Make that two qualifiers and two victories in 2023 for older pacing powerhouse Jimmy Freight, who continues to prepare stateside for his eight-year-old pari-mutuel debut.
A winner at first asking on January 28, Jimmy Freight made his second appearance of the season during the Saturday (Feb. 11) qualifying session at The Meadowlands. With Jordan Stratton at the controls, Jimmy Freight sat patiently behind pacesetter Shore Of Himself (Marcus Miller) through fractions of :29, :57 and 1:25. Stratton found a seam up the pylons for Jimmy Freight, and the pacer responded willingly. Sprinting home in :27.1, Jimmy Freight found the wire first with the mile timed in 1:52.2. Raukapuka Ruler N (Joe Bongiorno) closed well to finish second, a length back of the winner.
Brett Pelling trains Jimmy Freight (Sportswriter - Allamerican Summer) for Let It Ride Stables Inc and Jimmy Freight Stable, Boca Raton, Fl. The popular performer enjoyed a sensational return to the racetrack as a seven-year-old with a 12-2-3 summary from 21 starts and a lifetime best 1:48 taken in the 2022 Mohawk Gold Cup.
Ahundreddollarbill showed flashes of brilliance during his four-year-old campaign, and closed out 2022 with an Open Trot score at the Big M in December. Making his first appearance in two months, Ahundreddollarbill sat third through the first three panels of his qualifying effort and then closed in a brisk :27.3 to collar early leader Celebrity Pegasus (Lauren Tritton) and best the accomplished Lindy The Great (Andy Miller) by nearly four lengths in 1:54.4.
Yannick Gingras engineered the winning effort behind five-year-old Ahundreddollarbill (Chapter Seven - Swinging Royalty) for trainer Tony Alagna and owners Crawford Farms Racing and Jim Crawford. The 14-time winner boasts a mark of 1:50.2 taken at The Meadowlands last June with more than $880,000 in the bank.
Jimmy Freight
The stakes racing season for older pacers doesn't get into full swing until the end of May when The Commodore Barry and The Camluck are held. I wonder if Jimmy Freight's connections plan to enter him into The MGM Borgata, at Yonkers, which begins on March 20?