Trainer Noel Daley delivered both winners, Sig Sauer and Buy A Round, in the pair of $240,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes finals for two-year-olds held on Saturday (Aug. 5) at The Meadowlands.
In the colt trot, a patient Sig Sauer (pictured above) won easily. Andrew McCarthy drove the Muscle Hill-Sigilwig colt to his second win in as many career starts, achieving a lifetime mark of 1:53.3.
The colt’s main rival in the betting, My Way (Tim Tetrick), took the lead off the gate as the public’s third choice, Hankins Hanover (David Miller), followed after leaving from the inside post. After settling in third, McCarthy revved Sig Sauer to the outside up the backstretch and the pair passed My Way and cleared to command nearing the :56.3 half. The pair had no trouble putting the first-over Hankins Hanover away through three-quarters 1:25.1. From there, the public’s top trio marched in line with Sig Sauer sailing across the finish line in 1:53.3 a neck in front, My Way floating home second and Hankins Hanover claiming the show spot.
Noel Daley trains Sig Sauer, whose victory inflated his bankroll to $135,000 in just two starts, for the partnership of Patricia Stable, Joe Sbrocco And JAF Racing, Allister Stables and Caviart Farms. Sig Sauer paid $4.60 to win.
"I just wanted to get him out of there unscathed and get away handy enough, and then figure the speed of the race,” said McCarthy. “It looked like I could move him to the front. He's still pretty green and gets a little lost up front. I guess he'll get used to it if I keep doing it, right?”
About the competition, he said, "Sounded like [My Way] had a lot of trot on the inside of me. My colt was running out a little bit, but I tried to keep the rail closed to keep him at bay. Sounded like he would've given me a real shake, so I tried to keep it close and have Timmy [Tetrick] take a shot at me on the right. Luckily, my colt was good enough to hold on."
In the filly division, Buy A Round won for the second time in three starts with Andrew McCarthy haunting Walcango (Todd McCarthy) around each turn as that one cut fractions of :27.3, :57 and 1:26 with a meager challenge from favourite Soiree Hanover (Tim Tetrick), who had to go three-wide around the final turn. In the stretch, Buy A Round put Walcango away and floated to the center of the track on the lead, closing well enough to keep late-charging Sunkist Beauty (Ake Svanstedt) at bay by three-quarters of a length in 1:55. Soiree Hanover got third.
Frederick Hertrich and bred owns Buy A Round, who has now earned $137,400 in three starts. The Walner-On Your Tab filly paid $11.40 to win.
"Toddy [McCarthy with Walcango] managed to steal some easy fractions,” said Daley. “That was a good place to be today. We didn't have a really good day coming into it. I wasn't sure how we'd be. The only thing I said to [Andrew McCarthy] was ‘under-drive’ her rather than overdrive her. We couldn't have gotten a much better trip than that."
Click on the following link for coverage of the 2023 Hambletonian and a replay of the day's stakes events.
(With files from The Meadowlands)