After some scorching miles from the three-year-olds and older performers on Friday night, some of harness racing's potential stars flashed some wicked speed over the Meadowlands mile oval on Saturday morning.
Breakfast With The Babies (BWTB), sponsored by Fashion Farms, went to post on a beautiful, windless Saturday morning under clear skies with temperatures in the 80’s.
Lindy Farms and trainer Domenico Cecere unveiled a pair of well-bred, good looking trotting colts this morning. They sent out the fourth race winner in Union Forces (Scott Zeron) who led start to finish in 1:57.3, needing a :27.3 final quarter to hold off Skyway Con Man (Smedshammer). Zeron let his charge go forward from the gate and set rated 30-second quarters with no challenges until Skyway Con Man came along, that pair then sprinted home as a team. Lindy, along with Robert Rudolph, David Anderson and John Fielding bought him for $100,000 in Lexington last fall from Blue Chip Bloodstock.
Kings County continued the Lindy/Cecere assault with aplomb, winning in 1:56 with remarkable ease. He led at every call through the :59.1 half, faced no challenges at any point and went through the wire a five-length winner under Tim Tetrick wraps. Lindy Farms bought the Muscle Hill colt from Brooklyn for $210,000 at Harrisburg. Order By Stable of Sweden is the breeder.
As is custom, trotting fillies opened the day and Fraulein Blucher came away a 1:58 winner for Marcus Johansson. She followed along behind The Ice Dutchess through the 1:29.2 three-quarters, inherited a big lead when that rival rolled off stride and the “Fraulein” coasted in on her own over Hallintheclouds ( Åke Svanstedt). Nancy Johansson trains the $140,000 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale purchase for Hauser Bros Racing (also a breeder along with Susan Oakes) and Rojan Stables.
The grand filly Beautiful Sin won for the third time, this one the fastest yet in 1:56.2 for Yannick Gingras. She led all the way at a comfortable rate then widened that lead on the field through the :27.3 final quarter with minimal effort to win as she pleased over Caviart Jenny (Johansson). Jimmy Takter trains the $480,000 Lexington purchase for Lennart Ågren’s SRF Stable. Beautiful Sin was bred by Jeff Gural and Moon Goddesses.
Winnerup was an impressive 2:00.3 winner this morning for trainer-driver Trond Smedshammer. Settled mid-pack early on as Montevideo set slow fractions, Smedshammer had Winnerup out and rolling when the leader went off the course on the final turn, fought past the game eventual second-place finisher Martys Barn Party (Marcus Miller) and held sway in the fast last fraction. Wanda Polisseni owns the $60,000 Harrisburg buy as Purple Haze Stable. Ed Mullinax and Blue Chip Bloodstock bred the colt.
Mattias Melander drove the Swedish-bred Muscle Hill colt Green Manalishi S to a 1:56.3 win in the fifth. Forecast (Corey Callahan) took the field by the quarter then released Green Manalishi S as they approached the :59.4 half. Those two hooked up through the hotly-contested :27.4 final fraction with Green Manalishi S coming out on top. Anders Strom’s Courant Inc. owns the winner.
Captaintreacherous continued his first crop success with the filly Odds On Naples winning in a front end breeze, the mile in 1:55.2 for Andy McCarthy over American Love (Gingras). She’s owned by Dana Parham’s Odds On Racing who was the top bidder at $110,000 in Lexington last fall. Deo Volente Farms is the breeder.
Cash Reward registered as the second filly pacing winner on the day for Captaintreacherous when she went all the way for Yannick Gingras in 1:54.2 on her own. The homebred from the mare Cashaway is the property of George Segal’s Brittany Farms and Marvin Katz, and is trained in the Takter barn. Devious Delight (Tetrick) closed strong into the 27-flat final quarter to be second.
Sweet Lou was represented emphatically by the wicked fast No Mas Amor who virtually dragged driver Yannick Gingras through a :26.4 end to a 1:52.2 mile this morning. He went right to the front, sent a :57.1 half, stretched the field out with a :28.2 third panel and finished them off with the blazing last fraction. Escapetothebeach (McCarthy) was a credible second. Ken Jacobs owns the winner, a $110,000 Harrisburg buy from breeders Sherri and David Meirs.
The speed show continued when Blacklight, a Diamond Creek homebred of Somebeachsomewhere scorched a final half of :54.2 in a 1:53.4 mile, his third win in as many morning trials for Gingras and Takter. Yannick sat behind pacesetter Cole On The Beach through a :59.2 half then swung Blacklight out around that rival on the turn before blasting home. Captain McKee (Brett Miller) was second.
Little Jimmy Brown hit pay dirt for Marcus and Erv Miller with a stretch rally 1:55.4 win. Away toward the back of the pack as Random Hanover sailed along on the lead, Little Jimmy Brown and Miller came the widest late and picked them off one by one until he got to the leader at the wire. Cant Beach That (Dave Miller) split rivals for second.
Ontario-bred Caviart Rockland sprinted home in :26.4 on the end of a sparkling 1:52.4 mile for Scott Zeron. The Sportswriter colt cut the mile and went under the wire with plenty left. Major Decpetion (B. Miller) tracked the winner and held second. The winner is a Caviart Farms homebred trained by Nancy Johansson.
Live racing tonight at 7:15 and it’s Millennial Night with college scholarships awarded and a free 30 & under handicapping contest with $5,000 in prizes.
To view the charts from the baby races, click the following link: Saturday Baby Races - Meadowlands Racetrack.
(with files from The Meadowlands)