by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner

Freehold, NJ — When it comes to his personality, Easy Again is easy going.

A 3-year-old colt pacer in the George Teague, Jr. stable, Easy Again did not do much wrong in 2011, winning three of seven races, hitting the board three other times, and earning $139,805. The horse, which was driven by Montrell Teague, is expected to return to the track next week in a qualifier at Dover Downs as he prepares for a stakes-filled season.

Easy Again, a son of Dragon Again-Kuklapanandollie, was rated No. 16 in the inaugural Hoof Beats/TrackMaster Predictive Rankings for 3-year-old pacers. The ratings attempt to forecast this year’s fastest performers.

USTA photo

George Teague, Jr. is looking for a big 3-year-old campaign for Easy Again.

“He’s named right; he’s easy on himself,” said Teague, who owns the horse with Kovach Stables, Ted Gewertz and Robert Feldman. “He’s an angel. He’s got a nice disposition and loves to do his work.”

Even more importantly, Easy Again is fast. Despite some issues with his gait, particularly at the start of races, the colt established a mark of 1:52, which he set on Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs’ five-eighths-mile oval and was tied for eighth quickest by a 2-year-old around a track of that size.

Only once last year was Easy Again nearer than fourth place when he got to the three-quarters.

“He needs to get off the wings (of the starting gate) a little better,” Teague said. “It hindered him in some races; he got scramble-legged and it cost him getting better position. If you tried to chase him off the wings he got grabby and off balance. But I haven’t seen it from him coming back. I think he’ll be good this year.

“He’s got speed. He’s a nice horse. You don’t have to get a perfect trip because he can take a lot of air. He’s got a great set of lungs and doesn’t seem to get tired. He doesn’t have to bring his trip with him. You have to admire a horse that can take it outside and keep coming.”

In the victory at Pocono, which came in a division of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes, Easy Again handed Sweet Lou his first loss of the year and only one of two setbacks suffered by the Ron Burke trainee in 12 races. Sweet Lou won the Breeders Crown with a world-record 1:49 performance at Woodbine.

“I think we saw that Sweet Lou is a little better than good,” Teague said. “He’s a great horse.”

Teague hopes Easy Again can move into the same territory. Last year, the colt’s schedule was limited because Teague did not stake Easy Again to many races.

“He seemed average early on,” Teague said. “He didn’t show as much talent as he did later. By the time May rolled around, I could tell he was going to be a real nice colt.

“We definitely covered our bases this year; he’s staked to virtually everything.”

Easy Again’s final start last year was a second-place finish to Sweet Lou in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes final on Sept. 10 at Pocono. Easy Again, who was a slight favorite, was forced to move three wide approaching the final turn and Sweet Lou went gate-to-wire to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:51.1.

“He picked up second-over cover and it looked like it was going to work out perfect,” Teague said. “But the horse in front of him slowed to a crawl and (Easy Again) lost quite a bit of momentum. He paced well when he got his feet back under him.

“I’m excited about having him in the barn. He’s coming back well.”

Teague is also excited about another one of his 3-year-old colt pacers — Racing Rocky. Unraced as a 2-year-old, Racing Rocky (Art Major-Moss Blue Chip) won twice in January at Dover Downs and qualified in 1:53.1 on Wednesday. He is heading to Canada for the Youthful Series, which begins Monday.

“I thought he was the best 2-year-old I had training down,” Teague said. “He got colt sore and we shut him down. But he’s a pretty nice colt. He looks like he could be a major player. I have confidence in him.”