May 3, 2024 3 min read

By John Sacco

For The Observer-Reporter

A winner of five straight races this year, Timeisonmyside will face his toughest competition to-date Saturday in one of the Bye Bye Byrd Pennsylvania Sire Stakes 3-year-old colt and gelding pace at The Meadows.

It’s all part of the first stake races of the 2024 season at the North Strabane Township track. Three-year-old colt and gelding pacers will be in action in PA Sire Stakes and PA Stallion Series events. Post time is 11:30 a.m., a special Kentucky Derby day start.

Timeisonmyside, a sophomore by Captain Crunch, made a successful return to action at The Meadows April 20.

As a 2-year-old, Timeisonmyside went one-for-four before shipping to The Meadows and trainer Tim Twaddle and TheStable.ca.

Since then, he has not lost. After winning a qualifier Jan.9, he won three straight in 1:56.4, 1:56.1 and 1:54.4, taking that lifetime mark on Feb. 8.

The gelding took two months off, requalified a winner for driver Anthony MacDonald April 16 in 1:58 before winning in a career-best 1:53.1 in a leg of the Tom Kirwan Memorial Series with driver Chris Lems.

Timeisonmyside, by Captain Crunch, is $165,000 yearling, and a half-brother to Fourever Boy, another Twaddle trainee and a top aged pacer in his class.

Twaddle said it’s time Timeisonmyside faces stiffer competition.

He will leave from the rail in the $51,127 race with Macdonald in the bike and will face from post 2 out – Its Saturday night (Dexter Dunn), Solid Character (Mike Wilder), Rush In (Dave Palone), Hypebeast and AmericaGreatAgain, who both list Tim Tetrick in the sulky.

“He’s a nice horse,” Twaddle said. “This will be a big test for him. Up until now, he hasn’t faced the tough competition.

“He is a Sire Stake caliber horse. I didn’t have him last year. He had some issues, not hot or crazy or mean. He was not giving great effort. They castrated him and shut him down. He’s been an exceptional horse since.”

Timeisonmyside is a half-brother to Fourever Boy, one of Twaddle’s top horses and part of a talented 5-year-old pacing class.

Ironically, Fourever Boy is in the opening race of the program – a $12,500 all ages pace. Fourever Boy has 10 career wins in 66 races with nine seconds and 11 thirds. He has a career mark of 1:48 at Scioto Downs and earnings of $947,517.

Fourever Boy will leave from post 6 and he will battle Night Watchman, Sparrow Hanover, Whitecookie, American Fling and Chief Mate – the 2020 Adios runner-up to Catch The Fire.

“That they are half -brothers is about it,” Twaddle said. “They don’t resemble one another. Fourever Boy is smaller and compact. (Timeisonmyside) is a big boy. He has length and size. Fourever Boy could use some of that length.

“I’m sure Timeisonmyside is the kind of horse to be in big races this summer, The Adios included. Saturday will be a real test.”

Milestones

A pair of regular drivers at The Meadows recently reached victory milestones.

Ronnie Wrenn, Jr. won his 8,000th career race with The Last Song for trainer Jack Smith. Hunter Myers was honored a little more than a week ago for reaching 2,000 career wins. He earned win No. 2,000 in Ohio a few days earlier.

Jeff Zidek, track announcer, contributed to this story.