Foiled Again and Market
Share won the inaugural TVG Free For All Championships with efforts that lived
up to the hype. Bee A Magician completed a perfect season in her bid for
Horse of the Year, by capturing the Moni Maker.
When the curtain fell,
it was a remarkable Saturday night of stakes races at Meadowlands Racing and
Entertainment. In this season of giving, The Meadowlands offered a bounty
of gifts for racing fans: eight late-season stakes worth a combined $3.3
million.
The inaugural $512,000
TVG Free For All Pace was the most-eagerly anticipated race of the year,
serving up a tantalizing showdown between the sensational 3-year-old
Captaintreacherous and the venerable Foiled Again.
At the finish, it was
the old warrior in front one more time. Foiled Again, 9-years-young, dug
in to beat Golden Receiver by a hard-fought neck.
Yannick Gingras put
Foiled Again on the lead, wresting the advantage from Golden Receiver,
approaching the half mile pole. The veteran refused to yield to Pet Rock, when
the 6-5 favorite ranged up to challenge.
“I told my friends that
if I could put my legs on the front end, he’d be really hard to beat,” Gingras
said. “He’s really sharp right now, and I have all the confidence in the world
in him.”
Bolt the Duer showed a
reversal of recent form, rallying to finish a solid third.
Captaintreacherous
finished sixth despite a favorable trip while Pet Rock faded to ninth after
grinding it out first over in the final start of his career.
The latest victory
lifted Foiled Again’s career earnings to $6,030,968, extending his own record.
“He’s gotten even
better,” said trainer Ron Burke. “He again took on all comers. He’s got 29
starts this year. That’s the most I’ve raced him since he was a 4-year-old.
We’ve asked him to do a lot, and he’s done more than we could ask.”
Foiled Again, owned by
Burke Racing, Weaver Bruscemi and JJK Stables, paced the mile in 1:49 2/5 as
the 5-2 second choice.
Market Share returned to
the scene of his greatest triumph, the 2012 Hambletonian, with a three-quarter
length win over Uncle Peter. Guccio finished third in the $500,000 TVG
Trot.
The 4-year-old trained by Linda Toscano and driven by Tim Tetrick
got his sixth win in 14 starts this season, improving his career earnings to
$3,115,011. He paid $4.60 to win. The time was 1:51 for the mile.
Market Share, in a
change of tactics, fired to the lead and defied the field to catch him.
“I wanted to take it
into my own hands,” Tetrick said. “My horse can really get off the wings from
the outside. I don’t do it very often with him but when we do, he always pays
me back for it. So we got paid today.”
The good news kept
coming. Toscano said that principal owner Richard Gutnick is leading toward
bringing back Market Share next year at age five.
“Mr. Gutnick and I sat
yesterday and talked about it,” Toscano said. “We kind of decided if he raced
well tonight, and he comes back next year, we’re going to give it a shot.”
That shot could include
a trip to Sweden for the prestigious Elitlopp. In addition to Gutnick, the
ownership group includes T L P Stable and William Augustine.
Bee A Magician completed
a 17-for-17 season that could clinch Horse of the Year with a one-length win in
the $253,000 Moni Maker for 3-year-old trotting fillies.
It’s been a brilliant
campaign for the filly trained by Nifty Norman for Melvin Hartman, Herb
Liverman and David McDuffee.
“You definitely can’t
deny what she’s accomplished,” Norman said when asked about the Horse of the
Year prospects.
The time for the 1-20
favorite was 1:53 3/5 with Brian Sears in the sulky.
Shake It Cerry was in
charge throughout in the $456,150 Goldsmith Maid for 2-year-old trotting
fillies. The unquestioned division leader improved to 8-for-11 in a season that
also includes wins in the Breeders Crown and The Meadowlands’ Merrie Annabelle
on Hambletonian Day. Ron Pierce was at the lines for the 1:53 4/5 mile, only
one tick off her own track record. She beat Noon Tea Party by three lengths
with Scream and Shout third, paying $2.10 to win as the 1-20 favorite.
Jimmy Takter trains the
daughter of Donato Hanover for Solveig’s Racing Partners.
Shebestingin won the
$167,000 Nadia Lobell for 3-year-old pacing fillies by 2 3-4 lengths over UF
Dragon’s Queen. Somwherovrarainbow was third, giving trainer Joe Holloway a 1-3
finish.
David Miller put
Shebestingin on the lead with a strong move down the backstretch and she took
it from there for her third straight win, and fifth victory in the last six
races.
The race lost a star
attraction when division leader I Luv The Nightlife suffered a major knee
injury.
“You have to race
whoever shows up,” Holloway said. “That was very sad. Would I love to race
Nightlife when I thought my filly was really good, and beat her on even terms?
That would be good. You don’t want to see that happen to a champion.
“Right now, my filly is
as good as she’s been all year.”
The time was 1:50.
Shebestingin got her 12th win in 19 starts this season for Val D’Or
Farms. Ted Gewertz and L & L Devisser.
Muscle Network pulled a
7-1 upset in the $494,750 Valley Victory for 2-year-old trotters, his debut for
trainer Jonas Czernyson. The colt, winning for only the second time in eight
starts, trotted by 1-2 favorite Nuncio for a half-length victory with David
Miller in the sulky.
The time was 1:55 1/5.
JK Endofanera held off
Arthur Blue Chip by a half length in the $534,500 Governor’s Cup for 2-year-old
pacers. Brian Sears drove for Burke as the colt got his fourth win in seven
starts for 3 Brothers Stables. The time was 1:51 4/5.
Delightful Dragon
slipped up the pylons to win the $394,950 Three Diamonds for 2-year-old fillies
with Miller at the lines for trainer Noel Daley. She pulled a 9-1 upset with a
neck score over Act Now. She is 3 for 8 for Adam Victor & Son Stable. The
time was 1:52 4/5.
David Miller was the
driving star of the evening with five wins.
Total handle for the TVG
Championship/Fall Final Four card was a robust $3,490,950. Racing returns
to Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment on Friday with first post time at
7:15 P.M. Log on to playmeadowlands.com for more details.
