No less than 17 qualifying races went postward at the Meadowlands Racetrack on Thursday, June 23. Babies were out in full force, as 12 of the dashes were solely for the juveniles. And, after having to skip the Pepsi North America Cup due to injury, Fashion Delight was back
with a bang.
Fashion Delight, who has overcome an abscess in his front-right hoof, stepped on the track for the seventeenth and final dash of the session. With David Miller guiding the three-year-old son of Bettors Delight, Fashion Delight fired from Post 2 and tucked in for a pocket ride through the fractions.
Redside Manner, driven by Dan Dube, sliced the fractions in :27.1, :55.1 and 1:23.3 before Miller called on his charge. Trained by Jim Campbell, Fashion Delight came home with a :27.4 final quarter and paced off to a two and three-quarter-length victory in 1:51.4.
Just before Fashion Delight competed, the George Teague, Jr.-trained and Brian Sears-driven Delmarvalous captured Race 16 after a layoff. Sears and the Badlands Hanover four-year-old were on the engine and strolled through fractions of :29.1, :58.2 and 1:27.4 before kicking home in :26.4 for a 1:54.3 win by more than five lengths.
The session had gotten underway with a four-pack of dashes for the two-year-old trotting fillies. The fastest of the group was the Trond Smedshammer-trained Bluff, a filly by Donato Hanover out of the millionaire Muscles Yankee mare Blur. With her conditioner calling the shots, Bluff was off the tempo in the early going, but was overland and close to the lead by the time the half flashed up. Smedshammer and his charge cleared on the final turn, opened up lengths and came a final quarter in 29 seconds. The win time was 1:59.4 with the margin of victory four and a half lengths.
Sterling Volo (2:00.4), Order By Wish (2:01.3) and Riverfest (2:05.2) were the other two-year-old trotting fillies which posted victories.
Next up were a pair of dashes for the two-year-old trotting colts and geldings. The first of the races saw the Jimmy Takter-trained and driven Yankee Glide colt Guccio take a pocket ride through the opening three quarters before trotting away from the field. Courtesy of a :29.1 final quarter, Guccio posted a nine-length victory in 1:59.3. Markz Moose, a Classic Photo colt out of the Pine Chip mare Angelique Hanover, won the other qualifier by a half-length in 2:03.1.
Two-year-old pacing fillies were the next juvenile grouping to see action, as a pair of dashes for the young ladies went forward. The Jimmy Takter-trained and Marcus Johannson-driven Romantic Moment (American Ideal--Time N Again, by Jate Lobell) won the fastest of the two dashes. The lass took a pocket ride through the fractions and notched a nose victory in 1:55.4 off a :27.2 final quarter. The other dash went to the Pat Lachance-trained and Michel Lachance-driven Sir LBs Z Tam, who closed for a neck victory in 1:58.1.
A quartet of dashes for two-year-old pacing colts and geldings also went postward. The quickest of the races was won by the Tony Alagna-trained and Yannick Gingras-driven Maytime Terror, a colt by Western Terror out of the Cambest mare Maytime Hall. After leaving from the rail, the duo found themselves in third at the head of the lane. The colt came home in :27.2 for Gingras and the pair got up for a one-length win in 1:56.2.
Allstar Legend (1:57), Mel Mara (1:56.4) and Friday At Five (1:56.4) were the other two-year-old pacing colts and geldings which posted victories.
To view the charted lines for the two-year-old races, click here.
To view the charted lines for the rest of the qualifying races, click here.