by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — Her resume might not be as accomplished as some of her fellow Hambletonian Oaks competitors, but Wincinnatti relishes the circumference of the Meadowlands and no matter what kind of traffic she encounters, the filly will be coming down the lane at top speed.

“She needs a mile with big sweeping turns and she seems to get around the track at the Meadowlands pretty well,” explained her conditioner, Brett Bittle. “She also has a good set of lungs on her, always finishes the mile strong and seems to have good stamina, so we thought last year we might have something.”

The daughter of the late Trotting Triple Crown victor Windsong’s Legacy and Enbeecee was purchased by Jason, Douglas and Ronald Allen at the 2009 Standardbred Horse Sale for $140,000. Wincinnatti is the fourth foal out of her unraced dam. She piqued her owners’ interest due to her looks and her half-brother, Fuel My Muscles (Muscles Yankee, 1:54.1, $99,885), who also performed for the same connections.

“She was a well put together filly and that horse (Fuel My Muscles) gave them some thrills,” said Bittle, who also trained 2003 Older Trotting Mare of the Year Windylane Hanover. “They kind of liked the family and I liked the way she looked. That combination made them go ahead and pull the trigger.”

USTA/Mark Hall photo

Wincinnatti grabbed the lead in the lane in her Bluegrass division last fall before finishing in a dead heat with Lady Rainbow.

The filly possesses a lifetime record of 12-3-2-1, a career mark of 1:53.2, and purse earnings of $64,832. In only her fifth start, Wincinnatti dead-heated for first place with the top trotting filly and fellow Oaks contestant, Lady Rainbow, in an $88,500 division of the Bluegrass Series at The Red Mile on October 14, 2010. She then finished third in a $91,000 division of the International Stallion Stake at the same track before finishing seventh in both the $45,575 Matron Preview and $136,725 Matron Final at Dover Downs to close out her freshman season.

This year, Wincinnatti has trotted four miles at the Meadowlands with a second in a $16,900 New Jersey Sire Stakes event on June 2, a sixth in the $257,000 Del Miller on July 15, a win in a $23,500 New Jersey Sire Stakes race on July 22 and a fifth in her $35,000 Hambletonian Oaks Elimination on July 30. She has banked $17,725 in 2011 and lowered her lifetime mark by more than four full seconds.

On Saturday (August 6) the filly, with Yannick Gingras as her guide, will leave from post position eight in the $750,000 Hambletonian Oaks Final, which along with the $1 million Hambletonian Final, will air in a one hour telecast on NBC (3-4 p.m. EDT).

USTA/Ken Weingartner photo

Trainer Brett Bittle will send Wincinnatti into the Hambletonian Oaks final.

“She trained down fairly well but always had an issue getting around tighter turns, so I was a bit skeptical to get her started until we sent her to Lexington with John Duer for a couple of starts last year, but once we got her on a bigger track, she became more comfortable with the turns,” Bittle said. “Also, we’ve had a chiropractor come in and do some work on her, because she has some problems with her back and lower lumbar that plague her, but the stretches we now do with her every day really help her back along.

“She had to race her guts out to get the nickel the other night (in the elimination),” he continued. “I was very encouraged with that. She had to tip out there three high to get over (Trond) Smedshammer (with Lost Symbol) and she went the fastest last quarter in the race. Yannick said he got the first quarter in :32 and a 1:53 mile is very solid for her. She has been consistently closing in every race this year and I’m very happy with that.”

Although she doesn’t sport the credentials of Lady Rainbow, Jezzy, Iron Lady, Crys Dream, Martiniontherocks and Hey Mister, Bittle is hopeful Wincinnatti will continue to progress and provide a good account of herself.

“She’s lightly raced kind of by design,” he said. “Last year it was because of the back issues and once the Meadowlands closed we didn’t have any other options for her other than Lexington. This year I tried to get her into some overnights at the Meadowlands, but I wasn’t able to and also I didn’t want her over-raced before coming into the Oaks, because that has been our target since we spent $140,000 for her.

Lisa photo

Wincinnatti lowered her lifetime mark to 1:53.2 in a NJSS leg on July 22.

“We are going to need a lot of luck as far as our journey goes and that’s going to be up to Yannick to be in the right spot,” Bittle continued. “Hopefully, she will be on her game as well, because with each start she seems to improve by becoming more focused and realizing what she needs to do out there. She’s pretty determined and she likes coming at a horse late, then wearing them down.”

After the Oaks, Bittle said Wincinnatti has several other engagements on her schedule.

“It does depend on how this race goes and she will make the plans depending on how she is doing,” he said. “She does have a New Jersey Sire Stake Final the week after the Oaks and then we will see how she is. She has Lexington on her card and the Breeders Crown if we are that lucky.

“Like I said, last year we had trouble with her around turns and she is still maturing, so I’ve kind of had to wait on her,” Bittle continued. “Without a lot of experience, she has raced at the top level and she has stepped up for us. Hopefully, she will be able to do that and continue to improve.”

Below is the field for the Hambletonian Oaks:

PP-Horse-Driver-Trainer-ML
1-Iron Lady-Michel Lachance-Fredrik Persson-5-1
2-Crys Dream-Luc Ouellette-Henrik Hollsten-7-5
3-Seducedbychocolate-David Miller-Jonas Czernyson-20-1
4-Lady Rainbow-Rick Zeron-Rick Zeron-10-1
5-Bold And Fresh-Ron Pierce-Doug Miller-12-1
6-Sashay-Ron Pierce-Bob Stewart-15-1
7-Hey Mister-Brian Sears–Ross Croghan-4-1
8-Wincinnatti-Yannick Gingras-Brett Bittle-15-1
9-Martiniontherocks-Trevor Ritchie-Dustin Jones-15-1
10-Jezzy-Tim Tetrick–Ray Schnittker-6-1