by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner

Freehold, NJ — Joe Holloway had high hopes for Shebestingin prior to the filly pacer suffering an injury that cut short her 2-year-old season. Since her return, she has done nothing to change his opinion.

Shebestingin (pronounced She-be-stingin) went 3-for-3 last year, winning divisions of the Simpson, Reynolds and Tompkins-Geers stakes before being sidelined in August by a stress fracture.

This season she has won three of four starts, most recently capturing the John Simpson Memorial at the Meadowlands by 2-1/2 lengths over O Narutac Rockette, with last season’s division champion Somwherovrarainbow finishing third.

Her only loss came by a neck to Jerseylicious, who won last year’s Sweetheart Pace and is undefeated in eight starts this season, in the final of the Bobby Weiss Series on April 23 at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. Shebestingin started from the far outside post, No. 9, which has the worst win percentage (6.3) at the track.

USTA/Ken Weingartner photo

Shebestingin has won six times in seven lifetime starts, with a bankroll of $83,283.

“We were high on her last year,” said Holloway, who trains Shebestingin for owners Val D’Or Farms, Ted Gewertz and L&L DeVisser LLC. “The reason I got her ready so early (this year) is she’s pretty inexperienced. I wanted to get a few starts under her belt.

“What are you going to do, wait until June and start up; it’s tough to train one down that tight. Now it’s a lot easier. She’s already tight; I can back off a couple weeks. She’s not going to race until the New York Sire Stakes (June 9) at Tioga. She’ll get two solid weeks off and then I’ll qualify her. Then it gets hot and heavy.”

Shebestingin’s stakes schedule includes the Valley Forge, Mistletoe Shalee, Breeders Crown and Matron. She started this season with wins in two rounds of the Weiss series before losing to Jerseylicious in 1:50.4. Shebestingin was four wide around the first turn and got the lead after an opening quarter-mile of :27. With Shebestingin showing the way and Jerseylicious sitting on her back, the half was :54.3 and three-quarters was 1:22.4.

“She raced great,” Holloway said. “Halfway through the stretch I thought she could still win. Even though I already knew the outcome of the race (would be a loss) I still thought she might hang on. It’s not like she got beat by a lot.”

A daughter of stallion Bettor’s Delight out of the mare Armbro Tussle, Shebestingin was purchased as a yearling for $55,000 at the Standardbred Horse Sale and is a half-sister to stakes-winners Hop Sing and Bono Bests.

After opening her 2-year-old campaign with wins in the Simpson and Reynolds, both at the Meadowlands, she opened eyes with an impressive 6-1/4 length win over Give Me An Amen in 1:53.4 over a “good” track in a division of the Tompkins-Geers at Tioga Downs. Driven by David Miller, Shebestingin was fifth at the halfway point, but rocketed to the lead with a three-wide move on the backstretch and never looked back.

It turned out to be Shebestingin’s final start of the year as she was scratched from the Sweetheart because of a tibial stress fracture. She required 30 days of stall rest and another month of jogging before she could resume full training.

“At that time of year what are you going to do; try to shoot for the Breeders Crown or the Matron? It’s tough to bring one back and just shoot for the end of the year and then have to shut them back down again,” Holloway said. “It was better to just shut her down for the year.

“It’s a strange injury in (Standardbreds); it’s more Thoroughbreds caused by the explosive move coming out of the gate,” he added. “It was only a small little crack, but enough to make her sore. I don’t know how it happened.”

Now with Shebestingin back in action, Holloway is anxious to see what she can accomplish. Holloway has trained two filly pacers to divisional honors: She’s A Great Lady in 1995 and Lady MacBeach in 2000.

And while Holloway is reluctant to make any predictions about what Shebestingin can do, he will say this: “She’s as good a horse as I’ve had in a long time.”