The freak of nature

When Googoo Gaagaa burst onto the Maryland scene many didn’t know what to think. A world record for 2-year-olds on a half mile track was impressive, but could he really be that good? As it turned out, at his best he was even better. Persistent injury problems caused an early retirement, but the hybrid-bred trotter then went from impressing on the track to impressing at stud.

At two, Googoo Gaagaa started six times in Maryland, against moderate opposition, and won all six races, and earned $38,512 in the process. But winning six out of six is one thing, it was how he won those six that caught the attention of the trotting world. He won the Maryland Sire Stakes final by 41 lengths, racing in 1:56 (1.12,1) at the half-mile Oceans Down and shattering the world record. After the race, driver Jim Morand enthusiastically declared that, “he’s a fantastic horse with a huge step. He can trot in 1:55 (1.11,5), even in a bull ring.” In another race the two-year-old won by 32 lengths. But against poor opposition it is easy to look good, and skeptical minds looking for things to put their finger on didn’t have to look far.

For starters, Googoo Gaagaa is by pacing sire Cam’s Rocket out of the trotting mare Kora’s Trotter. Mixing trotters and pacers has not been overly successful in the last 50 years, though there are a few exceptions, the most notable being 1976 Hambletonian heat winner Zoot Suit. Conventional wisdom is that trotters trot and pacers pacer – and mixed offspring are usually good at neither. His breeder, owner and trainer Richard Hans did not intend to try out anything new, either; he had simply sent Kora’s Trotter to be covered by Revenue, but she failed to conceive. Instead of her going empty for a year, he let her be bred by his own pacing sire Cam’s Rocket. This unplanned mating, however, produced a freak of nature. An untraditional pedigree was one thing, another was that he was from Maryland and finally, he was trained by his owner-breeder, a smaller trainer with little experience at the Grand Circuit/top level.

Goosebumps

But whereas he was untouchable the previous year, Googoo Gaagaa “only” won 9 out of 14 races at 3. Driver Callahan took the responsibility for the first loss, stating he used a sulky that was too small and caused Googoo Gaagaa to break stride.

However, as it turned out, Richard Hans knew what he was doing. In his first major event, the Earl Beal Jr Memorial, Googoo Gaagaa silenced most doubter by winning his elimination by seven lengths in 1:51.3f (1.09,4), another world record. But some skeptics remained as the colt hadn’t met the best in the crop yet. As it turned out, he was even better in the final and lowered his own world record to 1:50.4f (1.08,9). “This horse can absolutely fly,” Richard Hans said in an interview with ESPN. “I said that a long time ago and no one believed me.”

Corey Callahan, the colt’s primary driver, was one of those who didn’t believe him at first. “When Hans first told me about him I was like ‘there’s no way that’s a good horse.’ But once you laid eyes on him and then once I got the opportunity to sit behind him I was thinking ‘holy cow, is this thing is for real?’ Googoo Gaagaa wasn’t a good horse. He was a great horse. I’ve driven a lot of good horses, but only a handful give you goosebumps”, says Callahan, adding “Googoo Gaagaa was a lovely horse to drive. His gait was very explosive and easy. He had an unbelievable reach up front and huge engine behind.”

After the impressive performances at Pocono, the colt was a huge favorite in both the Yonkers Trot and Stanley Dancer Memorial. Both races ended with disappointments, however, as the colt broke stride both times. The colt was found to be suffering from a splint on his left hind leg, got a few weeks rest and then looked impressive in a qualifier at Harrah’s Philadelphia.

Not eligible for the Hambletonian, Googoo Gaagaa hooked up with Market Share in the Colonial Trot at Chester in the middle of August. After yet another impressive display, the Maryland trotter defeated the fresh Hambletonian winner by a neck in 1:52.1f (1.09,7). Says Callahan; “my favorite memory was the Colonial at Chester. That day we beat Market Share, who had just won the Hambo. He set track record that day of 1:52.1, a record that stood for a decade. That said, the back to back world records in the Beal at Poconos was also very special. He set world record of 1:51.3 in the elim and then shattered that record to 1.50.4 in the final. I still remember the announcers asking how is that even possible.”

Struggling at 4

After two stellar seasons, his four-year-old season turned out to be a disappointment. Out of the money in the Meadowlands Maturity and fifth in the Arthur J Cutler Memorial, the colt was clearly struggling with something. An examination revealed a problem with an entrapped epiglottis and the superstar underwent surgery again. He returned in late August, but after three qualifiers and a second-place in a free-for-all at Frederick County it was announced that Googoo Gaagaa was retired with immediate effect due to his persistent injury problems. In an interview with Harness Racing Update, Richard Hans stated that “He was operated on twice and it didn’t work. He just got worse. He would drink water and it would come out of his nose. He was coughing his head off.” Despite 15 wins in 23 starts and three world records, he clearly had a lot left on the track when he was forced into retirement.

A spectacular stallion

Whatever Googoo Gaagaa didn’t achieve on the track, he quickly made up for at stud. Sold to Robert Lindström’s World Trot Scandinavia in September 2019, the 10-year-old stallion headed to Sweden shortly thereafter. Lindström knew exactly what he was buying. “The owner Richard Hans is very fond of his horse and would prefer to keep him at home on the farm in Maryland. At the same time he has seen the foal’s good results in Sweden and appreciates the interest shown by Swedish breeders in Googoo Gaagaa. I am extremely grateful that we were given the opportunity to complete this deal and take him to Sweden and Europe. Googoo Gaagaa seems to fit our the Swedish broodmare band fantastically well,” said Lindström after the deal was concluded.

Googoo Gaagaa had produced a few nice trotters in USA by then, most notably Gaagaa Gone, winner of the Maryland Sire Stakes at 2, but across the Atlantic it was looking utterly ridiculous. From 27 foals born in Sweden in 2016, 25 was alive at 2. Of those, 23 started and this relatively small crop contained four international stars: Swedish Criterium-winner Power, Swedish Derby-winner Hail Mary, international group 1-winner Usain Toll and Bythebook, winner of the 2018 Svensk Uppfödningslöpning.

Callahan is not surprised that Googoo Gaagaa, who he is quick to point out is his all-time favorite horse, is now an elite stallion. “I’m not surprised at all that he’s been a successful stallion. If he had been syndicated in the US early on I think we would be seeing a lot more Captain Coreys, Call me Goos, and Aperfectannies. It took selling him to Swedish interests for American breeders to see how special he was. Kudos to Peninsula Farms for being the ones to truly believe in him as they are the ones who have bred most of his top performers. And he’s crushed in Sweden. For him it was the best move for his stallion career and I commend Richard Hans for parting with his horse and friend so that he could fittingly leave his stamp on the trotting world.”

In 2021 it became obvious on US soil that the export was a loss to their breeding when Captain Corey won the Hambletonian for Åke Svanstedt, In 2024, Call Me Good won the Breeders Crown Mare trot. Over in Sweden his son Borups Victory entered the world stage by winning the Hugo Åbergs Memorial and finishing second in the Elitlopp. And back in his home state the 2023 and 2024 Maryland Sire Stakes were dominated by Only I Exist, Yall Keep Dreaming and Yall Just Love Me, all by Yall Beneath Me 4,1:52.2f, a son of Googoo Gaagaa. All three are trained by Richard Hans who ensures the legacy of his superstar freak of nature is carried on.

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