Racing: Pukekohe to New Jersey, what a leap

NEW YORK - As Steven Reid looks out over The Meadowlands racetrack a daunting thought enters his head.

"What happens if we win it," says Reid, as much to himself as anybody else.

Reid, the Pukekohe trainer, is considering the very possible scenario that his pacer Bartolomeo could win Friday night's US$400,000 Woodrow Wilson Pace at the world's most famous harness racing track in New Jersey.

Bartolomeo qualified for the famous event with a close second to Western Ace in the first of two preludes on Friday, almost downing the United States superstar.

Bartolomeo is one of three horses Reid is campaigning in North America as a test-case to see whether racing New Zealand-bred horses there is economically viable.

Reid's trio - the others being Fake Denario and Ross The Boss - have recorded one win and three placings in just 10 outings, hardly statistics that are going to set the alarm bells ringing among North America's best trainers.

Until Friday night.

That was when Bartolomeo all but downed Western Ace in a 1:53 mile after working to the lead and then pulling very hard. It was a performance which, depending on where he draws in the final, should see Bartolomeo start third favourite in the great race.

While horses exported from New Zealand making a name for themselves in North America are not rare, New Zealand-trained horses there are a rarity.

Only Under Cover Lover and Lyell Creek have bucked the trend with success in the last two decades.

But the gap between our best and the North American speed merchants is greatest at an early age, and New Zealand-trained juveniles racing in the States with any success are unheard of.

So after three months of travelling, settling in, watching and learning, Reid is now a player in the game. The big game.

"I haven't really had much of a chance to think about it," said Reid.

"I am thrilled to have him in a race like the Woodrow Wilson but I haven't thought about winning it. I mean, if we did ... wow!"

After considering that option Reid admits it is a realistic possibility, even though the two favoured runners, Western Ace and second prelude winner Pujols, look stronger.

"They might be too good for him but if we draw inside them we might get the sit on them. Hey, we are in the big race with a chance, and that in itself is a victory."

Bartolomeo can compete against the US stars on a level footing because he is bred to Northern Hemisphere time, part of an experiment backed by his Auckland-based owner Robert Famularo to see whether it is worth expanding his vast harness racing interests into North America.

"So far we are loving it and it has given Robert and me a lot to think about," said Reid, most of whose horses are owned by Famularo.

"He [Bartolomeo] is entered for some huge races in Canada later on so I might even be here for another few months.

"He will be racing for US$1million in some of those races and we only have to produce one big run to make this whole exercise a huge success.

"But either way I have learned a lot and I have no doubt that the right New Zealand horses can handle the racing up here. Let alone a horse like Elsu ... I think at his best he would be too strong for even their best older horses up here."

If Bartolomeo performs well again on Friday night the big US offers are certain to come and that could mean he is sold and Reid soon heads home.

" ... It has been amazing [here]. But I think it is viable to have our horses racing up here so it has opened my eyes to a lot of possibilities."

Like the possibility of the Pukekohe trainer nobody here had heard of three months ago winning one of the most famous juvenile races in the world.

"I don't want to think about it ... it is just a dream at the moment."