Post Position: 2

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Bay colt by Badlands Hanover – Wiggle Hanover – Life Sign

BREEDERS: Winbak Farm, Chesapeake City, MD

OWNERS: Elmer G. Fannin, Lincoln, DE & George Teague Jr. Inc, Harrington, DE

STATISTICS:
2009 9 5 2 0 $379,767
2008 8 5 1 1 $54,250
Totals 17 10 3 1 $434,017

LIFETIME MARK: 3, 1:51.2, Pocono Downs

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS & NOTES:
Purchased for $50,000 at the Harrisburg Sale in PA in November of 2007

• Co-owner George Teague Jr. and trainer Brenda Teague won 2006 Cup with Total Truth

At two:
• Won two elims of Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund at Harrington Raceway on October 8 and 15
• Finished third in $100,000 final of Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund on October 22
• Won another leg of Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund at Dover Downs on November 23, but made a break in the $100,000 final on December 8 and finished seventh, as the 4-5 favourite

At three:
• Won $20,000 leg of Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund on March 30 at Dover Downs, then captured $100,000 final on April 6
• Won Hempt elim on May 16 at Pocono Downs in 1:51.2, a career mark
• Finished fourth to Johnny Z in the $300,000 Hempt final, May 23 as the 3-5 favourite
• Notched biggest win of his career in $500,000 Hoosier Cup, May 30 at Hoosier Park, scoring by one-quarter length over Chasin Racin
• Finished eighth, five lengths behind Keep It Real, in a $100,000 Burlington division, June 13 at Mohawk
• Wired his Cup elim, winning by three-quarters of a length over Art Colony, in 1:51.3

ELIMINATION QUOTES:
Brenda Teague, Trainer

“We’ll back off a little bit. He went a big mile. He’s a nice horse. George (Teague) will probably be easy on him this week.”

“We haven’t discussed post position yet. I’d like to get a two-over trip for him next week, but he was good on the front tonight, he was really super. He went :25.4 to begin with.”

“Mr Wiggles is stabled at Mohawk.”

“Well Said was real sharp tonight, he’s our main worry.”

“When he first came up with four other horses about three weeks ago, all five got sick. They’re finally getting over their sickness – that’s why I think he was a lot better this week. He’s in great shape, he’s a great horse. He just won the Hoosier Cup, he’s sharp right now.”

“He’s an all-around sweetheart. I’m hoping he’s the best in the final. I’m just happy to have him in there.”


Trainer – Brenda Teague
George Teague Jr./Brenda Teague
Age: 45
Career wins through June 21, 2009: 942
Career earnings through June 21, 2009: $19,618,533

It's only taken two decades for George Teague, Jr. to become an ‘overnight sensation’ in harness racing. The second generation Delaware horseman followed in the footsteps of his late father, George Teague, Sr.

As a teen, George's first job in the sport came working for well known trainer Jim Case. A short time later, Teague opened his own small stable. From that beginning, Teague has become the most successful African American trainer in the sport. He accomplished this with only a small stable of private purchases and yearlings. For years, Teague attended yearling sales and purchased modest priced colts and fillies, owning at least 50 per cent of them.

Sister Brenda has shared the training duties and handles most of the stakes performers when they race in Canada. She is the only female trainer to win the Pepsi NA Cup, having captured the 2006 edition with Total Truth.

At the 2002 Fall Classic Sale in New Jersey, Team Teague liked a filly (Rainbow Blue) so much that they went to $10,500 (U.S.) to buy her. The rest is history. As a two year old in 2003, Rainbow Blue had six wins in seven trips to the post, with earnings of $102,674 (U.S.).

Rainbow Blue was the toast of the sport as a three year old in 2004. She won an amazing 20 races in 21 starts and banked $1,195,010 (U.S.), the most ever earned in a single season by a female pacer. The daughter of Artiscape captured the $610,000 Breeders Crown Final, the $705,900 Fan Hanover Final, the $222,500 Nadia Lobell, the $159,675 Matron Final and the $150,000 New Jersey Sires Stakes Final. Rainbow Blue's 1:49.2 clocking in a Fan Hanover elimination equalled the world record for a sophomore pacing filly on a mile track.

Her terrific accomplishments led to Rainbow Blue capturing Dan Patch Awards as the U.S. Horse of the Year, Pacer of the Year, and Three Year Old Filly Pacer of the Year. With high hopes for her four-year-old season, Rainbow Blue unfortunately suffered a torn tendon in early June, missed the rest of the season, then was retired to the broodmare ranks in 2006.

Team Teague finished second in last year’s Pepsi NA Cup with Badlands Nitro.

Corey Callahan
Age: 31
Career wins through June 21, 2009: 1,034
Career earnings through June 21, 2009: $11,556,236

Corey Callahan jokes that when he was a kid, the only thing his father’s Standardbreds meant to him was more work. Besides, Callahan had plenty of other athletic endeavors to keep him busy. He was an all state soccer player at Easton High School on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and was the state’s ice hockey player of the year in 1996 before heading to the University of Kentucky, where he skated for the school’s Cool Cats.

But four years in Lexington’s horse rich country helped Callahan reconnect with his harness racing heritage. He would often take college buddies to the simulcasts to watch his father’s horses race in Delaware and upon returning to Maryland after graduating with a business degree, he “dabbled” in the sport.

Then, in October 2004, he decided to leave his job as an IT recruiter and work with his father, Nick, and the horses. On December 16, 2005, Callahan got his first win as a driver, guiding Galleons Joy N to a 5½ length victory in 1:57.2 at Rosecroft Raceway.

“When I was younger, I liked going to the races, but wasn’t a huge fan of the horses. It meant more work to me. My friends just had to cut the grass or something,” Callahan said with a laugh. “After I graduated, I kind of dabbled in the horse business. I thought I would do it from an owner standpoint. But harness racing seems to be something passed down through generations. If it’s in your blood, it doesn’t seem to go away. It always seems to come back.”

Callahan didn’t warm up his first horse until he was 25, but soon thereafter decided to get trainer and driver licences. “It’s definitely been fun,” he said. “This has kind of given me more of an appreciation of the business. And it kind of helps fill that competitive void that may have been in my life.”

His position as an IT recruiter was “the job of a salesman, chasing money every month.” When it was pointed out that trainers and drivers are chasing money in every start, Callahan laughed. “This is a lot better,” he said. “The adrenaline rush is a lot different, for sure.”

Callahan’s biggest career win came earlier this season when he guided Mr Wiggles to victory in the $500,000 Hoosier Cup at Hoosier Park in Indiana.