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Harmer Wants It All on Saturday Night

Guns for Carey Repeat With He Wants It All

Michael Polansky’s 6-year-old horse He Wants It All looks to remain perfect from five career starts at Hawthorne when he defends his title in Saturday night’s $96,000 Robert F. Carey Memorial. We caught up with his trainer, Tom Harmer.

Q: Why has He Wants It All had such a successful career ($711,450 in earnings).

A: It’s all me, he has nothing to do with it (with a chuckle). You don’t have to be Einstein to make a good horse successful, and it’s really very easy to put them in the right spots. If you do things right, they can win ten races in a year, you just have to pick your spots and shoot for them.

I’m a firm believer that all good horses are born that way, it’s just a matter of how long it takes someone like me to screw them up. Sometimes it’s before they even race as a 2-year-old. Other times it’s further down the road, but eventually it’s going to happen. You just have to let them do their thing. Don’t force them into tough spots before they’re ready.

This horse has been easy. He’s very responsive, and you can tell when he needs a little time. They ran into him a few times last year, and I knew it was time to give him a break. All the credit goes to Michael Polansky for understanding when the horse needs time. We turn him out a few weeks and bring him back into it slowly. He’s had four major layoffs, and every time he’s come back good.

Q: You’ve enhanced his bankroll by racing him where he can be one of the favorites and win. How do you choose his spots?

A: After he won the Isle of Capri (at Pompano), the plan was to go into the Dan Patch, but we didn’t get invited. I felt like that was a real slap in the face to me and my owner. He got a little banged up in the trailer on the way back here and couldn’t have raced anyway, but they (Hoosier officials) didn’t know that. They had invites at Harrington, Plainridge and in Cleveland, but we got overlooked in all those races too. We had him peaking, but we never got called on.

It’s a shame for Mr. Polansky, he spends money and loves the business. This is a horse that people would bet on. All three of those tracks had $50,000 claimers in there. Wouldn’t the public be more interested in seeing an out of towner with some credentials?

Q: He Wants It All is four for four at Hawthorne. Is it something about this track that he likes?

A: Not at all. He doesn’t have to carry his track with him. Half-mile, 5/8ths, a mile, it doesn’t matter, he’ll go :50 and change wherever he races, even Maywood. Small track, big track, he doesn’t care.

Sure he has gate speed, but what people don’t realize is how versatile he is. You can back him out at :32 if you want. Dave (driver Magee) knows that, and he’s amazed by it. If you don’t ask him when the gate folds, he'll just stay back and wait. People asked me why I let Dave drive in the Isle of Capri this year instead of Tony (Morgan), and I joked that I wanted to prove to people that it really was the horse and not the driver.

Q: He already beat these horses in last week’s Carey Preview. Are you afraid of any of them?

A: There are a couple in there that couldn’t (beat us), but there are four of them, who, given the trip, could get us, especially if we get beat up a little bit.

Q: Assuming he races well Saturday night and comes out of it in good shape, what are your short term plans for He Wants It All?

A: Well, nobody seems to want to invite us to race at their track, so I guess we’ll just take him home to Hinsdale (IL) and let him mess around in the five-acre field for a couple weeks. He likes Maywood and Balmoral, so we’ll probably stay local for a while. The plan is to baby him a bit and get him ready to dance in some of the big ones later in the year.

Hawthorne’s spring 2006 Standardbred meet runs May 6 through June 17 with live racing six days per week – Tuesday through Sunday. Post time is 7:20 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Hawthorne’s fall 2006 Thoroughbred meet runs September 15 through December 31 with live racing five days per week: Wednesday through Sunday. Post time is 1:10 p.m.

Hawthorne’s spring 2006 Thoroughbred meet ran February 24 through May 2.

For more information visit www.hawthorneracecourse.com.

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