No Fool in This Geldin

Transcription

1 No Fool in This Geldin FEEL LIKE A FOOL was far from foolproof this past racing season but thanks to the patience of George Teague and his staff the rookie pacing colt overcame his quirks and stamped himself as a contender. By Greg Reinhart After the success of One More Laugh in the three-year-old pacing group in 2010, another gelding looks poised to take over that position in 2011, that being the George Teague trained Feel Like A Fool, a son of New York-based stallion Art Major who won six times from 11 starts and banked over $579,000 as a two-year-old. Beyond those flashy numbers, the gelding showed fantastic speed on a weekly basis, capped off by a 1:49.4 mile during Grand Circuit action at The Red Mile. Teague first saw Feel Like A Fool in the sales ring at the 2009 Standardbred Horse Sale in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Like many of Teague s top horses, Feel Like A Fool was not a top dollar purchase; he brought only $30,000, but he is well-bred. His dam Fool That I Am, a Jennas Beach Boy mare, produced I Aint No Fool (The Panderosa, $348,047), and Fool That I Am s dam, Spurred On, a Kentucky Spur mare who earned over $308,000, is a sister to the likes of I Am A Fool (Life Sign, $1,392,293) and Cams Fool (Cams Card Shark, $852,081), along with five other horses who earned between $256,000 and $430,000.

2 : g s Got Go Photo by Nigel Soult

3 NO FOOL IN : THIS GELDING S GOT GO Photo by New Image Media I kind of buy horses a little bit differently than a lot of guys. I buy mine at the sales ring, and I don t really get a good look at them before they come into the sales ring, Teague said. I had a partner that was interested in him and told me to look at him, and we kind of agreed on a price before he even came in. He s definitely got enough pedigree. A big percentage of the horses made it to the races with a lot of printing on the pages, horses that really did some good things in the business, so he was an easy choice that way, and Art Major is a pretty hot stallion, so it wasn t a real tough call. He s medium-sized. He s an averagelooking horse to me. He s not flashy. He s a bay colt with no colour. He s a nice-looking horse, but nothing stands out about him. After the sale, Teague took an ownership piece of the horse through his George Teague Inc., and then brought in longtime client Kovach Stables LLC. and prominent owner Ted Gewertz to round out the ownership contingent. Teague then sent Feel Like A Fool to his headquarters at Harrington Raceway in Delaware, but Feel Like A Fool proved to be a test for Teague s patience with his quirky ways. Feel LIke A Fool was the fastest and richest of Art Major's two-year-old crop in George Teague noted that the fact that Feel Like A Fool was by Art Major (pictured above) was one of the reasons he purchased him. He was a tough kid right from the start. He wasn t your everyday horse, Teague recalled. Right from the day he walked in the stall he was real, real skittish, just totally different than a lot of horses you mess with, and that did not become any easier right to today. Now, he s as not skittish about coming into the stall, but you ve got to be real careful about how you hook him, and how you move around him. He s just real flighty. On the racetrack at first, he was a handful. He was very hard to get gaited because he was so hyper, but as time went on he got better and better. You could always see the speed in him, and he was awful good gaited once he hit his gait, but he wouldn t keep it long. He did get loose one time at the Meadowlands, but he was inside the barn, so it wasn t like he was running rampant around the racetrack. It took three people to hook him, and I m talking about for six months, not for a couple weeks and then he got better. How we hooked him, was head him to a wall, and usually I stood in front of him, and anchored down because as soon as he heard the clicks (harnessing him), he was nutty, and he didn t like earplugs so you couldn t put them in him. You just had to stand there and wait for him to settle down before you went. Because of these issues, the decision was made to geld Feel Like A Fool early in his training, and Teague says that played one of the biggest roles in Feel Like A Fool s success on the racetrack. He was gelded early, probably within a month of breaking him, Teague offered. He wasn t real mean or studdy, but he was just so skittish. You try to eliminate a couple of things that might settle him down, and believe it or not, it did settle him down, but it didn t take away all of his quirks. January 2011 The Harness Edge

