Canadians hand out O'Brien Awards

Standardbred Canada hosted the 2009 O’Brien Awards this evening to honor and recognize the horses and people who have made the greatest contribution to Canadian harness racing over the past season. The awards are named for the late Hall of Famer Joe O'Brien.

Casie Coleman took home two O’Brien trophies, one for Trainer of the Year and one with her star performer Sportswriter in the Two-Year-Old Pacing Colt category, while Jody Jamieson won the Driver of the Year title. Muscle Hill was honoured as Canada’s Horse of the Year and Three-Year-Old Trotting Colt of the Year.

For the third time in the history of the O’Brien Awards, Casie Coleman, 29, of Cambridge, ON, was voted Canada’s Trainer of the Year following another outstanding season. Last season she finished fourth in the wins column in Canada for trainers with 161 victories, and second in Canada with $4.3 million in earnings. Coleman’s stable star, Sportswriter, took home two-year-old pacing colt honours and contributed to her stellar year. The Artsplace colt enjoyed a phenomenal rookie campaign, winning 7 of 8 season starts. He posted a World Record 1:49.2 mile in the Metro Pace and capped his year as the top money winner in his division with just over $875,000 for co-owners Coleman, Ross Warriner of Burlington, ON and Steve Calhoun of Chatham, ON.

Jody Jamieson, 33, of Cambridge, ON, took home his second O’Brien trophy as Canada’s Driver of the Year following a record breaking season. Last year, Jamieson set a single season record for wins as he drove 787 winners in Canada and horses to over $11 million in purse money. Jamieson took home his first O’Brien as Canada’s Driver of the Year for the 2007 season when he won both the $1.5 million North America Cup and the Little Brown Jug with Tell All, who was voted Canada’s co-Horse of the Year.

Three-year-old trotting colt Muscle Hill was awarded the Horse of the Year trophy along with an O’Brien as divisional champion. The 2009 season was a perfect one for Muscle Hill, who won all 12 of his races while earning over $2.5 million, a record for season’s earnings by a harness horse. On Canadian soil, the Muscles Yankee colt scored victories in the Canadian Trotting Classic and Breeders Crown. Trained by Greg Peck and driven in all but one start by Brian Sears, Muscle Hill equaled the all-age World Record for trotting on a mile track with a 1:50.1 victory in the Hambletonian on August 8 at the Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey. Muscle Hill, who won 20 of 21 lifetime races and finished his career with a 20-race win streak, has retired to stallion duty at Southwind Farm in New Jersey. He was owned during his racing career by Jerry Silva, TLP Stable, Southwind Farm and Muscle Hill Racing.

Breeders Crown champion Fancy Filly, a winner of over $840,000 and 10 of 12 starts, won the award for two-year-old pacing filly. Fancy Filly finished the 2009 season as North America’s highest earning juvenile filly. The daughter of Western Hanover scored a season’s best 1:51.1 in the $500,000 Three Diamonds at Chester Downs on September 20. On October 24, she capped off her phenomenal season by winning the $628,178 Breeders Crown Championship at Woodbine, her richest payday of the season.

North America’s leading money-winning three-year-old pacing colt, Well Said, owned by Jeff Snyder and Susan Grange of Lothlorien, won his division following a season which included victories in 10 races and over $2 million in earnings. He also couped two of the sport’s million-dollar races for his connections – the Pepsi North America Cup and the Meadowlands Pace.

The trophy for Older Pacing Mare went to Dreamfair Eternal, a winner of over $622,000 in 2009 and numerous stakes events. Her biggest payday came in the $373,600 Roses Are Red final on July 25 at Mohawk when she trounced a field of North America’s best older mares in the 1:49.2 over a track that was rated “good” for owners Mary and John Lamers of Ingersoll, ON. This was one of 17 victories overall, making her one of the winningest horses in all of North America.

Older Pacing Horse honours went to Bigtime Ball, a homebred son of Presidential Ball who added a half-million in earnings in 2009 to put him over a million in lifetime earnings for owner-trainer-breeder Gord Irwin of Cobourg, ON. In his final start of the campaign at Woodbine, Bigtime Ball dominated Art Official and Shark Gesture in a $100,000 Invitational Pace in 1:50.3.

The Ontario-sired filly Poof Shes Gone won the title as Canada’s Top Two-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year. Last season, she dominated her division, winning 10 of 12 races during her million-dollar campaign. She enjoyed her finest hour when she emerged victorious in the $617,880 Breeders Crown on October 24 at Woodbine.

Il Villaggio was voted Two-Year-Old Trotting Colt of the Year. The Kadabra colt boasted six victories and almost a half million in purse earnings. He enjoyed a three-race win streak at Mohawk in September, culminating with a victory in the William Wellwood Memorial Trot.

