Burke filly chasing Hambletonian win
By Joe Tuscano
Staff writer
jtuscano@observer-reporter.com
It might just be the best matchup of standout trotters this season and a battle of the sexes.
Mission Brief, the nation’s top filly, and Pinkman, the 2014 Dan Patch winner as the top colt, are expected to square off in tonight’s $1.2 million Hambletonian at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, N.J.
Mission Brief, the 3-year-old daughter of 2009 Hambletonian champion Muscle Hill, is trained by Ron Burke, who is coming off a good week at the Adios with Yankee Bounty crossing second in the final and Cooperstown and My Hero Ron winning eliminations.
There will be two elimination heats today with the top five finishers in each race advancing to the 5:15 p.m. final.
Mission Brief, which has won three of four starts, is the 6-5 favorite in the second elimination. Pinkman, winner of six of seven starts this year, is the 8-5 favorite in the 10-horse first elimination. Each elimination has a $100,000 purse. Interestingly, Burke passed on entering Mission Brief in the Hambletonian Oaks for 3-year-old filly trotters in an attempt to win the biggest prize. The filly is trying to become the first female winner of the Hambletonian since Continentalvictory did it in 1996. Yannick Gingras, who drove Sunflower Blue Chip to the 2014 Adios victory, will be in the sulky.
“Maybe financially it would have been better to go to the Hambletonian Oaks, but pride-wise and for the sport, it would be better to go to the Hambletonian,” Burke told Ken Weingartner of the U.S. Trotting Association. “If we won the Hambletonian Oaks, we’d have been happy, but it’s not going to change anybody’s life. We’ve all done things like that before. We thought this for some of us would be a lifetime experience, so we said let’s go.
“If you don’t believe in your horse, you might as well not even show up. I’ve always believed in her. She’s given me every reason to believe in her. When she’s sound she’s as good as anyone.”
Mission Brief, co-owned by Burke, Our Horse Cents Stables, J&T Silva Stables, and the partnership of Mark Weaver and Mike Bruscemi, has won 12 of 17 starts and has career earnings of $791,417. Mission Brief holds the world record for the fastest time for any 2-year-old trotter in history, 1:50.
As is becoming more common in the sport, Mission Brief was treated by a chiropractor for recurring back problems. Burke called in veterinarian Jim Mitchell to work on the filly, who got her back to “95 percent” with the procedure and acupuncture.
Pinkman drew the No. 10 post in the first elimination but trainer Jimmy Takter was philosophical about it.
“It is what it is,” Takter said of the draw. “If they are good – and Canepa and Pinkman are both very, very good – they just have to overcome the post and get in the top five and get into the final. They are pretty good horses.”
Canepa Hanover, Takter’s other entry, crossed within a length of Pinkman in their past two races. Canepa Hanover is the second pick in the elimination.
Takter, who drove and trained last year’s Hambletonian winner, Trixton, has five horses entered in the two eliminations.