In the eyes of trainer Ray Schnittker, three-year-old pacer One More Laugh is no joke
After watching the gelding win nine of 12 races and set the world record on a five-eighths of a mile track as a two-year-old, it is easy to understand why.
On May 15, One More Laugh made his seasonal debut by winning his elimination race for the Max C. Hempt Memorial Pace at Pocono Downs by three-quarters of a length over Europan Union and Sharks Legacy in 1:51.3. Driven by Tim Tetrick, One More Laugh went to the front from post five, taking the lead from Sharks Legacy near the quarter-mile mark.
Europan Union challenged in the stretch after a steady first-over attack from near the halfway point.
“He (One More Laugh) wasn’t on the front end very much last year; he might be a little lazy on the front,” Schnittker said. “I was really happy with him for his first start. He went a big last quarter (:26.4).”
Last year, One More Laugh won the $600,000 Governor’s Cup with a 1:49.2 world-record performance at Harrah’s Chester. The time made him the fastest two-year-old on a five-eighths track in harness racing history. The mark also equals the fastest mile for a two-year-old on any size track (tied with Sportswriter, who won last season’s Metro Pace at Mohawk in the same time).
A son of Mcardle-Fancy Creek Funny, One More Laugh also won the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship at The Meadows and finished second to Breeders Crown winner All Speed Hanover in a division of the International Stallion Stakes at the Red Mile. He banked $594,306 for the campaign.
“One thing about him, he can take a lot of air,” Schnittker said. “Most horses in there need a good post to get any money; he can be parked the whole mile and still be there. It’s kind of a big advantage. It seems he’s a lot tougher than most horses. A horse has to be kind of special to do that.”
It is a quality that can be difficult to recognize during training.
“You don’t know until you’re out there battling and they keep coming,” Schnittker said.
One More Laugh was ranked No. 3 behind Sportswriter and All Speed Hanover in this year’s Experimental Championship Ratings, compiled by Stan Bergstein. The annual rankings, which appeared in the February issue of Hoof Beats magazine, listed the top three-year-olds based on their projected best win times for this season.
“He was very good last year and he came back real good,” Schnittker said. “But it’s a different cast of characters this year; who got stronger and who got weaker?”
One horse that might have gotten stronger is Fred And Ginger, who won the other Hempt elim by 1-1/4 lengths over Pang Shui in 1:50.4 with Dave Palone at the lines. Last season, Fred And Ginger won two of nine races and earned $72,422. This year, he has two wins in four starts and was second to Rock N Roll Heaven in the $220,000 Berry’s Creek on May 8 at the Meadowlands.
Rock N Roll Heaven was ranked No. 4 in the Experimental Ratings; Fred And Ginger was unranked.
“I didn’t have him last year, but last year when I watched him race, he looked like he was little bit rank and a little bit hard to steer,” trainer Ron Burke said. “I think maybe he just matured. He seems to be more controllable, more steerable, than last year. He seems like he’s grown into himself that way.
“He’s a real big horse. I think horses that are real big usually show a bigger improvement than horses that are small. He was probably just due to improve more.”
Fred And Ginger is a son of Real Artist out of the mare Graceful Motion. He is a full brother to millionaire mare Ginger And Fred, who earned $698,821 during her three-year-old season. Burke is uncertain of Fred And Ginger’s full potential, but is becoming more enamored with the colt with every race.
“He’s been very good every race so far this year,” Burke said. “He’s very fast. As long as he stays sound, which worries me a little bit because he’s such a big horse and has got to carry a lot of body around, he should be alright. Maybe he’s not the top group, but maybe he is. When he has gotten beat, he’s had an excuse. He seems like he’s a pretty nice horse. Every time I race him I become more convinced he’s a pretty good horse.”
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S.
Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.