid-July to mid-September) and I wanted to give him something to do, so we rode him, we swam him,” Schnittker said. “He liked getting ridden. I rode him at my farm in Goshen, it took him about five minutes to get the hang of it. We go for 40-minute rides, through trails on the farm. It breaks up the monotony for him and I’m hoping later in his career he won’t get sour. I rode him probably four days out of seven when we were at Lexington for two weeks and then a couple days before I sent him to Canada.”

Joining the Schnittker duo in the Valley Victory final are Celebrity Secret, Over Ruled, Stand Guard, O U Gus, Mr Mission, Deliberate, Credit AS and Holiday Credit.