Local horses shine at stakes finals Regarding Riley, Abby C trained at Bangor track

BANGOR – Two horses that had great years as 3-year-olds this summer live and train at Bangor Raceway. Abby C, a filly trotter, easily won her division of the Maine Standardbred Breeders Stakes, and Regarding Riley, a colt pacer, finished second in his division.

The Stakes, which ran for the 30th time in 2004, are a summer-long series of races at tracks across the state. Points are accumulated by competing horses and the best eight in each division are invited to the finals, which were run Oct. 17 at Scarborough Downs.

There are eight divisions: four for 2-year-olds and four for 3-year-olds. Horses are classified by sex, male (colt or gelding) or female (filly), and by gait, pacing and trotting. Only horses with owners from Maine are eligible to compete. The Stakes gave out about $750,000 in winnings this year.

Abby C is owned by John Brophy of Castine and trained by Shawn Nye, a second generation trainer from Unity. Abby C has been dominant from the start of her racing career. Over the past two years, she has raced 17 times and won 13 races. In 2004, Abby C won nine of 11 races, earning about $42,000 in purses.

Abby C is a feisty horse, which Nye believes helps her on the track.

“She loves to win,” Nye said. “She’s a fiery horse. There have been plenty of times this year where she’s been parked out two or three wide the whole mile and wins.

“She’s a high-energy, high-spirited horse,” Nye said. “You can’t fight with her; you have to treat her like a newborn baby.”

Nye believes Abby C’s most impressive race this year was at Skowhegan, where she broke stride early in the race, spotting the field a 20-length lead, then came back to win.

Regarding Riley doesn’t have the number of wins that Abby C had this season, but was just as successful in his own right. He raced 20 times this season, winning six and finishing in second and third place three times each, earning almost $29,000 in purse money. Regarding Riley blossomed as a 3-year-old. He only made $386 as a 2-year-old.

Regarding Riley was sired by Big Brother Hanna, a New Jersey-bred stakes winner with the mare Anagram Anne, who was owned by Duke and Libby Niles of Dexter. The result was the tall, muscular, easygoing horse, a combination that Don Knowles of Bangor, the horse’s owner, saw at just six months.

“I couldn’t get him out of my head when I saw him,” Knowles said of Regarding Riley. “He was so well-muscled and so well-mannered. I inquired about purchasing him, and there was never any question as to who I wanted to train the horse.”

That was Duke Niles, the grandson of the one of Maine’s great trainers, Warren Strout. Niles has raised the colt from a foal and is very proud of Regarding Riley.

“I get chills just thinking about the colt,” Niles says, “He runs out of love. He shows appreciation for what [Libby and I] do for him.”

Regarding Riley has also had success outside Maine, running well at Plainridge in Massachusetts and Rockingham in New Hampshire.

“We wanted to show him faster speeds,” Niles said. “We wanted him to do it on a bigger track, so he didn’t hurt himself.”

Most tracks in Maine, including Bangor, are half-mile ovals, while Plainridge is a mile-long course.

“It was important to race him against competition from bigger stables,” Knowles said. “That’s invaluable experience.”

Fred Nichols, the director of Bangor Historic Track, said, “We like to think of Bangor Raceway as a training facility. We’re very proud to have two horses of this caliber with local ownership here.

“The racino will help, because many horses are sold and race outside Maine once they are finished in the Breeders Stakes,” he said. “Keeping them here is a good thing for everyone involved.”