Crunch Time A stayed perfect in three North American starts after taking the Saturday night (Dec. 3) feature at The Meadowlands, a high-end conditioned pace that went for a purse of $27,500.
After winning at the non-winners of $7,500 level in his Big M debut, he followed that up with a victory when in against non-winners of $10,600. His win Saturday came against a talented group of non-winners of $20,000 types.
And he was dominant.
“In his first two starts, he was in with lesser,” said winning trainer Nik Drennan. “But I was still pretty confident tonight based on what I have seen training him. I think this horse is pretty good. It didn’t really surprise me the way he raced.”
Having last raced in Australia in mid-August before coming to the States, Crunch Time A had little trouble acclimating upon arrival. “When he came over, the weather wasn’t much different here than it was in Australia,” said Drennan. “He was in phenomenal shape, and we qualified him [on Oct. 27] about five weeks after I got him.”
After Ilikemebettor A grabbed the top at the quarter in :27.2, driver Dexter Dunn moved Crunch Time A to the point at the three-eighths before reaching the half in :54.3.
Dunn had little to worry about from there, as Crunch Time A hit three-quarters in 1:23 before striding clear to a 3-3/4 length win in 1:51.2. Vettel N was second with Colossal Stride A third.
“I think he can get around a half-mile track, too, so maybe we’ll try him in the [Borgata at Yonkers],” said Drennan. “But right now, the plan is to stay at The Meadowlands. I’d love to race him in the Open. Hopefully, that race will fill. We are going to race him every other week. He’s kind of a nervous horse so racing every week doesn’t benefit him. A week off will help him more than hurt him.”
As the 6-5 favourite, Crunch Time A returned $4.60 to win.
In addition to winning the feature, Dexter Dunn won four other races on the night to finish with a five-bagger. Joe Bongiorno guided three to victory lane. Drennan had a training double.
With a 25-1 shot starting the sequence and a 63-1 chance winning two races later, those with just four correct in the 20-cent Survivor Pick-7 collected a handsome $7,711.52. The 20-cent Pick-5 had those same two longshots during its sequence and paid off $10,969.64. The 20-cent Pick-6 also saw a big return. After a sequence that saw winner’s odds of 11-1, 5-2, 6-5, 2-1, 8-1 and 4-1, those with all six walked away with $10,328.40. All-source handle totalled $3,115,282.
Racing resumes Friday at 6:20 p.m. (EST).
(The Meadowlands)