by Evan Pattak, for the Meadows

Washington, PA — Billy Haughton did it. So did Joe O’Brien and Stanley Dancer. Brett Pelling did it twice.

What these distinguished trainers achieved was back-to-back wins in the Delvin Miller Adios final. Haughton actually won the Adios in its first three editions, 1967-1969, a feat no trainer has matched.

Now trainer Jimmy Takter, whose Vintage Master captured the 2009 Adios, can join these harness racing legends if Rockin Image overcomes post nine and takes Saturday’s $500,000 final of the “Pace for the Orchids.”

How does Takter feel about keeping company with such an accomplished group?

“It would be something — for a Swede,” he joked.

Takter, of course, was referring to the tendency of Scandinavian horsemen in the US to focus exclusively, or nearly so, on trotters — a natural preference, since the trot is the dominant gait in their homelands.

For most of his career, trotting was Takter’s game, and he played at a world-class level. He trained Dan Patch Award winners Gleam, Armbro Prowess, Kadabra, Solveig and Ken Warkentin. Malabar Man won the hardware for him twice, Moni Maker four times. Takter was named Trainer of the Year in 1996 and shared that award with Mark Ford in 2000.

Chris Gooden photo

Rockin Image (on the inside) held off We Will See by a nose in their Adios elimination last Saturday.

But he began dabbling with pacers about a decade ago and got serious with it when he acquired Cabrini Hanover and guided her to the 2005 Dan Patch Award as 3-year-old Filly Pacer of the Year.

“You have to expand your business, widen your reach,” Takter said. “I thought I would give pacers a shot, and I have no regrets about it. In fact, it really doesn’t matter to me whether I’m training a trotter or a pacer.”

Takter trains roughly 60 horses, about 20 of them pacers, at his East Windsor, N.J. farm.

“I train my trotters and pacers identically,” he said. “It’s still a matter of conditioning them. Pacers will stay sounder for you; they’re better able to handle the pressure. Trotting is the more difficult gait.”

Rockin Image has been handling the pressure quite well, winning his Adios elimination for Yannick Gingras in 1:50.2 despite a demanding first quarter. He also took an elimination of the Meadowlands Pace and finished a respectable fourth in the $1 million final, beaten only 1-1/2 lengths by One More Laugh.

Perhaps most encouraging to Takter, the son of Rocknroll Hanover-Kikikatie appears to be fully recovered from throat surgery that sidelined him for a month earlier this year.

“He’s been tremendous since the surgery, so I think he’s as good as we can get him,” Takter said. “Before the surgery, he made sounds after every race. He doesn’t do that any more.”

For the Adios final, Takter hopes for a much kinder trip for Rockin Image.

“If he’s in front, I don’t want him to have to work too hard to get there,” he said. “Ideally, he’ll be sitting second over going into the last turn, and they’ll be racing pretty good up front. In the Adios, they always do.”

The field for the Adios final, from the rail, with drivers and the early line posted by The Meadows track handicapper Roger Huston:

1. Trick Man–Ray Paver–20-1
2. Nova Artist–Eric Ledford–10-1
3. Versado–Dave Palone–2-1
4. We Will See–Brett Miller–4-1
5. Pang Shui–Jim Morrill, Jr.–12-1
6. Whackamole Hanover–Tim Tetrick–20-1
7. I’m Gorgeous–Andy Miller–12-1
8. Delmarvalous–Brian Sears–6-1
9. Rockin Image—Yannick Gingras–3-1