Questions linger for favorites

All summer, Fear The Dragon and Downbytheseaside have raced toward a showdown in the 72nd Little Brown Jug.

They arrived at the Delaware County Fairgrounds as the clear favorites for Thursday’s 3-year-old pacing classic, each having defeated the other in stakes races in amassing more than $1 million in earnings this year.

But harness racing can be a fickle business, and Delaware-based trainer Brian Brown of Ostrander knows

that both of his stars have potential obstacles.

Brown said Fear The Dragon seems fine after being sidelined by soreness, but his last competitive race was Aug. 18.

The trainer said Downbytheseaside has been “a little bit dull” despite winning four races in a row.

“No horse is ever 100 percent; there’s always something,” Brown said. “But both of these horses, even if they’re not 100 percent, they still give 100 percent of what they have. They give great effort to win.”

The biggest question entering the Jug is whether Fear The Dragon can return to the form he showed in dominating from spring to midsumer, winning the $730,000 North America Cup, the $500,000 Max Hempt Memorial and the $400,000 Adios Pace along the way.

After being scratched because of soreness from a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes final on Sept. 3, Fear The Dragon won a nonbetting qualifying race in 1 minute, 54 seconds on Sept. 13.

The performance and relatively slow time did little to reassure Brown, owner Bruce Trogdon and driver David Miller.

“We’re absolutely not heading into the Jug the way we want to,” Trogdon said after the qualifier.

Upon reflection, Brown said the horse did what he needed to do on a sloppy track.

“I think he’s in pretty good shape,” Brown said. “It really wasn’t that bad.”

Once back at Delaware,

Fear The Dragon continued to improve.

“I’ve been taking it pretty easy on him, but that horse jogged as good on Monday as he has all year,” Brown said.

Downbytheseaside had his best performances in recent weeks, including a defeat of Fear The Dragon in the $300,000 Milstein Memorial on Aug. 12. Recent wins in the $500,000 Messenger Stakes and the $125,000 Jug Preview solidified his status as a top Jug contender.

So Brown is back at his home track with by far the two most accomplished pacers in an eight-horse field, the smallest since 1980. Just don’t expect him to be counting his money until the second heat is done.

“In every race, I don’t care if I’m the favorite, there are horses that I think I need to beat,” Brown said.

Three of those horses — Filibuster Hanover, Miso Fast and R J P — are trained by 2014 Jug winner Ron Burke, the leading trainer in North

America the past several years.

Those three and rail starter Funknwaffles could put extra pressure on Brown’s horses by going hard for the early lead, an especially advantageous tactic at Delaware.

Neither Fear The Dragon nor Downbytheseaside has shown blazing gate speed, but Brown said Miller, a four-time Jug winner, and Brian Sears, who won the Jug in 2013, know how to handle just about any situation and will be ready with plans A, B and C.

“I give the lines to Brian and David and I shut up,” Brown said.

Upset in Jugette

Caviart Ally passed pace-setting 2-5 favorite Blazin Britches in the stretch to win the Jugette final in 1:51 Wednesday.

Blazin Britches, owned by Trogdon and trained by Brown, won the first elimination in 1:52 and Caviart Ally won the second in 1:52.