Legacy of Velocity

By Richard Torres

July 08, 2008 11:54 pm

— MARKLEVILLE — She might not be just like her momma, but Real Velocity has her mother’s ability to win, and that’s an important similarity.
About 10 years ago, Extreme Velocity was one of the most popular and successful standardbreds to campaign at Hoosier Park.
As a 2-year-old, the filly, owned by Dave and Merrill Stohler, won all but one of her 16 races and finished second in the one non-winning effort.
In 1998, EV, as she came to be known, won the $282,000 Breeders’ Crown at The Meadowlands with harness driving legend John Campbell at the reins. For her career, she won 40 of her 79 races before retiring in 2001 with winnings of $856,070.
Real Velocity, owned by Greenfield’s TKO Racing Stable, which is made up of Ted and Kathryn Ottesen, is making her mark this season at the Anderson track. She has won all but one of her six local races and nine of 13 races for the entire season.
That success rate has been a surprise to Trent Stohler, who trained both horses and drove EV.
“At the time the horse was purchased, she hadn’t shown, on paper, to be the type of horse that EV was,” Stohler said Tuesday from his training facility in Markleville. “Realistically, we thought she fit in some of the closers (at Hoosier Park) so we could get their money back and have a nice broodmare.”
That outlook changed a bit when she was second in the $500,000 Breeders Crown last year.
“I was disappointed she didn’t win,” Stohler said. “It doesn’t happen too often that a mare and her offspring both win the Breeders Crown.”
Still, Stohler was unconvinced that Real Velocity would get to her mother’s level.
“After her first three races, I still hadn’t sat behind her,” said Stohler. “But EV could go from 30 to 35 miles per hour in two steps. I didn’t see that explosion of speed from Real Velocity. Even in the spring, she didn’t have that wallop kick. But we found out she was bleeding, so we put her on Lasix and since then, she’s had that kick.”
Part of her talent is difficult to see without close inspection.
“She does things so effortlessly,” said Stohler. “You can’t tell that she’s doing them from watching her on TV.”
Close inspection reveals another difference between the temperament of EV and Real Velocity. EV could be a real handful.
“You get too close to her and she could bite your face off,” said Lindsey Clark, who is now a groom for Stohler, but worked for a veterinarian when EV was racing. “She knew who the vet was and she didn’t like what he did.”
EV was infamous in the Hoosier Park barns as being a horse to avoid. “There were many times she didn’t want to get caught inside the stall,” said Stohler. “She’d put her head in the corner and check you out.”
Things couldn’t be more different with Real Velocity.
“She doesn’t do anything wrong,” said Clark. “She’s a good girl.”
Real Velocity has one Hoosier Park start left, on Friday night. The Anderson track closes its harness racing season Sunday.
“Then we’re going to take a couple of weeks off with her,” said Stohler. “We will probably race her at Indiana Downs. I’d like to run her in the Breeders Crown. It’s going to be in Canada. But that’s a long way off. I usually don’t start planning for her to race on Friday until Thursday.”
That mother-daughter double remains a possibility as does an extended racing career.

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