Will Courtly Choice gamble pay off ?

In the game of racing harness horses there is no requirement to be a gambler, but sometimes there needs to be.

The connections of three-yearold pacing colt Courtly Choice dealt with that very issue 10 days ago when they elected to pay a US$60,000 supplemental entry fee to start their horse in the Meadowlands Pace.

This only bought them admittance to the $50,000 eliminations at the New Jersey track with the horse still needing to qualify for one of the 10 berths in Saturday’s $701,830 final.

Trainer Blake MacIntosh was on board with the group’s decision but still had to breathe a sigh of relief when his charge won that elimination with panache, achieving a new lifetime speed record of 1:48.2 for the mile.

“It wasn’t that tough to write the supplemental cheque; maybe because I’m the minority owner among us. But once the idea was posed everyone was on board because this has been a tough luck horse all year and is due for some breaks,” he offered from his base of operations at Meadowbranch Training Centre located adjacent to Flamboro Downs.

“In the North America Cup elimination he was interfered with to finish fifth and not make the final for $1 million.

“Then at Pocono Downs in the Hempt elimination he drew post eight and got away last and just could not make up the ground necessary to make the final there. In both the Cup and the Hempt consolation he was much the best. My confidence in him never wavered.”

Saturday night’s affair is one of the biggies for this collection of youngsters, which does not include Lathered Up, winner of the North America Cup, who has been sidelined with some health issues.

That is not something MacIntosh has to worry about with his horse.

“He is fit and healthy. I’ve had him at the Mark Ford Training Center in upstate New York where I keep horses. Everything is as good as it can be. We just need some racing luck.”

That may begin with his post position. Post five is not the most coveted one but it is hardly the worst.

Courtly Choice is arguably the fastest horse in the field as he has demonstrated on several occasions this year.

But more than that he can carry his speed and almost always finishes strongly. David Miller has taken the driving assignment.

Still, it all is a roll of the dice as races are not won on paper.

The horse was a $60,000 yearling purchase winning $54,000 in his rookie campaign.

This year he has banked $131,800 but the supplemental fee puts the owners in the break even scenario going into this race which does reward the winner with some $350,000 for the trouble. Clearly, racing horses at this level is not for the faint of heart as owners Daniel Plouffe, Joe Thomson, Steve Hembecker, Joe Intine and MacIntosh are well aware of.

For the 40-year-old MacIntosh, this could be a game changer. Having developed and managed a Meadowlands Pace winner is pretty nice to have on a resume.

In the last half dozen years MacIntosh has fashioned a reputation for finding quality yearlings that do not cost a great deal of money and making money for his owners. But this would take things to the next level for him.

“All I can say, there is no one else I would trade him for going into Saturday night. I know he is one of the best this year if not the best”, says MacIntosh.

“I just hope that he’s not snake bitten and another bad luck race comes his way. All we want is a fair shot at this.”

Sounds like the talk of a true gambler.