EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Hallie’s Comet
used some racing luck and a great steer from driver Eric Abbatiello to pull off
a major surprise in the featured $22,500 conditioned pace Saturday night at the
Meadowlands.
The tote board spoke volumes about
how evenly-matched the field was, as the post-time favorite was 3-1 while the
fifth choice was 4-1. Americanprimetime moved past early leader Sicily to lead
while parked at the quarter, before Sicily retook and led the field past the
half in :55 and three-quarters in 1:23.3.
As Sicily turned for home on the
point, Hallie’s Comet was in an extremely tough spot, racing fourth along the
rail with no apparent shot.
That’s when the eventual winner got
some luck, in the form of a seam between rivals as the horses up front started
to weaken.
In midstretch, Abbatiello found
enough room with the 5-year-old gelded son of Roddy’s Bags Again-Joyanna to
swing to the far outside before charging home to score in 1:50.2 at odds of
44-1. The Ron Burke trainee, who is owned by Burke Racing and Weaver Bruscemi,
paid $91.60 to win as he scored for the 13th time in 93 lifetime
starts. His career earnings stand at $228,711.
Hallie’s Comet hit the wire a head in
front of Another Daily Copy while Americanprimetime finished third.
A LITTLE MORE: With Hallie’s Comet scoring in leg
one of the Pick-4, the return was $5,083. … Driver Steve Smith scored twice at
odds of 17-1 early on the program, helping the Pick-5 return a handsome $6,312.
… Driver Tyler Buter, who had four winners last Saturday, tallied three on the
card, as did Vinny Ginsburg. … All-source wagering on the 13-race program
totaled $1,947,268. … Racing resumes Friday at 7:15 p.m.
