from Harness Racing Communications, a division of the USTA

Freehold, NJ — Southwind Tempo will be among the 3-year-old pacing fillies entered this weekend for eliminations of the $350,000 (est.) Lismore Stakes at Yonkers Raceway. The race is named for the Hall of Fame broodmare of the same name, but was formerly known as the Rose of Tralee.

Southwind Tempo is a rose that smells just as sweet, winner of four of five starts this year and a perfect three for three as a 2-year-old. She most recently won the Helen Dancer Stakes at Freehold Raceway in 1:53.4 on May 4 and prior to that, she won the final of the Tender Loving Care at the Meadowlands on March 2, both times with Tim Tetrick driving.

Southwind Tempo is co-owned by retired New York Jets receiver Wayne Chrebet and his former trainer/driver, Alton “Toby” Lynch. Lynch acquired the filly in a somewhat unusual way — as a young yearling, long before the traditional fall sales. He purchased the daughter of Bettor’s Delight for $3,500 at the Blooded Horse Sale in May of 2005.

“I’ve done that a few times and had some real good luck,” Lynch said. “Some people bring weanlings to the sale that look like they won’t turn out, the big farms.”

Lynch purchased the young filly based on her family tree. “Just the breeding, I bought her breeding because at that age, they can change so much. If you buy them and then they change, you got a deal.”

He bought her with the intention of training and possibly adding her to his small broodmare band. Lynch had no intention of re-selling her at the fall yearling sales, a practice known as “pinhooking.”

“I don’t do any of that pinhooking,” he said. “I’m based in Delmar, Delaware. I rent stalls at a small farm. She was training down pretty good and I had another colt that I bought as weanling that was a Cambest colt (Jet Set Hall), really a nice looking one. I had high hopes for him, but when she trained, she just kept toying with him all the time, she was so much better. That’s when we noticed she was probably pretty nice.

“But then she hurt herself. I had her trained down to 2:19 (in early April 2006) and she’d cut her ankle on a window and that set her back. That’s why she didn’t race much last year. The stall had a window on the outside and bars on the inside. Her foot wouldn’t fit through the bars, but somehow she must have hit it just right and her ankle went through the bars, just enough to bust the window and nick her ankle. Didn’t look like much, but it swelled all up and was pretty nasty. She ended up having stitches, it swelled up big as a softball and she was sore on it. We had to stand her in a stall for a month or so.

“I had her staked pretty heavily as a 2-year-old, but all that went out the window when she cut herself. I quit making the payments, but I paid everything as a 3-year-old and she’s eligible to all the big races.”

Southwind Tempo was ready to qualify in late October after her mishap and she breezed through a win in a qualifier and three overnight events at Dover throughout the fall.

“She was doing really well,” recalled Lynch, “but they wouldn’t let her race in the class she belonged in. After she showed so much potential, they wanted me to race her with older horses and the boys and I just stopped with her (after Thanksgiving). I gave her a couple-three weeks off and I was going to save her for that series (the Tender Loving Care). The weather got bad around here and our facility is not near as good as what she needs when you’ve got a really good horse like that. I’d met Steve Elliott at Lexington last year when I was there, and he’s got a first-class operation and is a really nice guy to deal with, so I sent two horses up to him.”

Lynch drove the filly himself in an overnight win and the Tender Loving Care preliminary until he went lame himself.

“I hurt my knee, twisted it and tore some cartilage and I just started back driving this week,” Lynch said.

Cat Manzi took over driving duties one week and then Tim Tetrick, leading dash winning driver in North America right now.

Lynch sold 20 percent of Southwind Tempo to Chrebet this spring.

“I already knew Wayne from the last couple years and he told Steve (Elliott) he was looking for a good horse. Steve said something to me about him. I’d had several offers to sell the mare. I really didn’t want to sell her at all. I told Wayne I’d sell him a small piece and he bought 20 percent.”

Lynch will put Tetrick up for the Lismore.

“Tim did me a favor when my knee was hurt,” he said. “He rode all the way to qualify her (at The Meadowlands on April 18). He’s one of the very best drivers there is, just needs a chance to get in these big stakes, so I don’t see any need getting in there and messing anything up.”

These would be the biggest stakes win ever for Lynch, who says Southwind Tempo is doing just about everything right.

“She’s good gaited, she loves to race, has decent manners and she’s just got it all. She’s a good shipper. After that injury she’s learned to take better care of herself. She was a picky eater and Steve’s got her real happy now. She’s turned out with another horse and he found out she had some ulcers and is getting that treated, so she’s eating good now.”