WON: DPCD Digging The Grave Handicap(G1), The Bass Reach For Greatness Stakes(G1), The Preview Cup, Pass The Guinness Stakes

3rd: Breeders Bowl Juvenile Turf(G1)

2005 Eclipse Juvenile Turf Colt:  Pub Crawl(IRE)
*From Ireland to the Top of the Sim*

By- Winterhart

The sire is a hot one in the sim and in the real world - Giant's Causeway(IRE), the pride of Ashford Stud. Sixteen point one hands, born in 1983, stakes winner of $570,610 according to Ashford's Breeding Handbook. The mare was Bomamba and her sire was the great Danzig. Their offspring was a filly named Bonezig. The now 5 year old Bonezig is a modest Grade G mare with only a pair of wins to her credit. Owner Given must have thought long and hard before deciding upon a sire to breed her to. Sure, she was well bred and had those awesome genes from Giant's Causeway and Danzig but she won only 2 races! How Given hit upon El Prado(IRE) as the right sire for Bonezig's breeding is surely a tale he will have to tell now that the offspring of that mating, Pub Crawl(IRE), has won the sim's Juvenile Turf Male Eclipse award for 2005.

Perhaps Given chose El Prado because of the words of Andrew Caulfield, "Has established that he can upgrade his mares." Bonezig, for all her excellent breeding, could use a bit of upgrading because of that race record. And so, born into Given's stormborn stable was an Irish bred colt of light grey, much like his father El Prado, very nearly white in color. Mama was proud of her firstborn son. Dad ... well, he was off servicing another mare in Midway, Kentucky, completely oblivious to the momentuous occasion of the birth of another of his offspring. After all, El Prado was the sire of Artie Schiller, Borrego, Kitten's Joy, and the great Medaglia D'Oro. Probably only Given was sure Pub Crawl would be something special.

Pub Crawl went into training in Ireland at the age of 2 and Given sent the colt out for the first time in week 2461. The Stormborn Stable colors of Given adorned the jockey as Pub Crawl stepped out onto the grass in Ireland for his first race. It was a MSW 31800, an ambitious level for so untried a colt, but Given was sure that the gleam in the colt's eye meant something. He pranced uneasily but was controlled by jockey Z. Kentucky as they loaded into the number seven slot in the gate. There were 13 in the field that day going six furlongs on the firm Irish grass. Even though he was in the seventh position, dead center in the field, Pub Crawl's powerful break from the gate carried him away from the other horses and into second place and then quickly, into the lead. He never looked back. That first heady win was the start of something big.

In week 2510, Given found another similar spot for his colt. An allowance race in Ireland, ALW30400 NW1x. This time the field was not so full. Five horses in the gate, Pub Crawl again in the unenviable spot - post position number four. The distance was the same as before, six furlongs on the firm turf. Again, Pub Crawl broke at the front and never looked back. The other four horses had nothing with which to challenge him and he ran away with the win.

Now, a lesser trainer might have wondered at those two races. The first was explosive, a big win against a nearly full field, his colt posting a mighty 73 SP. But the second was against a soft field with the speed only a 68. But Given wasn't given to speculation. He was positive that gleam in the colt's eye meant something and so he boldly put his colt forward in a stakes race at Ireland, this time at one more furlong than the last race. Jockey Z. Kentucky was again aboard, as he had been for the first two wins. Both jock and trainer were sure Pub Crawl could handle the extra furlong.

Somehow the field for the Guinness Stakes was small, only five entrants. This time Pub Crawl drew an inside post position, number two. Given was not afraid his colt would be trapped on the inside. Pub Crawl was a fast breaker who liked to run on the lead. The colt would do just fine. And he did. He broke in front and, as was his wont, drew away from the rest of the field. Kepler Storm pressured him for a furlong but he pulled away before the other colt could even look him in the eye, going gate to wire easily and posting an incredible 84 SP.

