The hybrid
by Lisa Harkema
The idea of crossing trotters and pacers is nothing new, and every so often a star trotter with this background emerges. In the 1970s the foremost trotter-pacer cross was Zoot Suit, bred by Norman Woolworth. His oddball pedigree meant he wasn’t an attractive stallion to US breeders upon retirement, but in Sweden he was welcomed with open arm and became a stallion sensation.
When Zoot Suit was 2, the breeding experiment did not look like a star. He was good, but nothing more. Winning the Harriman Challenge Cup at Goshen was his top achievement that season, and in many races against the best he often had to settle for last money – or no money at all. He won a heat in the Ohio Standardbred, where he set his two-year-old record of 2:04.4 (1.17,6) and was second in Arden Downs Trot, Batavia Downs Trot, Hanover Colt and the Harriman Cup. He also managed a 3-3 finish in the International Stallion Stake at Lexington. With his $56,159 in freshman earnings, Zoot Suit was considered an outsider, but nothing more, for the upcoming Hambletonian. In the experimental ratings he was predicted a 1:58.1 (1.13,5) time as a three-year-old. At the top of the experimental ratings, with 1:57 (1.12,7), was the top two-year-old Nevele Thunder, who had won 18 of 21 starts in 1975, and was the fastest colt trotter on all size tracks and the richest two-year-old with earnings of $150,487.