M1 - Meadowlands Barn Notes - March 22, 2012

Noble Looks Forward To Big M Driving Debut

Harness racing’s 2011 dash king, Dan Noble, will make his Meadowlands debut on Friday night. 

He has seven drives on the card, including Tu Sei Bella in the $46,000 Night Styles final.  Noble will also be the guest on In The Sulky prior to the card. 

In a breakout season, the 29-year-old Ohioan won more races – 773 - than any other harness driver last year.  His record of 773-484-349 from 2,792 races gave him an impressive in-the-money percentage of .415.  Noble won driving titles at Northfield Park, Scioto Downs, The Red Mile, Lebanon’s spring meet, and 25 different Ohio fairs en route to being named USHWA’s 2011 Rising Star of the Year.  Noble is the son of Ohio Hall of Famer and three-time UDR champion Sam “Chip” Noble III.

“Driving at the Meadowlands is another positive step, and whatever way it goes, it’s just nice to meet new people,” Noble said.  “I’ve currently been driving at The Meadows on Monday and Tuesday.  I’m also going to drive at Buffalo Wednesdays and Thursdays now, and might pick up Saratoga on Sunday afternoons.  It’s a lot of traveling but my girlfriend, Stephanie, keeps track of it all.  She handles my Facebook page.  We have a 2-year-old son, Braxton, and he loves sports!

“I’m really anxious about driving with the top drivers at the Meadowlands,” Noble admitted.  “It’s a lot easier to have a game plan work out, and not make as many mistakes.  It’s just makes you better compared to driving against average drivers.

"One thing the half-mile track has done is sharpen my speed,” he noted.  “You just go, and obviously you have to adjust to the five-eighths at Scioto Downs.  I’ve been to the Meadowlands twice, many years ago, but I’ve never driven there.  First of all, I think I would have to change up my driving style because I’m so used to being on a smaller track.  I remember driving at Balmoral Park, you’re always making speed, yet not all the speed you can make early on a smaller track.”

Although Noble was born into harness racing, he wanted a second career to fall back on and went to school to become a diesel mechanic. 

“I didn’t stay long enough to get any kind of certification,” he said.  “I also went to college for about a month and quit, and made a decision to stick to driving horses.

“My first pari-mutuel drive was at Lebanon Raceway, and I ended up racing at Scioto Downs, then The Red Mile.  I made a decision to try Illinois, and I lived there for three to four years.  I drove at Balmoral Park and Maywood Park.  I had a friend of mine who was training out there, he had a good owner and the opportunity seemed good.  Eventually, my girlfriend, Stephanie Morris, and I ended up taking over the stable, and we enjoyed a lot of success at the time.  

"I came back to Ohio, and started doing well at Lebanon on the weekends, but I wanted to drive more nights, so I started making the three-hour trip to Northfield Park.  They race more often, I met a lot of nice trainers there and everything seemed to take off.

“Last year, I didn’t think I could ever win a national driving title, until the fall at Delaware.  Then, I felt I actually had a shot at it.  It’s kind of funny, but everything just fell into place.  I got into a pretty good groove and I stuck with it.  That put me on the map and got me noticed. 

"The biggest wins that stand out for me last year were two $250,000 Kentucky Sires Stakes Finals at The Red Mile with Northern Miss Hall and Adagio.  Driving that signature horse or stakes colt in a major stake is always in the back of my mind.  I’d love to just be there in those situations.  So far, I haven’t really had the contacts or opportunities.”

 That may change after Noble drives at the Meadowlands this weekend.

 Cruzin Angel Motors Into Night Styles Final

 A change in strategy helped Cruzin Angel to a career-best 1:53 victory last week at the Meadowlands.

She looks to follow up that effort in the $46,000 Night Styles final on Friday night.  In round two of the series, Cruzin Angel withstood heavy pressure on the lead en route a $19 upset with Ron Pierce driving.  The daughter of Yankee Cruiser owns seven wins in 25 starts and sports earnings of $53,492 for trainer Dan De Vitis and owners George Green of Clarksburg, NJ and Rhonda Heady of Peoria, AZ.

“Ron decided to send her out of there and see what she could do on the front end,” said De Vitis of his mare’s round two performance.  “She held her own and it worked out well.  I was a little surprised with the way she held on so gamely and took a new lifetime mark, yet I was really happy for her. 

“This week we’ll just stick to her basic routine and keep her calm and relaxed,” he continued.  “We’ve really just taken our time with her and not pushed her.  She protects herself pretty good.”

Cruzin Angel was a bargain $5,200 yearling purchase at the Ohio Selected Jug Sale.  She finished second in an Ohio Breeders Championship division during Jug Week last year at the Delaware, OH fairgrounds.

Although she will starting from Post 10 in a tough field, De Vitis is pleased with the way his mare is coming into final. 

“She can perform either way, so I’m thinking Ron will try to leave with her a little and try to find some live cover coming home,” said De Vitis, 46, of Jackson, NJ.  “She’s improving, she’s still green and learning, but coming along.”

De Vitis, who worked for noted NJ horsemen Tony Abbatiello and Carl LeCause, is stabled at Gaitway Farm in Englishtown, NJ. 

“We had some great moments, and I learned a lot from those two gentlemen,” he noted. 

You Little Rascal Proves To Be Smart Purchase For Ricco

In a challenging market, Iowa has become trainer Jason Ricco’s go-to place for ready-made racehorses.

One of his recent purchases from the Hawkeye State, You Little Rascal, heads into Friday’s $46,000 Night Styles final at the Meadowlands fresh off a hard-charging third in the second leg of the series.  The four-year-old mare by Relentless Yankee has nine wins in 42 career starts and earnings of $37,984 for owner Anthony Lake of Millington, NJ.  She will start from post two with Dan Dube in the sulky.

“We bought this mare as part of a package deal from agent Larry Miller,” said Ricco, 34, of Monticello, NY.  “She came with another mare I have racing in the Petticoat Series [at Yonkers], I Got Skills.  She raced against [Night Styles finalist] Miss Behave in the Iowa Sires Stakes and beat her in the final.  It was difficult keeping her race-tight with the track out there [Prairie Meadows] being closed.  Now that she’s getting in every week here, she’s only going to get better. 

“I’m going to take a trip out to Iowa this year to pick up some more horses,” he continued.  “Once their sires stakes are over, they have nowhere else to go.”

You Little Rascal required patient handling from her trainer.

“She got sick right after we got her last fall,” noted Ricco.  “At Yonkers [on February 27] she made a speed break trying to leave.  They never left with her out in Iowa.  She’s come into form the past few weeks.  We’ve had a little issue with her tying up, but we’re turning her out and keeping her happy. 

“Last week, Dube [driver Daniel Dube] said he thought he was going right on by, but she started lugging in on him near the wire,” he continued.  “I had the vet go over her the next day, and we treated her hocks and back ankles.  I think she should go straight and be even better this week.  Hopefully, we can work out the same kind of trip.  Maybe some of the others will get roughed up a bit and we can get some racing luck.”

Ricco trains the mare for Anthony Lake of Millington, NJ.  A family friend, Lake owns Exclusive Auto Collision in Ramsey, NJ.  Ricco was introduced to Lake through his father, Joe Ricco Jr., who is also the stepfather of driver George Brennan.

“We’re always looking for more horses,” Ricco said.  “Tony [Anthony Lake] is pretty good at finding them, and he always comes up with one or two that you would never look at.  We claimed a couple at The Meadows recently.”

Ricco finished third in the White Ruffles final this season with Rei of Sunshine.  He has eight horses in training at White Birch Farm in Allentown, NJ.