Prada Or Nada
Quote from Bgtolex25 on March 5, 2026, 8:12 AMI have so many questions….so I am inclined to roll them out in a measured format. Hopefully, others will join in for some great dialogue.
- “French stamina” - do you see that in body type and physical qualities that seem to lend to larger lung capacity, courser bones and heart size? How much would you attribute to training regimes that promote stamina over early speed?
- your thoughts on mixing pacing blood on the bottom with trotting on top as with Captain Cory. When watching his race replays, his gate seemed different to my eye. Like he was covering much more ground with each stride vs. most trotters. Time will tell if this is passed to his offspring, but he did have a nice first crop.
1.
The French horse in general is a little bigger and heavier. A stronger horse. The American horse is more refined and build for speed. Their attitude is a little different too, in my experience they are a lot more stubborn. And in the past they were not the best gaited horses, but all the negatives have made big strides in recent years.
In France, biggest stakes are for the aged horses. Of course there are 2yo stakes too. Beyond that the general distance in 2.700 meter or 1 11/16 mile. The racing is different too, the standard starting method is a standing start. And a lot of horses will sit 2 or 3 wide the whole way. The fields are larger too, 16 or 18 horses is not unusual. The biggest stakes are all raced at Vincennes, a 1975m long track, larger than a mile. With a rather significant hill on it. The Prix d'Amerique is the peak of European harness racing. And my personal favourite event to visit.
In training it depends on the trainer obviously. But in my experience what they get fed is more measured to the individual horse. The horse gets time on deep sand tracks or beach training (Which I am a big proponent of). Also interval training on a quarter mile strip is used often. And they get a lot of time outside in the field.
2.
I quite like mixing pacing blood in a trotter. In Sweden you have Jailbird Jog's uncle Don Fanucci Zet US$2.507.497 as prime example. But there are plenty more. What I really like is how it improves the gait. What you said, they cover a lot of ground per stride. But what is also a thing, pacers have a bigger "engine" and that is where trotters can also gain a lot of benefit from some pacing blood. I think Captain Corey will do well, his sire Googoo Gaagaa did very well too with some stellar horses like Hail Mary, Borups Victory, Power, Usain Töll and of course Captain Corey.
Here is Don Fanucci Zet
Quote from NiekH on March 5, 2026, 9:03 AMQuote from Bgtolex25 on March 5, 2026, 8:12 AMI have so many questions….so I am inclined to roll them out in a measured format. Hopefully, others will join in for some great dialogue.
- “French stamina” - do you see that in body type and physical qualities that seem to lend to larger lung capacity, courser bones and heart size? How much would you attribute to training regimes that promote stamina over early speed?
- your thoughts on mixing pacing blood on the bottom with trotting on top as with Captain Cory. When watching his race replays, his gate seemed different to my eye. Like he was covering much more ground with each stride vs. most trotters. Time will tell if this is passed to his offspring, but he did have a nice first crop.
1.
The French horse in general is a little bigger and heavier. A stronger horse. The American horse is more refined and build for speed. Their attitude is a little different too, in my experience they are a lot more stubborn. And in the past they were not the best gaited horses, but all the negatives have made big strides in recent years.In France, biggest stakes are for the aged horses. Of course there are 2yo stakes too. Beyond that the general distance in 2.700 meter or 1 11/16 mile. The racing is different too, the standard starting method is a standing start. And a lot of horses will sit 2 or 3 wide the whole way. The fields are larger too, 16 or 18 horses is not unusual. The biggest stakes are all raced at Vincennes, a 1975m long track, larger than a mile. With a rather significant hill on it. The Prix d'Amerique is the peak of European harness racing. And my personal favourite event to visit.
In training it depends on the trainer obviously. But in my experience what they get fed is more measured to the individual horse. The horse gets time on deep sand tracks or beach training (Which I am a big proponent of). Also interval training on a quarter mile strip is used often. And they get a lot of time outside in the field.
2.
I quite like mixing pacing blood in a trotter. In Sweden you have Jailbird Jog's uncle Don Fanucci Zet US$2.507.497 as prime example. But there are plenty more. What I really like is how it improves the gait. What you said, they cover a lot of ground per stride. But what is also a thing, pacers have a bigger "engine" and that is where trotters can also gain a lot of benefit from some pacing blood. I think Captain Corey will do well, his sire Googoo Gaagaa did very well too with some stellar horses like Hail Mary, Borups Victory, Power, Usain Töll and of course Captain Corey.
Here is Don Fanucci Zet
What kind of times do you see for the 1 11/16 miles, do you see the fast quarters like we see here in the US ?