Heston Blue Chip
Leading trainer Gary Hall sen. has identified outstanding American pacer Heston Blue Chip as the horse he wants to continue his dominance in the rich Inter Dominion championship.
Hall and his son, Gary, have dominated the great race in recent years, winning with champion New Zealand-bred gelding Im Themightyquinn in Auckland in 2011, in Perth in 2012 and in Sydney in 2013 --- after they had finished a nose second to Jofess with the Falcon Strike in 2004.
Heston Blue Chip, a five-year-old, has won 36 races and has earned in excess of $1.7 million and Hall sen. is currently negotiating with the stallion’s owner, New York businessman Ken Jacobs.
“I’m hoping to be able to purchase Heston Blue Chip at a reasonable price and discussions are going along very well,” Hall said.
Im Themightyquinn is now a ten-year-old and in the twilight of a magnificent career. Hall is confident that his New Zealand-bred four-year-old Machtu will continue to improve and develop into a serious Inter Dominion Championship contender when the event is run at Gloucester Park in November 2015 again in the following two years. The final of the championship each year will carry prizemoney of $1.3 million.
But he is extremely keen to buy a top-flight American pacer on behalf of several stable clients to give him a great chance to add to his championship successes.
Heston Blue Chip is by American Ideal and is the first foal out of Shot Togo Bluechip. He has proved a great bargain for Jacobs, who liked his breeding and bought him for just $30,000 at the 2010 standardbred sales.
Heston Blue Chip was a good winner as a two-year-old before a dominant season in 2012 when he won at 14 of his 18 starts, set four track records and won the prestigious Dan Patch award as the three-year-old colt of the year in America.
Trained by Linda Toscano, Heston Blue Chip has been driven to most of his victories by Tim Tetrick, who summed up the stallion by saying: “I can’t say enough good things about this horse. He is such a pleasure to drive; it’s like driving a Cadillac out there.”
Heston Blue Chip has proved to be wonderfully versatile. But his chief asset has been his dazzling early speed and he has set the pace in most of his wins --- at Yonkers, the Meadowlands, Vernon Downs, Woodbine, Harrah’s Philadelphia, Saratoga Raceway and Dover Downs.
On a cold night in December 2012 he won the $176,663 Matron Stakes for three-year-old pacing colts at Dover Downs, setting an all-age track record of 1.48 over a mile. He settled in third place and burst to the front after 450m, following a scorching first quarter in 25.4sec. He won by a half-length from North American Cup winner Thinking Out Loud and his time of 1.48 shaved 0.4sec. off Dali’s track record.
Heston Blue Chip, whose stable name is Moses, is a faultless pacer who wears no boots, but at times has an off-side lugging pole.
His other feature wins as a three-year-old included the $270,400 Empire Breeders Classic, the $555.000 Breeders Crown at Woodbine and the $270,000 Progress Pace at Dover Downs when he burst straight to the front from barrier five and sizzled through the first 400m in 25.2sec., the fastest opening quarter ever on that track, before winning in 1.49.
If Hall is able to clinch the deal to purchase Heston Blue Chip, the stallion will become only the fifth American pacer to race at Gloucester Park, the other being Crouch, Tibet, Ultra Jet and Mr Feelgood.
Crouch, a stallion by Abercrombie, had two Australian starts in the winter of 1995 before being retired to stud with a record of 49 starts for 12 wins, 14 placings and $586,279. He was driven by Rod Chambers when he won at his Australian debut, beating Elite Shadow and Sparkling Cyanide in a M2-class mobile over 2100m at Gloucester Park in June 1995. He then finished second to Leg before in a $5000 Cup event at Wagin on August 12.
Tibet and Ultra Jet were brought to Perth to contest the 1996 Inter Dominion Championship at Gloucester Park.
Tibet, a stallion by On The Road Again, was unplaced in three heats of the series before winning a 2500m championship consolation from Scanio and Elite Shadow. After that Tibet won three races at Harold Park and one at Newcastle, including the $150,000 Ben Hur.
Ultra Jet, a stallion by Niatross, finished a close second to Weona Warrior in the Inter Dominion Championship at Harold Park in March 1994. He had four unplaced starts at Gloucester Park in 1996, three in heats of the championship and one in a Free-For-All.
Mr Feelgood (by Grinfromeartoear) contested the 2012 championship series in Perth after being unplaced behind Im Themightyquinn in the WA Pacing Cup and Fremantle Cup. Then in the championship series he finished fourth to Crombie over 1700m and second to Auckland Reactor over 2100m before winning a 2506m heat. He finished eighth behind Im Themightyquinn in the final. Earlier, he had won the Inter Dominion Championship in Queensland in March 2009, defeating Blacks A Fake in the final.
