The Crawford Farms Meadowlands Pace Elimination Day edition of Breakfast With The Babies, sponsored by Jules Siegel’s Fashion Farm, took place on another muggy Saturday morning at The Meadowlands.
The track was fast, temperature in the 80s with a slight crosswind when the trotting fillies stepped onto the track to contest the first race at 9:00 a.m.
Pacing colt Tall Dark Stranger demanded a bid of $330,000 at last fall’s Lexington sale and his first foray into racing indicated the money was well spent. Yannick Gingras bided his time along the pylons early with the son of Bettors Delight as Just Say Joe (Matt Kreuger) rolled along on the lead through a 1:28.3 three-quarters.
When the field turned home, Gingras fanned Tall Dark Stranger wide off his cover and he roared by the field with strong strides through a :26.1 last quarter for the 1:55.2 win over the closing Force N Fury (Dexter Dunn) and Sea Of Life (Andrew McCarthy). Crawford Farms Racing, Marvin Katz, Caviart Farms and Howard Taylor own the winner trained in the Nancy Johansson stable. James Avritt bred the colt.
Shes Speechless (Marcus Miller) converted a pocket trip into a 1:54.4 win, with a :27.2 final quarter, in a tight photo over Caviart Heather and late-charging Annabella Hanover (Dexter Dunn) in the lone filly pace. The Artspeak filly is trained by Chris Freck for owner Anthony Olswfski, who bought her at the Harrisburg sale for $17,000 from the Hanover consignment.
The day's opener was won by the Diamond Creek homebred Father Patrick trotting filly Bayou (Tim Tetrick) in a 1:57.1 wire-to-wire mile, with a :28 final quarter, over Contepartiro Deo (Andy Miller) and Questichap (Trond Smedshammer). Linda Toscano, on the threshold of her induction into the Living Hall of Fame on Sunday, is the trainer.
Crucial (Yannick Gingras) was a very impressive winner in her debut for the Ron Burke barn. Falling into the pocket as Wine Rack Hanover (Dexter Dunn) set easy fractions, Crucial tipped out in the stretch went zooming by through a :27.1 final quarter. The royally-bred Father Patrick filly is the first foal from Jolene Jolene. Crucial garnered a $200,000 final bid at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale from Burke Racing, Bill Donovan, J&T Silva, Purnell & Libby and Weaver Bruscemi. Steve Stewart, Maumee River Stable, Black Creek Farm and Martin Schmucker are the breeders.
Harry Landy drove his Father Patrick colt Father Figure to a 1:58.2 win, with a :28.2 final quarter, on the front and held off Light Blue Movers (Ake Svanstedt) and Zacapa (Jimmy Takter) under minimal urging. Father Figure was a $20,000 bargain purchase at the Lexington sale last fall from breeder Marvin Katz.
A pair of sharp-looking colts battled to the wire in Race 4 with Primo Padre (Andrew McCarthy) holding off the charging Chestnut Hill (David Miller) through a :27.2 end to a 1:58.1 mile. Rose Run Voyage (Svanstedt) stayed for third. The winner is trained by Tony Alagna for Kelly Walker who bred and owns the son of Father Patrick.
Several serious Hambletonian candidates lined up for the 7th-race qualifier as a prep for the Stanley Dancer Memorial next week. Pilot Discretion (Andrew McCarthy) continued his unbeaten streak with a 1:51.4 mile, with a :26.4 final quarter, to hold off the late-charging Dont Letem (Yannick Gingras), who went a remarkable final half and :26 last quarter. These two trotted strong right through the wire, leaving the crowd to ruminate over the possibilities regarding the forecasted dominance of the great Greenshoe heading into the Hambletonian on Aug. 3.
Kissin In The Sand (Scott Zeron) qualified on Lasix for trainer Nancy Johansson this morning and looked strong after a few sub-par efforts, leading all the way and sprinting home in :25.4 to close the 1:51.2 mile under wraps. Soho Chelsea A (Andrew McCarthy) was a restrained second and Odds On Lauderdale (Matt Kreuger) third. Nancy Johansson trains the champion filly.
Live racing resumes with eliminations for the Crawford Farms Meadowlands Pace, $250,000 Graduate Series finals, Fan Appreciation night and post-race firecrackers at the early post time of 6:30 p.m. Results for the qualifying sessions can be found at these links:
► Saturday Results - Meadowlands (Baby Races)
► Saturday Results - Meadowlands (Qualifiers)
(with files from the Meadowlands)