Elusive Desire took home her second consecutive O’Brien trophy, this time in the three-year-old trotting filly division for PC Wellwood Enterprises of Cambridge, H Charles Armstrong of Brampton and Robert Fasken of Oakville, ON. The multiple stakes winner won over $890,000 in season’s earnings.

In the older trotting mare category, Classic Lane won top honours following a productive season which saw her notch 16 top-three finishes from 25 starts and earnings of over $479,000 for Robert and Lauren Tucker of Glen Gardner, NJ.

Millionaire San Pail, winner of the Maple Leaf Trot and season’s earnings of over $705,000, won the Older Trotting Horse category for owner-breeder Glenn Van Camp of Port Perry, ON and trainer-owner Rod Hughes of Dunford, ON. His crowning moment came in Canada’s most prestigious race for older trotters, the $720,500 Maple Leaf Trot on July 25 at Mohawk, where he conquered the sport’s best in front of a capacity crowd.

Veteran horseman Per Henriksen, 63, of Norwood, ON, won the O’Brien Award of Horsemanship. The Norwegian native specializes in trotters, the gait closest to his heart and homeland and trained horses including top Ontario Sires Stakes performers I Wont Dance and Magic Fruit to over $1.3 million in earnings.

The Armstrong Breeder of the Year Award went to Diane Ingham and Harry Rutherford of Mount Pleasant, ON. Ingham & Rutherford’s 19 starters, including O’Brien winner Il Villaggio, averaged $64,528 for a total of $1.2 million in earnings. Raising Rachel and Reach Higher also contributed to those impressive stats.

On Tuesday, February 2, Standardbred Canada will release the complete vote tallies for each category.

A complete listing of winners follows.

2009 O’Brien Award Winners

Pacers

Two-Year-Old Filly Pacer
Fancy Filly owned by George Teague Jr Inc., Harrington, DE, Theodore Gewertz, New York, NY & Only Money Inc., Hartly DE

Two-Year-Old Colt Pacer
Sportswriter owned by Steve Calhoun, Chatham, ON & West Wins Stable, Cambridge, ON

Three-Year-Old Colt Pacer
Well Said owned by Jeffrey Snyder, New York, NY & Lothlorien, Cheltenham, ON

Older Pacing Mare
Dreamfair Eternal owned by John & Mary Lamers, Ingersoll, ON

Older Pacing Horse
Bigtime Ball owned by Irwin Stables, Inc., Cobourg, ON

Trotters

Two-Year-Old Filly Trotter
Poof Shes Gone owned by Melvin Hartman, Ottawa, ON, Herb Liverman, Miami Beach, FL, David Mc Duffee, Nashua, NH & John Fielding, Toronto, ON

Two-Year-Old Colt Trotter
Il Villaggio owned by Brittany Farms, Versailles, KY, Blue Chip Bloodstock Inc., Walkill, NY and Il Villaggio Partners, Versailles, KY

Three-Year-Old Filly Trotter
Elusive Desire owned by P C Wellwood Enterprises Inc., Cambridge, ON,
H Charles Armstrong, Brampton, ON & Robert Fasken, Oakville, ON

Three-Year-Old Colt Trotter
Muscle Hill owned by Jerry Silva, Long Beach, NY, T L P Stable, Kearny, NJ, Southwind Farm, Penningston, NJ, & Muscle Hill Racing LLC, Long Beach, NY

Older Trotting Mare
Classic Lane owned by Robert & Lauren Tucker, Glen Gardner, NJ

Older Trotting Horse
San Pail owned by Glenn Van Camp, Port Perry, ON & Rodney Hughes, Dunsford, ON

*There was no trophy awarded in the three-year-old pacing filly category.
The O’Brien Awards Committee met yesterday, following a ruling released by the Ontario Racing Commission resulting in the immediate suspension of Bulletproof Enterprises. Bulletproof Enterprises owned three O’Brien Finalists – both of the three-year-old pacing fillies – Not Enough and Yellow Diamond, along with three-year-old pacing colt If I Can Dream. In the three-year-old pacing colt category, the award did not need to be deferred as Well Said received the most votes and was the actual winner.

People Awards

O’Brien Award of Horsemanship
Per Henriksen, 63, Norwood, ON

Armstrong Breeder of the Year
Diane Ingham & Harry Rutherford, Mount Pleasant, ON

Driver of the Year
Jody Jamieson, 33, Cambridge, ON

Trainer of the Year
Casie Coleman, 29, Cambridge, ON

Horse of the Year
Muscle Hill

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