“I called Garrett Bell (General Manager) at Winbak Farms and told him I was looking for three weanling fillies,” said Jo Ann Looney-King, the owner of the 2-year-old Logan's Girl. “We did not specifically pick her and when I saw her I thought about how small she was. She really was like a runt and the other two fillies (Spanish Dream) and (Lillisbagsrpacked) just dominated her in the field. She would come in with bite marks all over her after the other two bossed her around. Then she started to fill out and grow over last winter. That’s when I thought this might be something. You never know in this business.”
Logan’s Girl is a daughter of Roddy’s Bags Again and the Allamerican Ingot mare All Italian. Following her less than promising beginnings, the filly has amassed $140,250 and her resume stands at 9-7-0-2 for 2016. She has captured both $100,000 Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund finals and has simply been a blessing for Looney-King and her husband Jim, who puts the filly through her paces.
“I am so thankful every day for the horses I have,” Looney-King said. “We have worked hard and there are so many peaks and valleys in this business. I’m just so thrilled we are able to overcome the valleys and have this kind of stable.”
She is referring to the likes of 2015 O'Brien Award winner Wakizashi Hanover, who appears poised to contend with Wiggle It Jiggleit yet again in 2017. The Kings also guide the careers of the 2015 Lady Maud winner Purrfect Bags; the very talented Spanish Dream; one of this year’s top trotters in Maestro Blue Chip; and the new addition of the New Zealand mare Nike Franco N. That 6-year-old mare is undefeated in the United States, with one victory at Harrington Raceway and three coming at Dover Downs. In her latest foray, the McArdle miss dusted her male opponents on Dec. 1.
“I don’t know how Tim (Tetrick) does what he does,” King said. “He always seems to find a way to put a horse in position to win. That is what he did with this mare and he is excited about her, too. He said we are going to have fun with her and we are thinking about putting her in the (Blue Chip) Matchmaker series (at Yonkers). She knows she is good and carries herself that way around the barn.”
Logan’s Girl also may be able to use another relationship to boost her performances via Nike Franco N. The young lady does not possess the most pleasant of demeanors unless she is on the track and harnessed.
“They just love each other,” Looney-King said. “We put a screen up between their stalls and they go out together all the time. Neither one wants to be without the other. They are companions.
“She (Logan’s Girl) can be tough. She does not have the best manners, but when she is on the track she is all business. She is very professional and Ross Wolfenden did a great job driving her. We really thought Spanish Dream (Dream Away-Latin Liftoff) was the better filly, but she keeps digging down. She is gritty.”
Spanish Dream was third in their latest contest on Nov. 22 in the $100,000 DSBF final and second in their prior meeting on Oct. 5, in the first $100,000 DSBF championship. Lillisbagsrpacked (Roddy’s Bags Again-Lilli Maid), the other filly that had her way with Logan’s Girl, was second in the $20,000 Delaware consolation two weeks ago.
So what does the future hold for not only Logan’s Girl, but the rest of Looney-King’s stable?
“I just hope we can keep it together and get to Hoosier Park with some of our horses for the (2017) Breeders Crown,” she said. “It’s difficult to maintain them all year. You want to think about the future, but the reality is things can change every day. I can’t keep saying enough how lucky I am to have these horses and be able to compete in these races.
“Wouldn’t it be something to see Waki, Freaky Feet Pete and Wiggle It Jiggleit at Hoosier Park in the Breeders Crown?”