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Brian Sears drives Royalty for Life to victory at Hambletonian Stakes.
The driver known as the White Knight ruled harness racing’s biggest day again.
Brian Sears guided Royalty for Life to victory in the $ 1 million Hambletonian for 3-year-olds and steered Bee A Magician to a win in the $ 500,000 Hambletonian Oaks for 3-year-old fillies on Saturday at Meadowlands Racetrack, becoming the first driver ever to pull off the Hambo-Oaks double for a second time.
Sears, the leading driver at Yonkers Raceway, showed he can still do it over the mile track where he won five straight driving titles from 2005-09.
In 2009, Sears was behind Hambo winner Muscle Hill and Oaks champ Broadway Schooner.
“The colt raced great,” Sears said of Royalty For Life. “He’s a very talented horse, showed all of his class today. I used him hard from the gate and he was game right to the wire.”
Sears gunned Royalty For Life, who had won his elimination earlier in the day in wire-to-wire fashion in 1:52, right to the front and cut out a sizzling opening fraction of :26.2 to establish command.
After being permitted to rate a middle half in :57.1, Royalty For Life hit three-quarters in 1:23.3, and it was essentially over. Sprinting clear at the eighth pole, the colt went on to a 3 1 ⁄ 4 -length win, stopping the clock in 1:52.1, and paying $ 3.60 to win as the 4-5 public choice. Smiling Eli, who left for the pocket, held second. Corky was third.
For winning trainer George Ducharme, who races on the “C” circuit in Massachusetts, it was quite a day.
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“Racing two heats like that, never having done it before, I am absolutely stunned,” Ducharme said of his prized pupil. “Words can’t describe how I feel.”
“(Ducharme) doesn’t train a stable of Hambletonian contenders every year,” Sears said. “These opportunities are few and far between for some people and to get it done for him is very special to me.”
But that was merely the back-half of Sears’ big day.
In the race before the Hambo, he steered super filly Bee A Magician to an easy win in the Oaks, also by 3 1 ⁄ 4 lengths. Her clocking of 1:51.4 was the fastest in the history of the event, and as the 1-5 favorite she returned $ 2.40 to win. Classic Martine was second, with To Dream On third.
“You know, those are pretty big numbers, 1:22.3, when we are going over to three-quarters,” said Sears.
“I was like, geez, she gets over the ground so easy that you don’t realize you are going that fast, but she’s a very talented filly and has a lot of trot. But I was asking her down the lane. You can’t take anything for granted.”
He could have, as Bee A Magician stayed perfect in nine seasonal starts. She has won 19 of 22 lifetime and earned just over $ 1.5 million.
“It’s an honor to get the call on a mare like this,” Sears said. “She’s just a great-gaited filly and does it so easily.”
The win gave trainer Nifty Norman his second consecutive winner in the Oaks. Last year, his Personal Style was victorious.
