Hallies Comet used some racing luck and a great steer from driver Eric Abbatiello to pull off a major surprise in the featured $22,500 conditioned pace Saturday night (Oct. 26) at the Meadowlands.
The toteboard spoke volumes about how evenly-matched the field was, as the post time favourite was 3-1 while the fifth choice was 4-1. Americanprimetime moved past early leader Sicily to lead while parked at the quarter, before Sicily retook and led the field past the half in :55 and three-quarters in 1:23.3.
As Sicily turned for home on the point, Hallies Comet was in an extremely tough spot, racing fourth along the rail with no apparent shot.
That’s when the eventual winner got some luck, in the form of a seam between rivals as the horses up front started to weaken.
In mid-stretch, Abbatiello found enough room with the five-year-old gelded son of Roddys Bags Again-Joyanna to swing to the far outside before charging home to score in 1:50.2 at odds of 44-1.
The Ron Burke trainee, who is owned by Burke Racing and Weaver Bruscemi, paid $91.60 to win as he scored for the 13th time in 93 lifetime starts. His career earnings stand at $228,711.
Hallie’s Comet hit the wire a head in front of Another Daily Copy while Americanprimetime finished third.
A LITTLE MORE: With Hallies Comet scoring in leg one of the Pick-4, the return was $5,083. … Driver Steve Smith scored twice at odds of 17-1 early on the program, helping the Pick-5 return a handsome $6,312. … Driver Tyler Buter, who had four winners last Saturday, tallied three on the card, as did Vinny Ginsburg. … All-source wagering on the 13-race program totaled $1,947,268. … Racing resumes Friday at 7:15 p.m.
(Meadowlands Racetrack)