When Enough Talk became the first trotter in harness racing history to finish a mile in less than 1:50 on October 11 at Colonial Downs, it might have been no surprise to see Ron Pierce sitting in the sulky.
Pierce and the trotting world record seem to go hand in hand.
In 2004, Pierce drove Tom Ridge to the fastest mile in history, 1:50.2, in the World Trotting Derby at DuQuoin. Last year, Pierce guided Donato Hanover to a record-equaling 1:50.1 mile in the Kentucky Futurity at Lexington's Red Mile just six races after Giant Diablo established the new mark in the Allerage.
And then last Saturday, Pierce and Enough Talk won in 1:49.3 in the Patriot Invitational at Colonial Downs in Virginia.
"Somebody's got to do it," Pierce said Monday morning. "It feels really great. I'm just lucky I've been able to drive some of the top trotters. I've been really lucky that way. It's not like I've been overdriving them to get these records, either."
In the Patriot Invitational, Enough Talk benefited from fast early fractions of :26.2, :53.4 and 1:21.3 as Instant Photo, Vivid Photo and Lanson all took turns on the lead. Enough Talk, a five-year-old son of Enjoy Lavec-Fashion Setter, steadily advanced from fifth place in the early goings and took the lead as the field moved through the stretch.
"My horse was following along real nicely and I could tell he still had plenty by the way he felt," Pierce said. "He trotted all the way to the wire, and I didn't ask him to go much. I just chased him to get by those other horses at the head of the stretch. It took very little encouragement. From there, I just kind of sat there and he coasted to the wire. If I'd kept chasing him, he would have trotted (1):49.1 or (1):49 flat."
In his previous eight starts, Enough Talk was in either first or second place at the midpoint. The Patriot Invitational presented a rare opportunity to race from off the lead.
"He's been going to the front a lot this year. He's been drawing outside, and that's just where he's ended up; it wasn't by choice," Pierce said. "We just wanted to win the race and get the easiest possible start into him. He's had kind of a tough year, so the main thing was to try to win the race and keep him within himself. It just turned out the race set up for the horse."
Colonial Downs' one-turn mile oval is known for producing fast times. Vivid Photo won the 2006 Patriot Invitational in 1:50.2, equaling Tom Ridge's then-record time, and won the 2007 Patriot Invitational in 1:50.4.
"The way it was (Saturday) night, it was a lot faster; maybe two-and-a-half seconds," Pierce said. "The surface was really nice. Down on the inside they had a real nice cushion. With that long straightaway there and the sweeping turn, and them mixing it up like that, things set up for a world record.
"A lot of track crews think the harder they can get the track, the faster the horse is going to go, which is not true," Pierce added. "The harder they get the track, the more it stings the horse's feet and slows the horse down. If they can keep a nice cushion on there and have a little spring, then the horses will go faster a lot easier. They need a cushion."
Enough Talk won for the sixth time in 18 races this season and increased his North American earnings to $524,536. He also had two second-place finishes and one third-place effort in Europe, good for $166,129.
"The record gives the horse the recognition he deserves, because he is a good horse," said Pierce, who was preparing to take off several days to go hunting with friends Greg, Marty and Shane Burton in Maryland.
"He can go, that horse."
(HRC)