'All' In The Family

Sayitall-BB.jpg
Published: March 5, 2015 07:49 pm EST

“We bought her off a maiden race at Lebanon and to think that we would supplement her to the Breeders Crown, I would have said never in a million years. But we did it and the fact that she won was pretty cool.”

Breeders Crown champion Sayitall BB returns to action Friday, looking this year to be the talk of the division for older female pacers.

The four-year-old Sayitall BB will prep for the upcoming Blue Chip Matchmaker Series at Yonkers Raceway by competing in the Open Handicap for fillies and mares Friday at the Hilltop. She starts from post seven with driver George Brennan and is the 7-2 second choice on the morning line.

Sayitall BB won 10 of 16 starts in 2014 and earned $519,910 for owners Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. She captured five of her last six races, including the Breeders Crown for 3-year-old female pacers on Nov. 21 at the Meadowlands. She was supplemented to the Breeders Crown for $62,500.

Trainer Ron Burke purchased Sayitall BB in October 2013 after the filly won her career debut by 4-1/2 lengths in 2:00.4 at Lebanon Raceway. She went 4-for-4 the remainder of the 2013 season in conditioned races at The Meadows.

A daughter of stallion Tell All and mare Challo B B, Sayitall BB is a half-sister to million-dollar-earner Go On BB, who also raced for the Burke Stable.

Her connections hope there are many more wins in her future. Sayitall BB followed her Breeders Crown victory with a triumph in the Open Handicap for fillies and mares on Dec. 5 at Yonkers. She was the only three-year-old in the field, winning from post six in 1:54.3 as the even-money favorite. The performance helped lead to Sayitall BB getting a chance to compete in the Matchmaker.

“Yonkers is a funny track,” Weaver said. “Some horses that we think can get around there do, and then some don’t. We wanted to give her a shot. If she wouldn’t have gotten around there, we probably would have brought her back in May when the bigger races came. But the fact she showed she could handle it, we figured we’d give her a mini-break and come back for the Matchmaker.”

Sayitall BB enjoyed two mini-breaks last year. She raced in January in the Blizzard Series at Woodbine before receiving a three-month layoff. When she returned, she raced eight times, winning four starts and finishing second in the Lynch Memorial and New Jersey Sire Stakes finals. With no other stakes events on her schedule, she got another three-month layoff before her season-ending string of races.

“We could have raced her in the Opens, but it didn’t really make sense,” Weaver said. “It made more sense to give her some time and let her develop. She surely seemed to appreciate it.

“In theory, I would think it would help her (coming back this year). But at the same time, Ronnie races and trains his horses as hard as anyone and they keep coming back, and he’s had great success with the older horses. I don’t think it could hurt that she had a break there, but it wouldn’t have discouraged me if she did have a full year.”

Four-year-old mares have won three of the six Matchmaker Series finals, with two – Ginger And Fred and Rocklamation – coming from the Burke Stable.

Rocklamation and Anndrovette tied for the 2014 Dan Patch Award for best older female pacer. Weaver thinks this year’s race for the honor could be wide open, with four-year-olds like Sayitall BB and 2014 Dan Patch Award-winning three-year-old champ Color’s A Virgin ready to enter the fray.

“I think there’s a chance where this year’s four-year-old class could be a factor in the division,” Weaver said.

“It’s hard to pinpoint one thing (that stands out about Sayitall BB); I guess just the fact she knows how to win. She seems to do it any way. She’s just tough. She brings it every week. She’s a solid filly.”


This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.

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