Australian-born
trainer Peter Tritton sends out a pair of down under imports in his quest to
upset the mighty Golden Receiver in Saturday’s $103,500 Presidential Final at
the Meadowlands.
Second Wind N
and Malak Uswaad N have drawn posts three and four, respectively, and the
favorite Golden Receiver, going for his second consecutive Presidential Series
sweep, will leave from post seven in the nine horse field.
The
Presidential has been carded as race 11 of 13, which also includes the $51,000
Super Bowl Final [race five] and the $67,400 Clyde Hirt Final [race six].
Tritton, born
in Sydney, Australia, settled in Delaware and has enjoyed the lucrative options
of racing in the region, while continuing to tap into his sources in
Australasia.
“I’ve been in
America about ten years and I’m pretty settled here,” said Tritton, 61.
“I started in Indiana at Hoosier Park for a few months, but eventually came to
Delaware. I ended up buying a farm in Felton, Delaware about four years
ago and got married. I trained back home, and when some of my horses
reached the top classes I used to send them to America. At one point, I
decided to come over with three of the horses I sent and I just liked the way
of racing here. Of course, the main thing here was more money. You
could make decent money back home, now it’s tougher there, yet it is turning
around a bit. My son, Shane Tritton is doing well back home, and he has
won titles the past three years.
“It’s about
$20,000 to ship a horse over here now, which as much as it is to buy one,” he
noted. “When I first came here it was about $9,000. You have to buy
one that’s pretty good value. I grew up with the guys who send them to
me, so I know who to talk to. It’s pretty hard at the moment with the
exchange rate, plus the flight.”
Second Wind N
is a seven-year-old by Dream Away with a mark of 1:49.4 at Harrah’s
Philadelphia and career earnings of $196,892. He finished fifth and sixth
in the two legs of the series. Eric Carlson will drive. Tritton has
been both puzzled and concerned about the pacer’s recent form.
“Second Wind
N was a pretty nice horse over in New Zealand as a four-year-old, then his form
went patchy and they couldn’t figure out what was the matter with him,” he
recalled. “You mostly have to buy horses like him with some problems and
try to sort them out. Tim Tetrick was driving him recently and loved
him. I think he’s got an issue flipping his palate sometimes and he may
need a procedure. I would have been real happy if he had come charging
home fourth last week instead of sixth. He wasn’t bad, but that’s not as
good as he can go. His last three starts haven’t been like he was
before. He hasn’t shown that burst. He’s just not 100 percent right
now, and there’s not much difference between him and Malak Uswaad N.
Malak Uswaad
N is a five-year-old by Bettor’s Delight with a mark of 1:50 taken at Harrah’s
Philadelphia and a career bankroll of $172,715. He has a fourth and a
third in the series with Hall of Famer Ron Pierce driving. Tritton seems
optimistic this half of his duo is poised to shine.
“I think
Malak Uswaad N will be real good Saturday night,” said Tritton. “He was
scratched sick on December 20 and most of mine are getting better. I’ve
had a lot of trouble with this one’s feet and we’ve got that sorted out.
He had pads on his feet last week, Ron Pierce said they didn’t suit him, so
we’re going to take them off. We’re going to have to be ready for Golden
Receiver, who will be tough to beat when he goes in 1:48 on the front.
We’ve got to be close to him with a chance to beat him. Malak Uswaad N
has beaten every horse in that field except him, but I just might have him
right now.
“He’s the
best horse I’ve ever trained, and I’ve raced in the Inter Dominion back
home. He’s just such a relaxed horse. He’s not hard on
himself. As we go through this year he’s only going to get better.
This race may be a stepping stone to see if he’s good enough to go with
these. Ron Pierce loves him.”
Tritton
maintains a manageable, select number of top class pacers.
“I don’t like
to have a big stable,” he said. “I have ten horses
at the moment, six are Open class and only one is an American bred. It’s
tough to get them all raced. I’ve got another nice one called Mainland
Key N, who I’ll likely race in the Levy. He’d only won $21,000 when we
bought him and he’s got close to half a million now.
“I like to
stick with the higher class horses. They are easier on themselves, often
cost less to keep, they make more money and you can get a top driver.”
