By Dick Jerardi
Lou Linder has started 5,224 horses in his career. That would include some very nice 3-year-olds, some very talented older horses and some pretty good 2-year-olds.
Well, after having her in the barn for several months and watching her race twice, he is pronouncing Welovemollynteddy as the best 2-year-old he’s ever had.
“She’s really, really good,” Linder said Tuesday afternoon at Parx “Once we get her head in the game a little more, the sky’s the limit.”
The filly won her debut on Aug. 25 at Parx by 15 1/2 lengths. It was dazzling in every way. She not only won by a giant margin, the final time for the 5 1/2 furlongs translated to a 74 Beyer, an excellent speed figure for a 2-year-old filly in late August.
Under much more difficult circumstances in Saturday’s Smart Halo Stakes at Laurel, Welovemollynteddy got a 74 again. But it was how it happened that left quite an impression.
After being unsettled behind the gate and then breaking poorly in a field scratched down to four, Welovemollynteddy was in an immediate trap, trailing lone speed Piggybunz and jammed near the rail by her stablemate, Bellablaze. It looked like a prescription for disaster on the good, sealed track.
“She was not focused at all, not for the break, not for the run down the lane,” Linder said.
The filly took kickback. She was clearly uncomfortable. Yet, by the far turn of the 6-furlong race, she was still trying. With 200 yards to go, she was 3 lengths behind the leader. She was on the wrong lead. She was doing most everything incorrectly. Somehow, in those final yards, she closed all of the ground except the last few inches, losing by a nose.
“She was frustrated that she wasn’t on the lead, frustrated that the horse outside of her broke into her real hard and pushed her back,” Linder said. “All those things considered, she kicked into gear and almost got there. Disappointing, but we haven’t lost any confidence in her.”
In horse racing, it’s often not about how fast the horse ran, but how the horse ran fast. Well, Welovemollynteddy ran fast despite all the obstacles. And she will learn how to switch those leads in the stretch.
“It was just her trying so hard to catch that horse and not having the experience to switch over which would have put in the next gear,” Linder said. “Once she learns all that, that next gear will be there.”
Linder’s daughter picked Welovemollynteddy out from her breezes.
“When I went and looked at her, she just looked really well,” Linder said. “She’s petite, but really put together nice. I figured ‘well, she won’t be really hard on herself’ which I was wrong.”
Co-owners Bran Jam Stable (Mike Mellen) and David Clark paid $70,000 for her at the OBS sale last March. The name comes from Mellen’s two grandchildren, Molly and Teddy.
Linder is convinced the filly is just scratching the surface of her ability.
“I think the bigger fish to fry will be next year as she matures,” Linder said. “That’s kind of what we are waiting for.”
Last year, the Linder-trained Ourdaydreaminggirl was a fast-closing third in the Cotillion. The owners and their trainer are already dreaming about the 2027 Cotillion.
“That was the plan Mr. Mellen gave me, ‘go to the sale and get a horse that can win one of the two big ones here,'” Linder said. “If she stays good, we’ll have a shot.”
That, hopefully, is for next September. Linder does not have a next race picked out for the filly yet, but he is confident more distance is not going to be an issue. Meanwhile, remember the name: Welovemollynteddy. Really, how could you forget it?
