Stars Out For Saturday Qualifiers

always-b-miki-qualifier-370.jpg

Two sure signs of spring, tax day has passed stateside and the good horses begin to show up for qualifiers at The Meadowlands in anticipation of stakes season.

The sky was cloudless, the wind negligible and the temperature hovered around fifty degrees when three-year-old filly trotters stepped onto the track to open the card.

Predictably, a Takter horse won the first race. Sunset Glider, a Cantab Hall filly that won the Kentuckiana Sales stake at Hoosier last summer, led all the way through slow numbers then sprinted home in :27.1 on the end of the 1:57.2 mile for Dave Miller. Wildflower, winner of the Kindergarten final last year, was second for Ake Svanstedt and Kathy Parker came third. Brittany Farms, Marvin Katz and Al Libfeld are the owners.

Ake took revenge in the second, cutting the mile to win in 1:57.4 with the Credit Winner filly New Sheriff In Town over a fast-closing Miss Tezsla and Brett Miller. Mellby Gard owns her.

Going back to the NYSS well that produced million-dollar return on investment Crazy Wow last season, Ronnie Burke unveiled new purchase Dayson in the third. He led all the way through well-rated fractions then edged away to a clear 1:55.2 score with driver Yannick Gingras motionless in the sulky. Honor Above All and Granite State followed him in. Burke Racing, Our Horse Cents, J&T Silva and Rossie Smith are now the owners of Dayson.

The fifth qualifier contained a few of the finest trotters in the land. Trainer Nifty Norman was recently quoted as saying Bee A Magician might be better than ever and off her pair of qualifiers the consensus is a resounding “You might by right, Nifty!”

She drafted along behind Aged Breeders Crown winner Creatine, who clicked through fractions of :29, :58 and 1:26.4 before Brian Sears tipped her and sat up. Bee edged past Creatine, who held well in his first outing, in a 27 flat conclusion to the 1:53.4 mile. Resolve sat mid pack early and gained some ground to be a controlled third. Mel Hartman, Herb Liverman and David McDuffee own Bee A Magician.

Pacers started up after the break and sophomore fillies went a mile in 1:54.3 with JK Fannie and John Campbell holding off the late bid of last year’s Three Diamonds winner Yankee Moonshine. She is owned by 3 Brothers Stables.

The seventh race pit last season’s winners of the NJ, PA and NY Sire Stakes freshman filly finals, and they finished right across the track in that order. Blue Moon Stride and Andy McCarthy set fractions of 29.1, 57.4, 1:26.4 with Dime A Dozen in the pocket and Dan Patch champ Pure Country third. They fanned across the track in the stretch and Blue Moon Stride held off the late rally of Pure Country by an inch with Dime A Dozen another head back third in 1:54.1. Emilio and Maria Rosati own the winning filly, and Mark Harder trains.

JK Will Power looked sharp this morning, dragging Gingras around the oval in a 1:53.1 winning effort over Carlos Danger and Sapient Hanover. The three-year-old pacing colt is trained by the Burke stable for 3 Brothers.

Burke sent out Check Six next and he looked sharp today winning for Yannick in 1:52. Settling third through the first three quarters, Check Six took off when shown racetrack and drew off over Love Tap Hanover and Western Dynasty with the :26.3 final stanza. He is owned by Burke, Weaver Bruscemi, Switala and Martin.

Always B Miki made a good appearance in his first qualifier, setting slow fractions then sprinting home in :26.3 (and he didn’t really start pacing until inside the final eighth) to close the 1:52 mile well in hand. National Seelster and Big Top Hanover both logged good efforts on the chase. Dave Miller drove for Takter and owners Bluewood Stable, Roll The Dice Stable and Christina Takter.

Older mare pacers closed the card with Katie Said making an impressive appearance with a pillar-to-post 1:54.1 win for Brett Miller. She’s as fast as any when on her game and today was one of those days. Stacia Hanover and Bedroomconfessions followed her in with solid efforts. Black Horse Racing owns the winner.

Full charted results are available at the following link: Saturday Qualifiers - Meadowlands Racetrack. First race post time for the live card tonight is 7:15 p.m.

(with files from The Meadowlands)

Have something to say about this? Log in or create an account to post a comment.