148 eligible to Brown Jug

The Dan Patch 2-year-old pacing colt champion Artzina, Breeders Crown winner Charley Barley, and the leading juvenile money winner Yankee Skyscaper are the early favorites among 148 eligibles to the 62nd Little Brown Jug. The $575,000-est. Little Brown Jug will be raced Thursday afternoon, September 20 at the Delaware (OH) County Fairgrounds.

rtzina is owned by Kalman and Saul Liebowitz and Marc Rubach and trained by Dylan Davis. The homebred son of New York stallion Artiscape won seven of 12 starts at two and earned $486,229. Artzina took his record of 1:51.1 in an elimination of the Breeders Crown. Artzina also captured the Matron and Goshen Cup and finished third in the Breeders Crown Final and Woodrow Wilson Final. John Campbell was the colt’s regular driver but Jack Moiseyev drove Artzina in the Breeders Crown Final after Campbell was sidelined with a fractured leg. (The last time a Dan Patch champion won the Jug was in 2000 by Bettor’s Delight).

Charley Barley is a late-blooming son of Western Hanover owned by Scott Ezzo and wife Lisa Adkins and training by Kim Miller. Jim Arledge Jr. broke and trained Charley Barley early on but he was later transferred to the Miller Stable. Charley Barley won the $600,000 Breeders Crown Final in a career best 1:53.3 over Kenneth J and Artzina. Mike Lachance drove Charley Barley in both his third-place Breeders Crown elimination finish and his triumph in the Final. The colt was bred by Kentuckiana Farms.

Charley Barley is a name invented by Ezzo’s father to soothe the nerves of his sisters when nearby train whistles would go off throughout the night.. (Bettor’s Delight was the last Breeders Crown winner to also capture the Little Brown Jug.)

Yankee Skyscaper, another son of Artiscape bred by Yankeeland Farm, is owned by John Fedora, Martha Frank, Fred Mansoor, Brittany Farms and Myron Bell’s Riverside Farm. Yankee Skyscaper won four of nine starts and $545,500. The Chris Ryder-trained colt won the $900,000 Metro Final over Laughing Art and Honky Tonky Hanover then took his record of 1:52.4 in an impressive victory in a division of the $320,000 International Stallion Stakes over Spin Rate and Mr. Apples. Jody Jamieson drove Yankee Skyscaper in most of his starts. (Brittany Farms bred 2006 Jug champion Mr. Feelgood.)

Another highly rated Jug eligible is Olay Olay who won eight times, earned $229,872 and took a record of 1:51.4. Owned by Wayne Whebby and trained by Scott Bell, this son of Artiscape won his Breeders Crown elimination,the Battle of Freehold and the New Jersey Sires Stakes Final at Freehold.

Warrawee Ideal, a Million Dollar Cam colt trained by Carl Jamieson, collected $317,390 in earnings without ever leaving Ontario. The colt captured a division of the Nassagaweya over Charley Barley and also won the Battle of Waterloo. Domitian Hanover, a colt by Cam Fella trained by James (Friday) Dean, also never left Canada but earned $303,218 in purses. Domitian Hanover’s biggest win came in the $264,000 Ontario Super Stakes Final.

None of the trainers of these top rated colts has ever won the Little Brown Jug but Dean trained Doonbeg who finished third and ninth in the 2006 Jug. Lachance, with five Jug victories, is the leading driver ever. John Campbell has three wins and Jack Moiseyev one. Jody Jamieson drove Doonbeg last year.

The Little Brown Jug is the second leg of Pacing’s Triple Crown. The first leg is the Cane Pace scheduled for September 3 at New Jersey’s Freehold Raceway. If a horse wins the Cane Pace, but is not eligible to the Little Brown Jug, his owner(s) may pay a $45,000 supplemental starting fee. Yonkers Raceway will once again host the third leg, the Messenger Pace, on Oct. 27. (Little Brown Jug press release)

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