With some of harness racing's older pacing mares currently competing in the 2024 Blue Chip Matchmaker Series, two of Canada's top pacing mares will be preparing for debuts in about a month's time with sights set on Grand Circuit glory later in the season.
Making the transition from age three to four has notoriously been a challenge for some of even harness racing's brightest stars. However, Silver Label (pictured above) took to racing against the best pacing mares in the sport in stride in 2023, notching victories in some of the division's signature events and announcing she was here to stay even to the shock of her trainer, Nick Gallucci.
"Silver Label was a really big surprise this year," recalled Gallucci. "I always knew she would be competitive with those mares, but it really wasn't until the Perfect Sting that I really saw her as a different horse that could be one of the top mares."
In the Perfect Sting, Silver Label and driver Scott Zeron overcame a second-tier start from post 11 to mow down eventual U.S. divisional champion Grace Hill, going first-up, getting home in :25.3 to a 3-3/4-length romp in 1:49. Followed by a third-place effort in the Dorothy Haughton and a 1:48.4 victory against Preferred company at her home track of Woodbine Mohawk Park, Silver Label etched her way into the history books as the fastest Ontario-sired mare of all time with a 1:47.3 victory in the Lady Liberty on Hambletonian day.
"I had a quiet confidence in her going into that race," recalled Gallucci. "She was racing well and we had seen she seemed to be better off of a helmet, but it was a pretty amazing mile that she went that day."
In all, Silver Label won eight times from 19 starts in 2023, hitting the board in 16 of those efforts. The consistency led the daughter of Bettors Delight-Hidden Gem to $521,159 in earnings on the year and beyond the $1.3 million mark for her career.
"She's such a special mare," continued Gallucci. "She just shows up every week and loves her job. It really doesn't matter what I do with her, she has that desire and she's going to show up on race day."
With a number of top pacing mares currently competing in the Blue Chip Matchmaker, Gallucci confessed no qualms over racing Silver Label on a half-mile oval like Yonkers Raceway.
"I think that's a great race," added Gallucci. "I think she would be excellent on a half mile. I think it's too early in the year and I hope that she can compete at a higher level through the summer. I just don't know if having them ready that early benefits them later on in the year.
"Every horse has their minor issues. She's never really had a major issue, obviously, or we probably would have bred her this year. We're just trying to keep her as fresh as we can for the bigger summertime races. You know, she only raced on a half once in her life and she won the Margaret Juravinski. I'm considering the Forest City, but that might not hit her schedule."
Entering the 2023 season, Silver Label's connections had hoped she would be joined atop the division by her stablemate and fellow four-year-old graduate, Prohibition Legal. However, after a delayed start to her four-year-old campaign, Prohibition Legal had a hard time staying on the racetrack, making just five starts in 2023.
"Prohibition Legal had just a couple minor nagging issues after her three-year-old year that required a little bit of extra time. Racing at that level, you have to be good every week. You don't want to put them in a position where any issues are going to be exposed and they aren't going to put in their best race. So she was just hard to keep at 100 per cent the whole year last year."
Even in the limited campaign, the daughter of Big Jim-Catch A Wish wracked up more than $150,000 in earnings, pairing a win with four runner-up finishes on the year, which included the Dayton Distaff and Milton Stakes behind Grace Hill. Prohibition Legal enters 2024 just shy of $1 million in career earnings, having banked $964,366 lifetime.
"I think she'll be better this year with the earlier start," said Gallucci. "She showed me last year she has enough ability to, I think, be a really big contender this year. It's just a matter of getting her on a more consistent schedule and I think we'll be able to do that this year."
Both Millar Farms homebred mares are being aimed for qualifiers in late April, with sights set on their first Grand Circuit tests in the Roses Are Red at Mohawk in June. This comes as the pacing mare division appears to be among the deepest in the sport, with the highly anticipated additions of the likes of Sylvia Hanover and Twin B Joe Fresh.
"I think the division is going to be the most exciting division in the sport," said Gallucci. "Sylvia Hanover is obviously such a special mare; I've never seen her get tired yet in a race. We saw last year though, these pacing mares race all four quarters, so it's going to be interesting to see what's in store this year."
(Standardbred Canada)