4 There are only a handful of horses every year that are going to be stallions, and you re lucky to find that horse that s going to be that one, so gelding them isn t always a bad choice. I think what made him the horse he was was gelding him, he didn t have stud potential. I just hope he stays as sound as he s been and he has a long career. There isn t anything wrong with hitting the racetrack. I like racing good horses, so it isn t a bad thing. Teague was quick to give his staff, especially his right-hand man Clyde Francis and his sister Brenda Teague, credit for the role they played in the gelding s development from beyond that point. Clyde s my main man. Brenda, Clyde, and I are the mainstays of the horse part of the operation. Clyde s a guy that s been with me for a lot of years, and he can do as much as I can. I rely on him as my main person. When we had too many horses and I had to move some to the Meadowlands, Clyde went to the Meadowlands for me this summer, and I would just go up periodically, sometimes twice a week, sometimes once a week, but Clyde had him all the time up there and he was managing him and taking care of him. In early June, I think I trained him in 1:57, and he could go with the best colts I had, but if he saw something, he was jumping it. Clyde kind of tinkered with his equipment when I missed a week up there, and he discovered the equipment that he liked, and he told me the progress he made. Clyde rigged him where he would stay flat, and that s why I always credit Clyde for the colt s success. He rigged him the right way because the horse wasn t easy even with that part. You had to have something on his face where didn t see things. Clyde just did an excellent job, and I can t credit him enough for it. With the horse ready to take to the track after training down, he stayed at the Meadowlands for three qualifiers, a 1:59.2 effort (:26.3 last quarter) on June 24; a 1:56 trip on July 1 (26 second last quarter) and a 1:56.2 journey on July 10 (:26.4 final quarter). Brian Sears was in the bike behind Feel Like A Fool on all three occasions, and Teague said that Sears was also Clyde (Francis) rigged him where he would stay flat, and that's why I always credit Clyde for the colt s success. He rigged him the right way because the horse wasn t easy even with that part. Clyde just did an excellent job, and I can t credit him enough for it. George Teague a key to Feel Like A Fool s development. I was impressed with the qualifiers, but I m going to give Brian Sears credit too because Brian really took it upon himself to judge his speed, Teague said. He knew he was fast enough, but he tried to teach him a little bit early, and I think that really helped him to have a good year. Brian was around him and trained him when Clyde had him up to the Meadowlands, so he was very familiar with him, and he knew his quirky ways, so that was a big plus. Brian s got a great personality for a horse like that because he s pretty mild-mannered. Then Dave Miller drove him his first The Harness Edge January 2011