Those first three wins told Given everything. It told him the colt was special. It proved the gleam in his eye was the look of a champion. Emboldened by the stakes win, Given entered Pub Crawl in the Grade 1 Bass Stakes in Ireland. The distance was the same as the Guinness. The jockey would be the same. Given was sure the outcome would be the same as well.

A field of ten came out on the grass that day. It had rained that morning and the turf was not firm. Storm clouds hovered overhead in the Irish sky. Pub Crawl had drawn the number four post position but Given was not concerned. The condition of the turf gave him a moment's pause but it was only a moment. Pub Crawl was not favored in this race. Testing, a son of Galileo, was the favorite based on his last race - a Grade 3 win. That didn't really give Given any pause either. The wind rippled the silks of the Stormborn Stable as Pub Crawl calmly entered the starting gate. When the bell clanged and the gate flew open, Pub Crawl was in the lead, by a neck over Rharfo's Corey's Mission. The favorite, Testing, lay in third. When Corey's Mission pressed Pub Crawl the light grey colt pulled away ... and away ... and away. In the stretch, another grey, Very Silver, put on a tremendous push to reach Pub Crawl but the son of El Prado was too strong and too fast. He crossed under the wire first, by a length and a half, posting a phenomenal 90 SP.

When the celebrations in the Stormborn Stable had finished and Given was alone with his thoughts, he didn't take a moment to savor this Grade 1 win. Instead, his thoughts had already turned to a greater prize. Somehow his Grade G mare had produced a Grade 1 winner who had never lost a race. Four in a row from breaking his maiden to the graded win. On soft turf and firm. At six furlongs and seven. Always under the firm hand of jockey Z. Kentucky and always in the green land of his birth. But now, Given's thoughts were turned toward the United States, to New York, to the biggest prize any simmer could win - The Breeder's Bowl.

And so, one stormy day not long after his big win, Pub Crawl was loaded into a plush van and taken far from the rolling green hills he had always known. He was put aboard a jet and taken to New York City where he smelled smog and pollution for the first time. He was ridden by a jockey whose hand he had never known before, N. Lawton. But he tossed his head and took to the dirt track to train. The grass in New York wasn't the same as in Ireland and Pub Crawl knew this but he wanted to run so in the end it didn't really matter. He trained well and Given entered him in a Breeder's Bowl prep-race, the Preview Stakes. It wasn't a graded race but it was over a mile, a distance Pub Crawl had yet to travel in a race. And he faced a formidable foe in Chilcoat's Cronus(IRE).

The day of the race dawned nicely. The turf was firm and the sun was out. There was a field of eight for the feature that day and Pub Crawl had drawn the number seven post position. N. Lawton, a most respected New York jockey, was aboard. Given barely looked at the odds, knowing instinctively that his horse was the favorite. The crowds hushed as the horses came out onto the track. Their eyes were on the light grey unbeaten Irish colt, the horse rumored to be the one to beat in the Breeder's Bowl Juvenile Turf later in the year. When they broke from the gate, Pub Crawl was in the lead by a neck over Zanzabar(IRE). When Zanzabar pressed, Pub Crawl pulled away. He was alone at the top of the stretch when Cronus(IRE) came flying from the back of the pack. Jockey N. Lawton heard hoofbeats pounding closer and turned Pub Crawl loose. The two Irish colts screamed down the stretch all alone, Cronus flying faster and faster and Pub Crawl muscling his way through that last furlong. At the wire though it was all Pub Crawl. Cronus had turned in a blazing final two furlongs to come within two and half lengths of the grey colt but he had run out of room. Pub Crawl crossed under the wire alone, in his fifth straight win, posting a 91 SP that left all the other trainers shaking their heads in awe. The sim world was certain that Pub Crawl would be the Breeder's Bowl Juvenile Turf favorite now. And they were correct.

