Stacked three-wide with cover at the head of the lane, Rebuff was able to track down tempo-setter Branded By Lindy and hold off a stubborn Fast As The Wind to capture the $600,000 2021 Breeders Crown Final for two-year-old colt & gelding trotters on Friday (Oct. 29) at The Meadowlands Racetrack.
Driver Tim Tetrick watched from seventh with elim winner Rebuff in the early going as Temporal Hanover (Scott Zeron) took to the field to the opening quarter in :27. Favoured at 1/2, Branded By Lindy (Yannick Gingras) pocket-popped to control the tempo. His lead was immediately tested as Double Deceiver (David Miller) came with a hard backside brush as the half flashed up in :56.1.
Branded By Lindy and Gingras didn't allow Double Deceiver to clear, leaving Fast As The Wind (Dexter Dunn) second over and Rebuff third over heading to the third quarter. As the third panel was reached in 1:25.2, Double Deceiver started to feel the sting of that first-over attack, prompting Fast As The Wind and Rebuff to tip three-wide around the final turn. Straightening out turning for home, Branded By Lindy had more than two lengths on Temporal Hanover but both Fast As The Wind and Rebuff found another gear to cut into the leader's margin. In midstretch, Dunn tipped Fast As The Wind to the inside of Branded By Lindy as Rebuff collared the favourite on the other side. Rebuff withheld a late rally from Fast As The Wind to win by a half-length in 1:55, with Branded By Lindy rounding out the triactor.
"Lucas asked me there at Lexington if I wanted to drive him there in the second week and I was like 'Absolutely' and you know from there it's been history; so far, so good," said Tetrick on picking up the drive on Rebuff. "I was third over and I was happy with that. They went to a very strong first quarter and, with the conditions, I was hoping they would come back to us and they did. I was following live cover, and me and Dex had to go three wide a little bit early but, you know, this colt's been racing really good and charging hard and he got it done today.
"My horse got a little lost halfway down lane. He almost made a break but then he finished it off, so the paycheque won't say what he did," added Tetrick with a smile.
A son of Muscle Hill - Meucci Madness, Rebuff ($7.80) gives trainer Lucas Wallin his first Breeders Crown win, a victory he'll also enjoy as a co-owner of the colt with Kjell Magne Andersen of Walchwil, Switzerland and Pieter Delis of Almere, Netherlands. Bred by Steve Stewart of Paris, Ky. and Michael Andrew of Gorham, Me., Rebuff was a $200,000 Lexington Selected yearling that now sports a record of 4-2-1 from 11 starts and $444,095 in earnings.
All the recaps from Friday's opening night of Breeders Crown finals can be found in the 2021 Breeders Crown News Centre.