Cisco Hall making progress

June 14, 2007

Trainer Bill Gallagher and owner Joseph Chnapko have created a successful niche for themselves by purchasing older trotters that improve under patient handling, and their latest is Cisco Hall, who steps into the open ranks in the $46,500 fifth race trot on Friday night at the Meadowlands.

He is rated at 10-1 from post four with Cat Manzi listed to drive. Chnapko purchased Cisco Hall for $72,000 two years ago.

�I bought Cisco Hall at Harrisburg in 2005 after his second start,� Gallagher said. �He had been lame, right front, and nobody could find it. He was always fast, but you had to grab him and he could only trot in 1:55-56. So, we did an exploratory. We found a fracture, and did the surgery. We�ve brought him along, and here he is.�

Cisco Hall made just three starts for Gallagher last season, but has steadily improved since making his 2007 debut on April 2 at Pompano Park. He finished fifth in his last start at the Meadowlands and was clocked in 1:53.1, the fastest mile he had ever been asked to trot. The son of Conway Hall raced for trainer Jimmy Takter at ages two and three and earned just under $175,000 while winning seven of 13 starts.

�He progressed at Pompano and improved in his second start at the Meadowlands,� said Gallagher, who is stabled at Showplace Farms in Englishtown, New Jersey. �I don�t know if he deserves to be in the Open, but we want to get him raced. We just don�t know where the bottom is and we really don�t want to find it. He�s doing everything we�ve asked him to do. You can see how his times have steadily progressed and every week he gets better.�

Gallagher and Chnapko�s most successful trotter has been Hellava Hush. Chnapko, who resides in Livingston, New Jersey, paid $155,000 for the trotter in 2004 and he went on to earn just under $800,000 in three years of racing. The 7-year-old son of Lindy Lane has a total career bankroll of $1,129,429.

Hellava Hush enjoyed his best season at age five in 2005, when he earned $522,720. He finished third in the Arthur J. Cutler Memorial, second in the Trotting Classic Final and took his mark of 1:51 in the $300,000 Nat Ray. Last year, he won the Mack Lobell Final at Pompano Park and finished second in the Cutler Memorial before his season was cut short by injury.

�After the Cutler last year, he was out in the field, got hung up in the fence and bruised a tendon,� Gallagher said. �There were no tears, but he needed a long time. His target date to qualify is probably the end of next month.

�[He] is 50-50 to race at the Meadowlands this season,� he continued. �I trained him here at Showplace [on June 13] and it looked like they were lined up on the fence watching. His prognosis is excellent. We did an ultrasound yesterday and everything was perfect.�

Gallagher also has a couple of young stakes hopefuls in training for John Liviakis of Mill Valley, Calif. The 3-year-old trotting filly Right On Renee finished second on Wednesday night at the Meadowlands, while Blessed Victory has yet to make his New Jersey debut.

�Right On Renee�s a real nice Andover Hall filly who�s going to develop into something special,� he said. �We protected her last year and we�re going to do the same with her this year.

�Blessed Victory is a promising Conway Hall 3 year old with two easy wins in only three starts in Florida,� he continued. �He�s already trotted a half in 1:57 and change. He got a bar crack just before we left Florida and [on June 13] we finally trained him in 2:12. He�ll qualify in about 10 days. He�s a Hambletonian eligible, but I doubt whether he can go with Steve�s colt [Elliott, who trains Donato Hanover].� (Meadowlands press release)

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