It's a special honour and privilege to have a horse nominated for an O'Brien Award, but it's even more special when that horse is a homebred and you were actually friends with the legendary horsemen that the illustrious award is named after.
Oney Hall is a 2021 O'Brien Award finalist in the Older Trotting Horse division along with defending champion Perfetto. A son of Deweycheatumnhowe - On With The Show owned by his breeder Alan Leavitt of Lexington, Ky., Oney Hall was a winner of seven races and more than $185,000 during his five-year-old campaign, which saw him win four Preferred events at Woodbine Mohawk Park. One of those efforts was a lifetime best 1:51 sizzler in September that was just one fifth of a second off the track and Canadian record.
Leavitt recalls this performance as the most notable of Oney Hall's career best five-year-old year. He starts his six-year-old season on Monday (Jan. 31) at Mohawk in the Preferred as the 4-1 third choice.
Beaming with pride over his homebred star, Leavitt lashed praise on those that helped the trotter develop into the horse he is today. After all, Oney Hall won just five times in 32 starts at ages two and three. As an older competitor, he's won 15 times with 28 top-three finishes in 43 appearances.
"Oney’s groom is Sue Easton, who has been with Bob [McIntosh] for quite a few years. She is a great caretaker. Most people who haven’t been on the racetrack don’t realize how central to any racehorse’s success the groom is. I’m lucky to have her.
"What success he's had is directly attributable to the trainers who’ve had him, starting with Randy Jerrell, then Brett Pelling, and now Bob McIntosh," continued Leavitt. "He also gets a big boost from his occasional visits to Dr. Melissa McKee. I’ve known a lot of top vets in my day, but Dr. McKee is an absolute treasure. She starts by looking in slow motion at his race videos, something I don’t know anyone else to do."
Plans for 2022 with Oney Hall will likely look similar to 2021, with Leavitt confirming that he'll probably be staked into some of harness racing's bigger events. Though his biggest win came in a $36,000 Preferred Trot at Mohawk in 2020, Oney Hall's owner has faith that his homebred star can step up to stiffer competition.
"I think if he could be in a good spot at the three-quarter pole on a big track, he could be very dangerous."
No stranger to successful Standardbreds and winning awards, Leavitt remarked that he was "thrilled" to hear that he was an O'Brien Award finalist.
"[The nomination] had an extra meaning for me because Joe and I were close friends for many years, and he trained a number of horses for me, including Nero."
There will be no need for Leavitt to arrange cross-border travel plans for this year's O'Brien Awards gala on Sunday, Feb. 6 as this year's format — like last year's — is completely virtual. That suits the Kentucky resident just fine given the restrictions still in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"For me, it’s great. I try to avoid all gatherings of people, even those I know well. At my age, you can’t be too careful."
There are two finalists in each O'Brien Awards category, which includes 12 divisional horse categories and five people categories. One of the divisional champions will be recognized as the Somebeachsomewhere Horse of the Year. The winners will be announced at the Virtual O’Brien Awards Gala on Sunday, February 6, 2022, on standardbredcanada.ca.