by Ken Weingartner
East Rutherford, NJ — Real Cool Sam iced the field in Saturday’s
(Aug. 3) $324,550 Peter Haughton Memorial for 2-year-old male trotters, beating
Rome Pays Off by 2-1/4 lengths in 1:53.1 at The Meadowlands for his fifth
victory in as many starts. Expectations was third.
Real Cool Sam’s time was
a track record and equaled the world record for a 2-year-old gelded trotter.
Real Cool Sam, the 1-2
favorite, took his time getting to the front in the Haughton. Rome Pays Off was
the early leader, but saw Synergy take the top spot prior to the half. Real
Cool Sam and driver David Miller were fifth at the half and followed the
first-over cover of Expectations around the final turn before drawing off in
the stretch.
Fashion Farms bred and
owns Real Cool Sam, a son of Muscle Hill out of Cooler Schooner, trained by Jim
Campbell. He has earned $216,998 this season. The horse was named in honor of
late Meadowlands Racetrack announcer and broadcaster Sam McKee by Fashion
Farms’ owner Jules Siegel, who credited McKee with keeping him cool during
nervous moments prior to his horses racing.
“He was a real good
friend of mine,” Siegel said. “He used to come down to the apron and watch me
walking around as nervous as I was.
“I really appreciated
what Sam did. I realize he did things for a lot of people, but to me it was a
very personal thing. I know other people have done the same thing (naming
horses in McKee’s honor), but for me it was something special.”
In the $310,700 James
Doherty Memorial for 2-year-old female trotters, Hypnotic AM remained
undefeated with a two-length win over Sherry Lyns Lady in 1:53. Hello Tomorrow
finished third.
Hypnotic AM, bred and
owned by Anders Strom’s Courant Inc., is 4-for-4. She is trained by Marcus
Melander and was driven to victory by Brian Sears.
The 2-5 favorite
Hypnotic AM was fourth through the first half of the race, which saw Hello
Tomorrow led to the first quarter before yielding to Crucial at the midpoint.
Sears moved with Hypnotic AM and was alongside Crucial at three-quarters before
kicking home to victory.
“It’s a fantastic group
of fillies this year, and for her to win first-over like that in 1:53 is
fantastic,” Strom said.
Hypnotic AM, by Chapter
Seven out of Daydream AM S, has earned $196,932.
