In what has developed as a wide-open three-year-old pacing colt division, Hellabalou ($14.60) has established himself as the "now" horse by way of a 1:48.4 win in the $375,000 Adios Pace for the Orchids on Saturday (July 31) at The Meadows.
A contested pace was an almost certainty, and while Hellabalou had a definite hand in it through a :26 first quarter, the pocket trip he enjoyed through the middle half gave him the relief he needed to strike up the Lightning Lane.
The son of Sweet Lou pushed clear in a three-horse battle through the first turn, only to yield to 4-5 favourite Water Sports Teen after a :26 first quarter. From there, Hellabalou and Tim Tetrick had the run of the race, drafting behind a backstretch duel between Water Sports Teen and Abuckabett Hanover that carried him past three-quarters in 1:21.1 and to the top of the stretch still 1-1/2 lengths off the lead. Once room availed up the inside, Tetrick dove to the Lightning Lane with the Eddie Dennis trainee, and he lifted to a going-away win, 1-1/4 lengths to the good. Rockyroad Hanover (Dexter Dunn) emerged out of traffic to take second narrowly over Water Sports Teen in a blanket finish for the minors.
Eric Good owns Hellabalou, now a six-time winner in 18 career starts. After winning his Meadowlands Pace and Adios eliminations, the Adios final proved the biggest win of Hellabalou's career to date, pushing his career earnings to $327,136.
Blue Diamond Eyes ($2.20) looked every bit the part of a 1-9 favourite in the Adios's companion event, the $106,745 Quinton Patterson Adioo Volo for three-year-old pacing fillies. And she delivered, as expected, in decisive fashion, trouncing Beach Crazy by 3-3/4 lengths in 1:49.4.
Yannick Gingras yielded for the pocket behind Chase Lounge on the first turn before quarter-moving Blue Diamond Eyes to the lead. Just after clearing past a :27 first quarter, the daughter of Captaintreacherous faced outside pressure from Continualou to a :54 half before edging away steadily through the final three furlongs. After opening up her lead to 2-1/2 lengths past three-quarters in 1:21.2, Blue Diamond Eyes was never in doubt, coasting to the seventh win of her career for trainer Ron Burke and the partnership of Thomas and Scott Dillon.
Beach Crazy (Dunn) angled off the pegs and collared the fading Chase Lounge for second in upper stretch; Darby Hannover (Andy Miller) emerged from well off the pace to only miss the runner-up spot by a neck.
Driver Andy Miller and trainer Julie Miller swept the sub-featured Pennsylvania Sire Stakes events for three-year-old trotting fillies, as Pub Crawl ($5.80) and Argyle ($5.00) narrowly prevailed in their respective events.
In the $71,366 first division, Marvin and Lynn Katz, Al Libfeld and Sam Goldband's Pub Crawl carved out fractions of :28, :57.2 and 1:26.1 before turning aside even-money favourite May Karp on the far turn and narrowly outlasting a two-pronged stretch challenge from Goo Doo Doll — who rallied down the outside for second at 11-1 — and pocket rival Frankly My Dear. The daughter of Bar Hopping's 1:55 win was the sixth of her career.
Diamond Creek Racing's Argyle didn't win by much either — only a half length, in fact. But nonetheless, the daughter of Creatine stretched her current winning streak to four with a 1:55.1 score in the $81,766 second division by riding the pocket behind even-money choice Ineffable and inheriting the lead in upper stretch when that rival broke stride. Melania rallied from the back of the five-filly field to finish second; Night Flyer K was elevated to third over the galloping Ineffable.
$49,270 Arden Downs — Two-Year-Old Filly Pacers
Trainer Jim King Jr., no stranger to classy pacing distaffs such as Shartin N and Lyons Sentinel, won both divisions of this stake, known as the Mary Lib Miller.
Lyons Serenity set a stakes record of 1:52.2 in taking her division of the stakes as the odds-on favourite. Tim Tetrick tucked third to the :28 quarter, then brushed his filly to the top nearing the :57.1 half. The race became a sprint from that point, and nobody had more sprint than the victorious daughter of Sweet Lou–Southwind Serenity as she passed the three-quarters in 1:24.2 and then came home 2-3/4 lengths ahead of pocket-sitting Allnight Micki while knocking a tick off of Malinka’s stake record set 10 years ago.
“She’s fast, but mentally, I don’t think she’s ready for tougher yet,” Tetrick said. “She’s a little on the hot side. If she gets her own way, she looks good. If she didn’t get her own way, I don’t know if she would look so good. She has some growing up to do.”
Lyons Serenity now has two firsts and one second in three starts for Threelyonsracing.
As easily as Lyons Serenity won her division, the victory of Captain Cowgirl was just as difficult. With Tetrick owning another King trainee in this race, Andrew McCarthy got the catch drive, and he tucked his filly in third as favoured Hit Me Up made the top and put up fractions of :28.2, :57.1, and 1:25.2. McCarthy then moved the daughter of Captaintreacherous-Rideintothesunset to the outside by three-quarters.
Captain Cowgirl and Hit Me Up quickly made the stretch battle a two-horse affair, and the two fillies raced wheel-to-wheel much of the drive. Captain Cowgirl proved a nose better in the photo, then had to survive an inquiry into the tight stretch duel before getting the official decision, keeping her record unblemished after three starts for owners Jo Ann Looney-King and Kenneth Fried. She paid $6.60 to win.
$42,070 Arden Downs — Two-Year-Old Colt & Gelding Pacers
On a day that The Meadows held a “Dick Stillings Appreciation Pace” for the Hall of Fame horseman, it seemed right to have the Arden Downs stake for next year’s Adios possibles renamed the Roy D. Davis Pace after the late veteran owner, who achieved his Hall of Fame Immortal status by campaigning a host of champion horses surnamed “Spur” with Stillings as trainer and frequent driver.
The first division of the Roy Davis saw JMs Finaltreasure installed as the heavy favourite. And indeed, when he made his move towards the three-quarters after his Ron Burke stablemate Birthday had cut fractions of :27.4, :56.3 and 1:24, he looked like he had a big shot. But track bias was working against him — no horse who had been on the outside entering the final turn had won to that point — and the streak continued, with Birthday able to hold off JMs Finaltreasure by a head in 1:52. One horse did get by Birthday, pocket-sitter All The Chips to the leader’s inside, but just as he grabbed a small margin past mid-stretch, he got rough gaited and lost all momentum, allowing the two Burke horses to beat him to the line.
The victory thus went to the Sweet Lou-Breakheart Pass colt Birthday, who was driven by Ron Wrenn Jr. for trainer Burke and the ownership of Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. Birthday lowered his mark by over three seconds with the quick win.
“No one really left out of there, and I was able to get decent fractions,” Wrenn said. “He paced home really strong. I thought someone would quarter-move on me, but when no one did, I was able to get a good breather.”
Boardwalk Bet was the favourite in the second stake division, but leaving from the outside post against several determined rivals forced him to take an early tuck, and his uncovered bid suffered the same fate as did all the other outside challengers of the day (to be fair, he did suffer broken equipment). Victorious was another son of Sweet Lou out of Macharoundtheclock, the Tim Twaddle trainee Fourever Boy, who broke his maiden in memorable fashion with a 1:53.2 mile. All-time leading Meadows (and world) driver Dave Palone got this colt to the front in the :28 first quarter, got a big breather to a :57.2 half, then took off to a 1:24.3 three-quarters and proved uncatchable in winning by 1-1/2 lengths over Good Deal. Twaddle co-owns the freshman with the good timing with Micki Rae Stables LLC.
(with files from The Meadows)