The day of the Breeder's Bowl was probably the most nerve wracking in Given's horse training career. He had supreme confidence in his colt but he wondered about those BB jinxes. He wondered if he had done all that he could to ensure his colt's win on this biggest day in the sim. The distance was a half furlong longer than the Preview Stakes. He had not been able to secure the services of N. Lawton whose agent had promised him to a colt trained by New Zealander Rharfo. On the biggest day of Pub Crawl's career, he had a new jockey on board, J. Stivers. He had drawn the number thirteen post position instead of lucky seven. And he seemed as nervous as Given, something that had never occurred before.

The jittery Pub Crawl loaded next to last into the gate for the Grade 1 Breeder's Bowl Juvenile Turf. The wait had made him sweat. When the gate opened he was taken aback for a split second, allowing Tiderunner and the dangerous Omerta Code to leap to the front ahead of him. Pub Crawl had never had turf hit him in the face before. He didn't like it. In front of him pumped the hind quarters of Awesome Angel whose shod hooves churned up chunks of turf right into his eyes. By the midway point, he was determined not to take it any longer and he began to drive to the front. Behind him, like a ghost, moved the Kiwi owned colt, Always Improving. In the stretch, with only a fading Tiderunner in front of him, Pub Crawl made a move. But behind him, Always Improving moved too and he moved faster! He pushed past Pub Crawl and raced toward the wire. On his inside, Pub Crawl saw a movement as Very Silver came pounding from the back of the pack in a flash of speed to push his nose ahead of Pub Crawl's. Under the wire they flashed, Always Improving then two and a quarter lengths back Very Silver and finally Pub Crawl, two and a half lengths behind the winner.

A beaten Pub Crawl and Given were stunned. How could this have happened? As the others celebrated, Given went back to thinking. His colt had won five races in a row and now suddenly he doesn't even finish ahead of a horse he'd soundly beaten before? It was unbelievable. The Stormborn Stables were silent for weeks and after a bit of a rest Pub Crawl went back into training. Given had a plan. Even though his horse had lost the big race that didn't mean there weren't other big prizes in the sim to win. Now his eye had turned to the prize rich DelPenn Champions Day. Given saw this as an opportunity not to be lost. His horse could avenge his loss in the Breeder's Bowl and GR Simster Given would be able to thumb his nose at the DelPenn residents.

A quick trip to New Jersey was in order for DelPenn Champions Day. Pub Crawl was entered in the Digging the Grave Handicap, a Grade 1 event over seven furlongs. There was a full field of tough horses for Pub Crawl to beat and he was not going in as the favorite. That honor went to Storm Tapper, son of freshman sire Tapit, who had posted the highest SPs in the field. However, Given was confident and Pub Crawl was too even though they again had the 13 post position. But this time, everything was different. Pub Crawl broke first with Northern Chant a head behind. When Northern Chant pressed, Pub Crawl pulled away little bit by little bit. In the stretch he was more than 2 lengths ahead of the rest of the field but one of the Super horses, Spare T(IRE), came into view. With every stride he was catching up to Pub Crawl! He made up the two lengths like they were nothing but the race was only 7 furlongs and he ran out of room! Pub Crawl flashed under wire a mere half length in front of the DelPenn horse, posting his highest SP yet - 96!

With the half million dollar win on DelPenn Champions Day, Given knew his horse would be the top contender for the Eclipse Juvenile Turf award. And so it came to pass. The light grey son of El Prado out of the Grade G mare whose father was the great Giant's Causeway, had bested the sim in Ireland, New York, and New Jersey. He was the number 1 ranked turf sprinter in the sim for his age bracket even though he had lost in the Breeder's Bowl. And the sim loved him. The colors of the Stormborn Stable reign supreme this day and Given has his greatest sim triumph to date as his horse Pub Crawl takes the Eclipse Juvenile Turf honors for 2005. It is a fitting award for a horse who has six wins and a place in seven races and who consistently beat the best 2 year old turfers the sim has to offer. Congratulations to The Stormborn Stable, Given, and most of all to Pub Crawl(IRE)!