by Ken Weingartner
East Rutherford, NJ — Captain Crunch tracked down pacesetting
Bettor’s Wish in the final strides to win Saturday’s (Aug. 3) $285,362 Cane
Pace for 3-year-old pacers by a neck in 1:48 at the Meadowlands. Semi Tough
finished third.
Captain Crunch, the
slight 9-5 favorite over Bettor’s Wish, was second throughout the mile as
Bettor’s Wish led the way through fractions of :26.2, :54.4 and 1:22. The two
dueled down the lane with Captain Crunch sticking his neck in front at the
wire.
“He’s a good colt,”
winning trainer Nancy Johansson said about the Scott Zeron-driven Captain
Crunch. “He gives 110 percent effort every time he races. He lays it out on the
track for us every time.
The Cane Pace is the
first jewel in the Pacing Triple Crown, followed by the Messenger Stakes on
Aug. 31 at Yonkers Raceway, and the Little Brown Jug at the Delaware County
Fair in Ohio on Sept. 19.
Captain Crunch is not
eligible to the Messenger but is eligible to the Jug.
“I think we’re going to
have to have a little bit of a discussion where we are going to go from here,”
Johansson said about Captain Crunch’s future. “He has a few options and we have
to pick the best one for him.”
Captain Crunch, who captured
the North America Cup in June, has won five of seven races this year and 11 of
17 lifetime. The son of Captaintreacherous out of Sweet Paprika has earned
$1.26 million in his career for owners 3 Brothers Stables, Christina Takter,
Rojan Stables and Caviart Farms.
