by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — Usually it takes quite some time before a horse returns the financial investment placed in him or her, but that certainly has not been the case for Sing Jesse Sing.

The 3-year-old Ohio-bred son of Jailhouse Jesse-Hollybrook Lane was purchased privately by the partnership of Burke Racing Stable, Slaughter Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi and Frank Baldachino shortly before a $29,000 elimination for the Goodtimes Stakes at Mohawk Racetrack on June 19. The colt won his elimination and went on to capture the $375, 390 final the following week.

In five starts since the Goodtimes, which have all been in Ohio-sired company, Sing Jesse Sing has posted four wins and a second. He has earned $284,898 lifetime, has a career resume of 19-8-7-1 and a mark of 1:53.3s accomplished in the Goodtimes final.

USTA/Ed Keys photo

Sing Jesse Sing is currently on a four race winning streak.

“My owners are always looking for a good horse and this one was eligible for the Goodtimes, so we went ahead and bought part of him,” explained Ron Burke, who conditions the colt. “After the elimination obviously we were very happy with him and in the final he raced great. It worked out perfect; you very rarely have the chance to get all your money back in two weeks.”

Bred by Harry and Iris Horowitz of Brooklyn, New York, Sing Jesse Sing is the second of three foals out of his unraced dam and sold for $4,000 under the name Gerritsen Beach at the Ohio Selected Jug Sale on September 15, 2008.

Although Burke has horses competing in various racing jurisdictions throughout North America, he doesn’t often purchase horses for Ohio stakes company, but he definitely had a good reason for taking a chance with Sing Jesse Sing.

“He is a Jailhouse Jesse, which is Buck I St Pat and we are much more inclined to look at horses that are by him,” he said.

The colt doesn’t possess a lot of girth and height, but he has a great attitude and is a very easy horse to get along with. In fact, he’s very similar to his champion stablemate.

“He really is a lot like Buck I,” Burke said. “We have a few other Jailhouse Jesses, like Sunset Gentelman, and they all seem like they like to work and are quick to learn what you expect of them.

“Buck I has grown into a great-looking horse and I think maybe the rest of them are going to be that way,” he continued. “They will develop into nice aged trotters if you give them time and take care of them. I think they will turn out to be nice horses.”

The 13-year-old Jailhouse Jesse, who earned $256,350 on the racetrack and as a freshman won the New Jersey Sire Stakes final, now stands in Indiana for $4,000 and has progeny earnings of more than $4.5 million from 125 starters. His first two crops only produced 24 registered foals but this get collected nearly $3 million in purse money.

Sing Jesse Sing, who is his sire’s second leading performer by record and his third leading money earner behind only Buck I St Pat and Sunset Gentelman, will not have too rigorous of a campaign for the rest of this year and will travel north of the border for 2011.

“Basically, he’ll just finish out in Ohio and then he’ll take a break,” Burke said. “Then we will take him back to Canada and he will just race on the Canadian circuit as a 4-year-old. He’s a very nice horse.”