Two of harness racing's most popular and successful trotters were on the track Saturday morning for tune-ups ahead of next weekend's Breeders Crown finals.
After losing two straight races for the first time in his career, Father Patrick was driven by trainer Jimmy Takter in his qualifying mile at The Meadowlands. Takter guided his talented trotter to a comfortable 1:54 victory.
Owned by the Father Patrick Stable, Father Patrick has won 11 of 16 races this year and $1.4 million. His wins include the Canadian Trotting Classic, Beal Memorial, Zweig Memorial, and Stanley Dancer Memorial.
A son of Cantab Hall-Gala Dream, won the 2013 Breeders Crown for two-year-old male trotters on his way to the Dan Patch and O'Brien Awards as the division’s best. The last colt trotter to win the Breeders Crown at ages two and three was Muscle Hill in 2008 and 2009.
The three-year-old colt trot final is one of three races that will be drawn at the press conference at Victory Sports Bar at the Meadowlands on Tuesday, November 18 at 2 p.m.
The 10-horse field for the Three-Year-Old Colt Trot in alphabetical order is:
Datsyuk
Don Dorado
E L Titan
Father Patrick
Harper Blue Chip
Hillustrious
Il Sogno Dream
Nuncio
Odds On Amethyst
Sumatra
One of the other races that will be drawn on Tuesday is the Open Trot, and top contender Commander Crowe was also out on Saturday morning. With Trond Smedshammer at the controls for trainer Fabrice Souloy, Commander Crowe carved out fractions of :28.4, :57, and 1:25.1 en route to a stressless 1:54.1 mile.
Owned by Sweden's Snogarps Gard, Commander Crowe's connections are hoping the third time will in fact be the charm for Le Grande Blonde. The 11-year-old son of Juliano Star has made two previous Breeders Crown appearances, both at Woodbine Racetrack (2011 and 2012) and both times finishing third.
Commander Crowe has won 64 of 114 career races, earning in excess of $4.9 million. His earnings rank No. 5 among all trotters in history and his triumphs include the prestigious Elitlopp Invitational, which he captured in 2012.
Four horses will receive byes into the Open Trot: Commander Crowe, Creatine, Intimidate and Market Share. That leaves six horses to qualify for the final with a single $25,000 elimination carded for Saturday night.
1. Wheeling N Dealin - Rick Zeron - 20-1
2. Your So Vain - Ake Svanstedt - 12-1
3. Flanagan Memory - Brett Miller - 15-1
4. Master Of Law - Jimmy Takter - 6-1
5. Quick Deal - Corey Callahan - 20-1
6. Sevruga - Andy Miller - 15-1
7. Wishing Stone - Matt Kakaley - 10-1
8. Arch Madness - George Brennan - 9-2
9. Archangel - Brian Sears - 5-2
10. Maven - Yannick Gingras - 2-1