The Meadowlands - The
Championship Meet hits it's best stride this weekend with stakes races and
freshmen aplenty populating the weekend's races at The Meadowlands.
Friday night's races are dominated
by two-year-old races with three divisions of New Jersey Sires Stakes (NJSS)
scheduled as non-bettors beginning at 6:30 p.m., the NJSS filly trotters going
as a short five pack in race two and no fewer than four divisions of the first
leg for the Kindergarten Classic Trotting Series.
Kindergarten colts open the card
with seven freshmen set to go for a purse of $10,000. Godspell Hall (PP#5 Scott
Zeron) makes his pari-mutuel debut for Tony Alagna after a pair of purposeful
baby races. The NY bred Conway Hall colt was a $120,000 Lexington Selected Sale
buy for a partnership that includes Riverview Racing, Willow Oak Ranch, Joe
Barbera and the Godspell Hall Stable. He comes in off a solid 1:58.3 third
place effort as his final prep, sprinting home in 28 flat.
Jimmy Takter send a powerful three
headed battalion of expensive Muscle Hill colts into the fourth
race, representing $880,000 worth of horseflesh. Bautista ($120,000 LEX)
has won all three of his appearances thus far for driver Yannick Gingras and
starts from post two Friday for owners Brixton Medical, RAW Equine, Herb
Liverman and Joe Sbrocco.
Owner Melby Gard gave $410,000 for
Story Time Hanover (PP#6 Andy McCarthy) at last November's Standardbred Horse
Sale in Harrisburg, PA. He's the first foal of the stakes
winning Shared Past and has a pair of impressive qualifiers under his
belt, the latest a 1:59.1 win with Takter driving.
Go To Hill (PP#7) was a $350,000
Lexington yearling purchase by Lennart Agren's SRF Stable of Sweden. He
was a winner at first asking with a 1:59.1 baby race score a month ago
and trainer Takter shall do the driving himself on Friday.
The Kindergarten for the
fairer sex came up as two full ten filly fields and driver Scott
Zeron picked up a nice pair of drives, landing on a talented horse in each
division.
The first division (race 8) is an
absolute slugfest with two of the best we've seen thus far in morning trials
hooking up. Mooshka Stride (Zeron PP#3) is the $260,000 Credit Winner first
foal of the great Check Me Out and she has certainly lived up to her pedigree
in the mornings. Emilio and Maria Rosati's potential princess won as she
pleased in her first go then rallied like a veteran when raced from behind
horses in her most recent effort, sprinting home in 27.1 in a fast mile. Mark
Harder is the trainer.
She'll face the fast Live Laugh
Love (PP#5 Dave Miller) who seared the oval in 1:56.2 last Saturday morning.
Mel Hartman, David McDuffee and Diamond Creek Racing share ownership of the
$90,000 Lexington sold daughter of Donato Hanover.
Supergirl Riley and Bella Glos will
battle in the second Kindergarten division, race nine. They've each won
both of their schooling races, Supergirl (PP#2 Zeron) trotted to a convincing
1:56.4 record in her most recent with something left. She hails from the Erv
Miller barn where she is conditioned for Paymaq Racing, George Golemes and
Harvey Eisman who selected her from the Lexington sales for $32,000.
Bella Glos (PP#8 Yannick Gingras)
also races out of the Takter barn and has demonstrated both style and grace in
a pair of 1:57 schooling wins for owner Black Horse Racing. This daughter of
Cantab Hall was a $95,000 buy at last fall's Harrisburg yearling sale.
Also on the card is a very
competitive $20,000 Preferred Handicap trot featuring all time Meadowlands
track record holder JL Cruze.
There's plenty to do, including the party on the roof where millennials gather to
dance, drink and bet at Victory Terrace and you can get a head start on the
Late Pick 4 with free program pages.
The fun starts at 7:15 p.m.
