A special bond with a special filly

Sometimes in the great sport of harness racing it's amazing how the stars can align a certain way that you develop a personal relationship with a racehorse. Last summer exactly that happened to my family and we have now become huge fans of a three-year old filly that we believe is going to turn some heads big time with her performances on the racetrack this summer. Here's how it all unfolded:

Through the magic of social media, I had befriended local owner, Adriano Sorella (who as it turns out would win The Little Brown Jug later that year in his very first try with pacing colt Vegas Vacation!). Adriano, as is his generous nature, was throwing a BBQ for his trainer Casie Coleman's staff on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Ms. Coleman's farm. He invited my family, so away we went. Horse lovers that we are, naturally once we finished the sumptuous lunch we spent the rest of our time inside the stables hangin' with the racehorses. It was there that my son Nicholas immediately bonded with an unraced 2YO Art Major filly named "Major Dancer". Nick spent most of the afternoon petting and loving on "Dancer", so it was only fitting as harness racing aficionados that we watch intently for Dancer's debut race.

Alas she didn't appear until fall, but she certainly didn't disappoint the Barnsdale fan club that she easily cultivated in one visit to her place of residence. "Dancer" as she is called by her connections didn't surface in a pari-mutuel race until late October last year, but she sure made quite an impression in her debut, gutting out a long first-over journey on a very windy night - not really an ideal trip for a 2YO filly facing elders first time out. Eight lengths back on the outside at the half, Dancer's pilot Scott Zeron did his best to fish out some cover, but none of his rivals were taking the bait. So like the good filly everyone - including the betting public who made her a heavy 1/2 favorite - expected her to be, Dancer marched right past her foes and stopped the teletimer in a respectable 154.2, a 3/4 length debut winner.

Major Dancer would face the gate twice more as a rookie pacer winning her next start even more impressively than the first in 154.1 by 4 1/2 lengths over a very sloppy surface then finishing a bang-up second to the older, more-experienced Putmeintogo who needed to churn out a 28.1 final quarter on a brisk November night to hold Dancer at bay.

Certainly based on her initial campaign, Major Dancer's connections had every right to continue to hold high expectations for her future racing career. Last week I got a Facebook message from Adriano Sorella that Dancer would be making her debut on Thursday night. Naturally my response - seeing as I hadn't missed any of her races and wasn't prepared to start then - was..."see ya there!"

A brief perusal of the past performances made it quite clear that Major Dancer likely only had one contender to worry about - the #2 horse, Nat A Virgin -  a three-time winner in 2013 who was competitive in Indiana Sires Stakes and was coming in with two impressive qualifying wins, the most recent in 154.0. As the fillies scored down near post time, Major Dancer was as quiet as a mouse and paced as straight as an arrow. She looked ready. Nat A Virgin, however, was the polar opposite. She seemed to be fighting her driver, Dustin Jones and also appeared a tad nervous. "Look at her tossing her head around," I noted to Adriano as they paraded past us. Not being one for many words as races neared, he just nodded acknowledgement. As the race unfolded, my pre-race observation seemed prophetic as Nat A Virgin broke stride soon after the start, eliminating herself from competition. Not that it likely would have mattered on this night as Major Dancer's trainer Casie Coleman sent her postward with her game face on. You be the judge:

After the traditional post-race victorious fist-bump, we hurried down to the winner's circle for our third picture with "Dancer" in only four lifetime starts and when she arrived the Art Major filly looked as though she could turn around and head back to the track for another dash. 

There wasn't a whole lot said; it seems the connections have been high on "Dancer" from the start. Little did we know our "friend" from last summer's BBQ might turn out to become one of the premier 3YO pacing fillies on the continent. She's not there yet, but she certainly could be well on her way. We will be right there with her, cheering her every move. If you are a horse lover, once a connection is made, it is forever.