by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — It only took about 72 hours for Greg West to recognize Super Soph, the undefeated Wolverine State’s 2-year-old pacing filly champion, could just very well be the best horse in his barn.

“I got her in March (2012) after Tony Lang broke her,” recalled the Howell, Michigan, resident. “She was in Hillsdale which is a good two hours away from the owners and they like to come out to see her train. I was a lot closer to them and I had a horse with (owner) Brian Campbell before. When they asked me to train her, knowing it was one of the best families in Michigan, it was kind of hard to refuse.

“I trained her about three days after I got her and I was impressed,” he continued. “She only went in three minutes, but she had a beautiful gait and just wanted to do it. She loved going out jogging and training and would rather be doing that then be in the paddock.”

Hazel Park photo

Super Soph won all nine of her starts as a freshman.

The now 3-year-daughter of Admirals Galley and the Armbro Aussie mare Platinum Card is owned by the afore-mentioned Campbell, Ryan Morefield and Mark Wamp. The filly, who was a perfect 9 for 9 in 2012, with a mark of Q1:55.1f and a bank account stuffed with $63,081, is a full sister to Admirals Express (p,1:48.2s, $1,766,644), Meal Ticket (p,1:52.4f, $298,761), Metallic (p,1:55f, $106,547), Preference (p,3,1:52s, $137,838) and The Admiral (p,4,1:52.1s, $398,145). She is a half-sister to Albada (Allie Kell, p,1:54.2s, $148,949), Ms Clairol (Armbro Cadet, p,1:51.4, $249,757), One Card Short (Keystone Raider, p,1:53.2s, $172,368) and Camtankerous (Cams Catch, p,1:51.3s, $181,293).

Originally named Sassy Siren, Super Soph commenced her career on July 6 at the Charlotte Fair, moved onto the Hastings Fair on July 15, then the Holland Fair in the $13,275 Wolverine Futurity on July 24 before competing at Hazel Park on August 6 in the $6,000 Silver Series.

Her next stop was the Midland Fair on August 14 for the $16,540 Spartan Futurity, then the Adrian Fair on August 20 for the $5,880 Silver Circuit, and then two engagements at Hazel Park for the $15,771 Michigan Breeders Futurity on August 27 and $39,682 Sire Stakes Final on Sept. 15.

She finished the 2012 season at the Hillsdale Fair on Sept. 25 and established her lifetime mark of 1:55.1, tying the Hazel Park track record, in a qualifying race on Sept. 6.

“In her second race I think she was used about four times in the mile,” said West, who is a native of Windsor, Ontario, and worked for Jack Darling for 17 years. “When they hit the head of the lane, a horse was collaring her, she was tapped a couple times and kind of drew off. In that race, she would go to the front, then another guy would come and then she would go back to the front. She had every excuse to lose that race, but she didn’t and I was impressed.

“I’ve always said I couldn’t wait for her to race out of the hole,” he continued. “She was on the front end all the time because she dominated and was so much the best you just took her out of the gate. She is not a front runner or puller.

MHHA photo

Driver Jason Merriman and trainer Greg West were all smiles after Super Soph’s win at the Wolverine Futurity in July.

“In that qualifier there was another horse in there that was a 4-year-old that was good at 2, but I told Jason (Merriman) not to get crazy with her because it was just a prep for the Sire Stakes Final. Jason was a couple lengths off at a half in :58.1, with the three-quarters in 1:27.1 and when he tipped her out she just went sailing on by and went :28 flat in the end. He never pulled the plugs and was just sitting on her. After he passed the wire he just kind of put his arms up in the air like to say, ‘Don’t blame me, she did what she wanted to do.’ He was probably thinking ‘Oh my God, he probably wants to punch me in the head for her going this fast.’”

Super Soph is back in training and will more than likely be ready to return to the track in mid-March and her connections would like to try her outside the confines of her home state.

“She’s been in 2:35 already,” West said. “It’s still up in the air if they want to race at Pocono. The stakes guide hasn’t come out, but hopefully we can find a few races for her out of state to see her true ability.

“After her last start we turned her out for two months,” he continued. “She has filled out a lot and grew quite a bit. She wasn’t small and was about medium-sized, but now she’s between medium and big. She has really developed. We are all really excited and I know Brian and Ryan are both really psyched. Mark can’t take a lot of time off from work to see her races, but he did make it to three last year. He’s enjoying the ride, as he’s had a lot of horses over the years, but I don’t think he’s had one as good as this one.”