5 NO FOOL IN : THIS GELDING S GOT GO start at Tioga and he got along with him real good (winning in 1:53.1 in a $25,339 Geers division). The only thing I would tell Dave and anybody that drives him is that he can go a long way fast. He doesn t need a trip, just sit him out in the middle of the racetrack, and he s going to do what he s supposed to do. All you need to do is make sure not too many horses get in front of him. He s better off having a target, he was a little bit funny that way. Feel Like A Fool s racing style was pretty much a constant throughout the year, coming from the off-the-pace, and Teague noted that was by design as his charge was a completely different horse depending on the kind of trip that he got. He just loves a target. If he gets to the front a little too soon, he s a little bit of a different colt there. He doesn t have the knowledge or the experience to just keep going on when he gets there, and sometimes you might catch him because he ll kind of sit down on you when he gets to the lead, Teague said. He can take air, he s got a great set of lungs, he s great gaited, and the main tool is he s fast. He s fast enough to do the things he can do and get away with it because a lot of times you aren t in a good spot if you get too far behind. I saw him one night at Vernon (a 1:53.2 win in a New York State Fair division on August 12), and I said there isn t any way in hell this horse is going to win, but he won by two or three lengths. As soon as Jim Morrill pushed the throttle, it was like turning a key, he was stroking. His style of racing is good. It s all built around speed, though, and he s got that tool. Feel Like A Fool wasn t foolproof, though as on three different occasions during his campaign, he made breaks in stride at some point during the mile. He broke at Batavia on August 2 in a New York Sire Stakes division, but still won; he broke twice in a Nassagaweya division on August 23 at Mohawk, and wound up third, and he ran again at Saratoga in a New York Sire Stakes division on September 18, but came back to finish second. With the horse able to overcome those breaks to hit the board each time, Teague is not as concerned going in He was a tough kid right from the start. He wasn t your everyday horse. Right from the day he walked in the stall he was real, real skittish, just totally different than a lot of horses you mess with, and that did not become any easier right to today. George Teague At Batavia he jumped a quarter boot at the finish, Teague stated. When he raced up in Canada (in the Nassagaweya), he just didn t have a good day. It was the first time Andy Miller drove him, and it was after the lights had gone out and the schedule was a little bit different (Feel Like A Fool had to race on Monday), and he didn t get warmed up enough, and I think that s why he made the two breaks in that race. He was scorching home, though, and the miles he went when he did run were pretty impressive. I don t think running is something that s going to hinder him. When he gets a little bit nervous he s more prone to do it then. This year when he gets 20 or 25 starts and he s racing right along, I think he ll get a little worn down, and I doubt it will be nearly as great an issue as it was this year. Feel Like A Fool came back just a handful of days after that Nassagaweya division to compete in a Metro elimination, and reunited with Brian Sears for the first time since his qualifiers, Feel Like A Fool finished second, beaten a length and a half by Great Vintage in his elimination, clocking a 1:51 mile. On that night, Feel Like A Fool went three-wide to clear to the lead past the half, and got caught in the stretch. The next week in the $1 million final, Sears carved out a third-over trip for Feel Like A Fool, and he would rally to finish second to Mystician, beaten just a length and a quarter for the lion s share of the purse. He had two good weeks. I still think he kind of sat down a little bit when he got to the lead in the elimination, Teague recalled. I m not discrediting the horse that beat him, but I think that s what really might have cost him. That s not his race. He cleared when they went three-wide. Brian didn t want to take a chance on bunching him up, and the main thing was making it to the final. He might have got a little bit tired, too. In the final Brian said he got a little bit rough at the head of the stretch, and if he didn t have to gather him up about a quarter of a way through the lane a couple of times, I think it would have been a different kind of race, even though the other horse really raced good. Mystician got a good trip, the rail parted, and he got out late and he won, but our colt was equally as impressive I thought. It could have gone his way if the other colt would have stayed along the rail. That race may be viewed by clicking here. Feel Like A Fool would then go to Saratoga Raceway in between the Metro and his trip to The Red Mile for the two weeks worth of Grand Circuit races, and as mentioned earlier, in that race he recovered to finish second despite making a break at the start and then an interference break later in the mile. The public was not bothered by that, though, as he was sent off as the 4-5 favourite in his $129,000 Bluegrass Stakes division on October 16 in Lexington, and he made a statement that day by winning in 1:49.4, which wound up as the secondfastest mile by a two-year-old in He then came back to the red clay oval the next week in a $146,000 International Stallion Stake, and after making the lead at the half, he held off Woodrow Wilson champion Fashion Delight through January 2011 The Harness Edge

