by David Mattia, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

New Brunswick, NJ — If you’re a harness racing fan looking for a lot of excitement, all you have to do is follow the career of Southwind Tempo — but don’t count on any big paydays.

Despite being a “Bettor’s Delight,” Southwind Tempo, owing to her talent and penchant for being an overwhelming favorite, has yet to illuminate more than a few bulbs on the infield board.

“My husband and I drove all the way from White Plains, New York (to Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs),” said slots and harness fan Millie McGee. “I’ve been following the trotters since back in the ’50s when I went to Roosevelt with my father, and now with the slot machines it’s too good to be true…and the race (the James Lynch Memorial Final) was so exciting. We saw Southwind Tempo a few weeks ago at Yonkers and now we came here and there she is again. She doesn’t pay anything, but just watching her is a big thrill.”

Racehorsephoto.com photo

Tim Tetrick steered Southwind Tempo to the world record, 1:49.3 score in the James Lynch Memorial.

Southwind Tempo’s record-breaking performance last Saturday in the James Lynch Memorial Final at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs couldn’t have been better timed. This daughter of Bettor’s Delight–Tsunami Hanover (Artsplace) has started the 2007 season off with a bang.

“She got stung going to the opening quarter but I wasn’t concerned,” driver Tim Tetrick told Pocono’s Publicity Department about her world-record victory. “She just has so much power. When she saw a horse coming at us down the backside she just latched on to me. I really believe she can race better off cover. She’s a great horse, a Corvette.”

Harness racing analyst, Bob “Hollywood” Heyden, added, “She’s a fantastic filly. Usually a top filly has a flaw or something she doesn’t specialize in — a preference for a bigger track or a smaller one for example. Not Tempo. It seems nothing is out of the question for her. The other thing with her is the way she was managed and handled. Let’s be honest, most people who have a filly of this caliber in March give in to the temptation to race her right through, but these connections were thinking ahead and thinking about what was best for the filly. They gave her some time to freshen up, mature, and she came back firing more bullets. Hats off to Tim Tetrick, Toby Lynch, Wayne Chrebet and Steve Elliott.”

Nothing about Southwind Tempo is conventional. She didn’t qualify for her 2-year-old season until late October of 2006, and she won her first pari-mutuel start nine days later in 1:55.1. She followed that with four more consecutive wins that found her well into a new year and comfortably bedded down in a new barn. Previously her co-owner, Alton “Toby” Lynch, Jr., had handled her, but early in 2007 Lynch turned her over to Steve Elliott.

Southwind Tempo’s only loss was a second place finish in a division of the Tender Loving Care at The Meadowlands, but she made up for that minor blemish by winning the $60,000 final by 11–1/2 lengths in 1:51.4. That was on March 2, and the filly didn’t reappear until April 18 when she won a qualifier by 10–3/4 lengths in 1:57.2.

There was no big reason for the layoff because, as “Hollywood” Heyden said, she just used the time to freshen up and mature. It seemed to work pretty well because Southwind Tempo followed that qualifier with an easy 1:53.4 win in the Helen Dancer Memorial at Freehold.

Another brief respite of about three weeks was capped by a 1:51.3 win in a Meadowlands qualifier and a quick trip over to Yonkers where she won the $242,620 Lismore in 1:52.4 over Elusive Prey and Trinity Islands, who finished in a dead heat for second.

It may have been a curious route thus far for Southwind Tempo, but it’s been a winning one just the same for the filly and her connections.