A total of sixteen two-year-old baby races were contested at The Meadowlands Saturday morning under plenty of sunshine with mild temperatures and a fast track.
As usual, Team Takter dominated with seven winners on the card. Tony Alagna sent out five winners while Jimmy Takter’s daughter Nancy Johansson had three winners from her stable.
Among the trotting fillies, Hot Start from the first crop of Lucky Chucky looked good for trainer Jonas Czernyson and Corey Callahan winning gate-to-wire in 2:00.1 with a :28.3 final quarter, holding off Takter’s Flirting Filly by a neck with both finishing well in hand. Hot Start, a $52,000 Lexington sale buy, is owned by the Green Acquisition Corporation.
Takter-trained two-year-old trotting colts looked sharp including The Bank, by Donato Hanover from millionaire mare Lantern Kronos, who went coast-to-coast in 1:58.4 with a :28.2 final quarter for breeder/owner Goran Falk.
Two races later, French Laundry and Yannick Gingras used the pocket trip slingshot move to beat stablemate Uncle Lasse in 1:57.3 for Christina Takter, the Fielding brothers, Marvin Katz and Al Libfeld. The pair trotted their last three-quarters in 1:27 with a :28.2 final split. French Laundry was a $115,000 Lexington purchase.
The freshman pacing filly winners included Shes Some Treasure, a full-sister to Captaintreacherous, who won in hand at first asking for Alagna and Tim Tetrick in 1:59.2 with a :28 final quarter. She’s owned by breeder White Birch Farm.
Zip Code Envy, a $27,000 Lexington sale buy, is now two-for-two in baby races for Takter and driver Yannick Gingras scoring in 1:57. She’s from the first crop of Rock N Roll Heaven and is owned by Christina Takter, the Fieldings, and Brixton Medical.
The Alagna-trained Bedroomconfessions split rivals late to win a four-horse photo in 1:58.2 with a :27.3 final quarter. She’s an American Ideal home-bred for the Bell’s Riverview Farm and Alagna. Scott Zeron drove.
The same combination won right back in the next race with Shes A Hot Mess, another American Ideal homebred, in 1:56. John Fodera is a co-breeder and co-owner.
Perry Soderberg’s Western Pioneer looked good again winning handily in 1:56.2 for Johansson and Gingras. The $15,000 Harrisburg bargain buy by Western Ideal is a perfect two-for-two.
The biggest move of the morning came from Trading Up, a Somebeachsomewhere colt, who rallied from last to win in 1:57.3 for Alagna and Zeron. Alagna, Alan Alber and Aaron Waxman co-own the $80,000 Harrisburg yearling purchase, who paced his last half in 56-seconds flat.
Team Takter also won with Blood Brother, a Somebeachsomewhere colt who is a homebred for Diamond Creek and the Silvas, and the Art Major youngster Azorean Art, a $135,000 Harrisburg yearling who is owned by Christina Takter, Brixton Medical, Bud Hatfield, and Sue Grange’s Lothlorien. Both freshmen scored in 1:56.
To view the charted lines from Saturday's qualifying session, click here.
(Meadowlands Racetrack)