The O'Brien Award winner T C I, who had one of the most incredible seasons ever for a rookie trotter last year, will start his sophomore campaign on Friday in the Pennsylvania Sires Stakes, a USD 145,272 leg known as the Super Bowl at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. This marks the beginning of his quest for even more gold and glory.
A USD 100,000 leg of the Pennsylvania Stallion Series for three-year-old colts and gelding trotters is also featured on the schedule. 5:10 p.m. is the first post.
T C I earned $1,453,370 for the year by winning the Mohawk Million, Peter Haughton, William Wellwood, and the Pennsylvania Sires Stakes title. T C I won ten straight races and the Breeders Crown as a result.
T C I would have been a lock for the U.S. divisional Dan Patch Award in almost any other year. During a million-dollar season, a two-year-old colt named Karl was gathering his garish numbers. Karl was guaranteed the U.S. divisional honours after he defeated T C I by three lengths in their Breeders Crown match. For the first time, two young trotters exceeded USD 1 million in a single year.
Trainer of T C I Ron Burke is open about how disappointed he was with the way the season concluded, but he is excited about the rivalry's resurgence.
“It would be great for the sport if these two battle it out for the next two years. That would be special,” he said.
At the Standardbred Select Sale, Burke was lured to the son of Cantab Hall-Nicole's Promise because he had previously trained the colt's brother, the unfortunate Global Pandemic, a star at two who clicked and passed away following his rookie season. The youngster received $150,000 from Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Hatfield Stables, and Knox Services Inc. Bud Hatfield renamed the child T C I in honour of the auto magnate's favourite vacation destination, the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Burke, who has coached several elite trotters, lavishes T C I with praise. “He’s probably the best trotter I’ve had at this point in his career except Mission Brief. She was more dynamic, but he’s probably the smartest baby I’ve ever trained. He just doesn’t make a mistake.”
Burke claimed he purposefully avoided part of the early stakes action this year. “He had a long year, and this will be another long year,” said Burke. “Nothing has gone wrong, so we’ve stuck to the plan.”
On Friday, T C I will start from post three in race six, riding with David Miller.
A different approach has been taken by another horse to watch in the Super Bowl. Blackhawk Zette (post two, race four, Matt Kakaley) finished first in two of his four starts, clocking in at a respectable 1:59. However, after the rookie campaign, Cantab Hall-Zette Starlet's kid caught the attention of trainer Robert Baggitt Jr., who decided to buy him privately for owner JL Sadowsky LLC.
There has been a significant shift. After winning all three of the preliminary legs of the Bobby Weiss Series at Pocono Downs, Blackhawk Zette went on to place second in the Dexter Cup, the most coveted trot held early in the season for three-year-olds. This year, he has already deposited $151,365. Baggitt is delighted with the advancement.
“I liked his breeding,” said Baggitt, “But what I liked was that he was lightly raced at two. He showed speed and he wasn’t [overused] at all. Still, we didn’t know what we had. He’s a nice-gaited horse and his manners are impeccable. But he trained good rather than great. Now, we’re happy with what we have so far.”
Although Baggitt stated he could supplement to rich stakes if Blackhawk Zette shows he can compete at the highest levels, the colt is not Hambletonian qualified.