Huntsville progeny vie for supremacy
At 0h09, on September 10, 2021 • By YONKERS
While numbers can often be manipulated to support almost any opinion, in the case of stallion Huntsville and his progeny, it’s impossible to see anything but success with his first crop. As sire of seven of the 16 rookie pacers set to compete on Friday (Sept. 10) in the $1.6 million New York Night of Champions at MGM Yonkers Raceway, Huntsville has arrived in a big way.
Led by multiple-leg New York Sire Stakes winners Stretch The Line, Pickup Man Hanover and Just Divine, Huntsville, who stands at Cameo Hills Farm in New York, has an opportunity to capture both $200,000 finals for 2-year-old pacers.
Huntsville hasn’t just been in a “New York State of Mind” in 2021. His foals sit third in total earnings and fourth in average earnings per start by 2-year-old pacers nationally. His Caviart Camden recently became the fastest freshman pacing colt in history when stopping the timer at The Red Mile in 1:48.3.
Race four on Friday is the third of eight $200,000 finals for 2- and 3-year-olds of both gaits and sexes. It features freshman colt and gelding pacers travelling one mile to determine the Empire State champion. Four sons of Huntsville will line up behind the gate in a field of eight, and they are arguably led by the aforementioned Stretch The Line in terms of talent.
A $16,000 Goshen Yearling Sale purchase in 2020 and the fifth foal from broodmare Jessalilmixup, Stretch The Line has been enigmatic to some extent for trainer Erv Miller, who also shares ownership with Rock & Roll Stable Inc. In five wins, his average margin of victory is more than three lengths, but his three losses have all been due to breaks in stride at various points in the mile. There was even one New York Sire Stakes start at Saratoga where he broke at the start yet came back to win.
“He’s a puzzle, isn’t he?” joked Miller about Stretch The Line, who will make his final start of 2021 in the Sire Stakes final. “He’s got a cannon bone on his back ankle that bothers him. I don’t know if that is all that is causing the breaks or if it is also immaturity. After the race we’ll turn him out. Usually, the cannon bones do pretty well from 2 to 3, and normally they don’t bother them as much.”
In Stretch The Line’s most recent start, he was poised to fire off cover and win at Yonkers in the final NYSS leg when he rolled off stride for no reason on the final turn. “Tyler [Buter] told me the other night when he made the break that he was just counting how much he was going to win by because he was loaded with pace,” said Miller.
Stretch The Line will start from post three with new driver Jordan Stratton taking the lines.
The 10-race Night of Champions card kicks off at 7:15 p.m.