6 the lane to score in 1:50.4. I was very happy with him in Lexington, Teague said. He came in with a pretty good reputation the first week because he had a good little string there. He showed he could go with the best colts in the country. He raced against good horses and was impressive. The first week he won in 1:49.4. That was a super mile. He came first-over a little past the half and came home in :26.1, and that was just a raging mile. Then he came back the next week. He cleared going to the half and Fashion Delight, who won the Woodrow Wilson, was coming all the way through the lane and he wouldn t let him by. Feel Like A Fool concluded his season back in Delaware where it started many months earlier. He finished second to Powerful Mist in the elimination for the Matron, but then avenged that defeat in the $203,950 final by winning in 1:51.2. At Dover in the elimination, he got beat a nose. Powerful Mist, who is not a bad colt, got on his back after Feel Like A Fool cleared going to the half, and he kind of sat down late again. He came back the next week and came first-over. He was a little bit on the right line and Brian got a chance to duck in around the last turn and come up the passing lane and win. He s done what he s supposed to do. I think as the season went on, he got a little more experience and a little bit settled in racing, and a little less skittish and you saw a much better colt. Feel Like A Fool is now enjoying some rest before he begins his three-year-old campaign, which Teague is hoping will be a big one, even though his season this year had him in the shadow of Big Jim. He got a little sick after the last race at Dover, which delayed turning him out, Teague said. He seems to be good now, though. He s turned out now, and we ll give him a month or so out in the field. Then we ll just gradually start back with him, and prepare him to hopefully be back in April or May. He didn t start until July but he raced right up until mid-november, so that was a long season. Big Jim is the leader for a reason. The last couple miles he showed he was a top colt, not that he didn t do it before then, but he did lose a race here and there. The last couple races he got his stuff together, and he did look like the premier two-year-old. I think my colt fits in behind Big Jim, but it was a wide-open year. Nobody stood out real fancy from the States. Big Jim only had a couple of races in the States. They were going as fast as they ve ever gone, but there was no real big standout horse. We hope he s Grand Circuit material and that he s one of the top colts so that we don t have to race on some of the small tracks in New York. They ve got the Empire Breeders (at Tioga), and that will probably be one of the target races to start with. I think if he comes back good, he ll be less active in New York, but if he doesn t come back as good, that s a good spot to fall back on. Despite all the issues Feel Like A Fool had getting to the track, his talent shone through in the end, and this gelding is in position to enjoy a successful campaign in When You Want Your Racing News There Is Only One Source... When I start my day the first place I go to is theharnessedge.com. That site has the news first and things you won t find anywhere else. And that is why I am an advertiser on the site every week of the year....bob BONI of Northwood Bloodstock The Harness Edge January 2011

7 The New Golden Cross B Gs FOLLY p,3,1:49.1-1:52h- 10 ($562,815) Rocknroll Hanover Art Amour Artsplace To watch B Gs Folly capture this year s New Jersey Classic, click here.

8 Comes To ontario. The ONLY son of Rocknroll Hanover in Canada. Winner of $500,000 New Jersey Classic (stakes record) in 1:49.1 over All Speed Hanover. Captured elimination of $600,000 Confederation Cup in 1:52h (second in final). Third in Oliver Wendell Holmes (1:48.1) behind Rockin Image and Rock N Roll Heaven. Won $76,500 Junior Trendsetter. Won Jersey Cup at the Meadowlands in 1:50.3. Race-timed 1:56.1 in first lifetime start at two. Won on all size tracks. Folly had just wicked speed and I loved the way he moved and covered the ground so easily. He had a beautiful gait, the only time I ever wore knees boots on him was at Flamboro Downs in the Confederation Cup and that was just as a precaution. He never stopped trying, he was a class horse all the way..trainer George Berkner When B Gs Folly was on his game he could go with anyone. The night he won the New Jersey Classic at the Meadowlands he went went a big trip (1:49.1) with the Breeders Crown winner All Speed Hanover sitting on his back. He s a very impressive horse with size and gait..driver Brian Sears The GoldeN Cross check it out. Nearly all of the elite performers by Rocknroll Hanover hail from Artsplace mares including Rock N Roll Heaven p,3,1:47.3 ($2,774,478), Put On A Show p,3,1:49.4 ($1,947,726), Ticket To Rock p,3,1:51 ($687,796), Rock N Soul p,3,1:52h ($470,887), etc. SERVICE FEE - $3,000 Multiple mare discount. Pat & Anna Meyers 5629 Wellington Road 29 Rockwood, ON N0B 2K0 Phone: (519)