Arch Madness Breeders Crown bound

November 11, 2007

Arch Madness appears to be Breeders Corwn bound after winning his Ontario Sire Stakes Super Final in 1:53.2 Saturday night at Woodbine. Arch Madness, trained by Trond Smedshammer and driven by Steve Condren, tracked down a tiring Laddie in the stretch and surged to a three-length victory.

Three colts--Flirtin Man, Chelemark Porter, and Beer Budget--were off-stride at the gate and were never factors as a result. Tickets were refunded on Flirtin Man, who was ruled not to have had a fair start. Smarty Jims also made a break before the first quarter.

Arch Madness, a son of Balanced Image out of Armbro Archer, was bred by Steven H Shapiro, Barry B Goldstein, and Marc Goldberg, all of New York. The Balanced Image-sired gelding raced only twice as a 2 year old, but this year has racked up eight wins in 19 starts, mostly by racing in Ontario.

"He was a little headstrong (at the beginning of the year)," said Goldberg. "Trond had his work cut out for him, but he had great patience with him and he�s done a marvelous job. (Arch Madness) just seems to be getting better and better.

�We sent a check into the Hambletonian Society this week (to supplement Arch Madness for the Breeders� Crown) � it was a big check, but if everything goes well up until Tuesday and Trond says go, we go. It�s been the ride of a lifetime with this horse.�

Paul MacDonnell made it a hat-trick on the night when he drove 2-1 co-favorite Bigtime Ball to a commanding victory in the Super Final for 3-year-old pacing colts.

In the Irons and Phil Hudon shot to an early lead with Bigtime Ball settling comfortably into the three hole behind Deuces And Jacks, but MacDonell made a move to the front before the half and sprinted away from the field, posting a third quarter of: 27 flat and coasting to the wire with no serious challengers. The gray, Golden Seven, stepped up for second while In The Irons held on for third.

Bigtime Ball, a son of Presidential Ball out of the Albatross mare Keystone Trinidad, is owned by the Irwin Stables and trained by Gordon Irwin.

With the scratch of JTladystrong from the inside post (as well as Maple Sugar in post position 10), Brigham Dream left from the inside and quickly made this Super Final for 3-year-old trotting fillies her own.

Taking over the lead at the half from JM Aggie and Jody Jamieson, Brigham Dream withstood a stretch charge from Carolyn AS for the win. Caught My Eye rushed up on the rail for second and Sportyportia grabbed third from the far outside.

Brigham Dream, by Kaisy Dream out of the Balanced Image mare Crystas Image, is the work of famed French horseman Jean Pierre Dubois. Dubois bred, owns and drove the filly. She now has nine wins in 16 starts, including four wins in six OSS starts.

In the OSS final for 3-year-old filly pacers, Mach You And Me moved to the front by the half-mile marker, fought off a challenge from Michelles Power and pulled away in impressive fashion to win by more than three lengths. It was the second Super Final victory of the evening for driver and co-owner, Paul MacDonnell.

Mach You And Me, a brown daughter of Mach Three out of Hi Ho Hilda, now has seven wins in 17 starts, including three wins and two seconds in seven OSS starts.

MacDonell sais Mach You And Me is not the easiest horse to work with, but the results are obviously worth it. �She did give us a hard time all year. Right from the time we load her on the trailer to when she gets on the racetrack, she�s been difficult, but I can�t say enough about the job Ron O�Neill�s done with her. He�s got so much patience with horses. He persevered and it paid off tonight.

�A couple of things have hindered her this summer," he added. "She had a blood count that we struggled with all year--we just couldn�t get it up to par--and also her behavior set her back a bit. It kept her from being what she should have been. But she had a bit of a rest and maybe now it�s paying off.� (with WEG files)

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