Boy, Nijinsky was good, wasn’t he?

In the North America Cup, Nijinsky’s imposition quickly shifted from a nightmare mile to a golden tow behind his parked stablemate Legendary Hanover.

That cover surely helped the colt catapult to his crowning achievement in Canada’s richest harness race.

But the race I’m talking about wasn’t his win in the North America Cup, rather his victory in the elimination of the Meadowlands Pace, which goes postward for a purse of $650,000 as the highlight event on a stakes-laden Saturday night (July 13) at The Meadowlands. Nijinsky, again placed at an imposition when looking to take back into a stalking spot, found himself instead nestled in the winning part of a vicious backside shuffle.

And though opportunity again graced Nijinsky, he presented a dimension he never had in the stretch drive when responding with insistent acceleration against the persistent outside push of Andrew Harris’s Funtime Bayama.

The pair scampered four lengths clear – nearly a second if we measure it in time – of the field while Louis Roy never came close to imploring Nijinsky.

Instead he asked his charge for a little fight, plugs still in, and repelled Funtime Bayama by less than a length to win in 1:47.3 – a

lifetime best mile.

Nijinsky, instead of flaunting torrential muscle through proper placement and pouncing off other’s work setting the table, had his face shoved to the grindstone and did not cower.

Through his win he showed himself to have multi-dimensional grit that can only conjure fierce confidence not only in the horse, but for trainer Tony Beaton and driver Louis Roy.

The whole team has to just hope that this tenacity can be a well-utilized asset and not instead bubble to a potentially devastating hubris, the type which every other talent inside of this field is gushing to capitalize

on and exploit.

Louis Roy, once again, has to be perfect with Nijinsky.

And Nijinsky does appear a tremendous horse. But with his inside draw, Nijinsky will again get enveloped to an inopportune spot early. He has Funtime Bayama ready to bolt forward to his inside and a handful of menacing front types to his outside: Captain Albano, Captain’s Quarters,

potentially even his stablemate Legendary Hanover, who is still seeking his first black-type glory after patience cost him a win in last year’s Metro Pace and over aggression parked him in the North America Cup.

So Nijinsky will hit the track with a massive target on his back. He’s a handy type of horse where he may again force the stars into alignment and place his peers to his back in terms of divisional dominance.

Or what we will see unfold will be a premature playing of the hand; Nijinsky holding aces just to flip a river with no sign of anything but the pair in hand. After all this is the race that’s rampant in surprise, from Holborn Hanover and Southwind Lynx’s pylon skims to surprise to an upset more famous than even Bulldog Hanover’s loss in Lexington.

Because whenever anybody thinks of this race, everyone remembers Somebeachsomewhere pleading for the line and succumbing a rare defeat as Art Official angled out of the pocket, drew alongside and said “smell you later” into the harness racing history books.

Funtime Bayama remains a threat for his vicious speed, but he’ll hope for a trip as will every one of his compatriots. Legendary Hanover appeared back to himself in his elimination and stands as an obvious one to capitalize. Captain Albano was as ready as could be in the North America Cup, but hit traffic and then got pummeled in his Pace elimination.

Captain’s Quarters needed his race in the elimination and likely hasn’t reached his peak. And – admittedly a longshot – Captain Luke could find himself in the right place and with the right setup to have the slick and patient palms of Scott Zeron pull the same type of miracle that has catapulted him into the figureheads of modern harness racing.

The favorite is strong, but his competition remains hungry. Everyone will hit the track with something to prove.

Coverage at Horse Racing Nation of the summer’s top standardbred races is made possible through a sponsorship by the Hambletonian Society.