‘Breakfast With The Babies’ was held on a picture-perfect Friday morning (July 3) at the Meadowlands Racetrack, and Mission Brief, sporting trotting hopples, took to the track in search of a flat line.
It was ‘mission accomplished’ for Mission Brief, as she trotted a flat mile in 1:54.3. Driver Yannick Gingras put her on the lead and faced pressure in the :27.4 second quarter from stablemate Im So Fancy. Mission Brief rebuffed the pressure, but would drift out a bit in her :28.4 final quarter.
Hustle Heart opened the two-year-old races with a 1:59.3 win for Andy and Julie Miller. The Marvin Katz/Al Libfeld homebred Credit Winner filly – from their Hambo Oaks winner Creamy Mimi – led all the way and defeated the $260,000 Lexington sale purchase Earn Your Wings with a :29.4 final quarter.
Scott Zeron drove a sharp-looking Donato Hanover filly named Side Bet Hanover to a come from behind 1:58.4 win for trainer Jonas Czernyson. She closed well to be fourth in her initial outing last week and gobbled up the ground into a :29.1 final quarter to run down Keep It Classy. SRF Stable paid $55,000 for her at the Standardbred Horse Sale (SHS) at Harrisburg last fall.
The $240,000 Lexington Select Yearling Sale (LSYS) graduate Winter Harbor was a 1:59 winner off a perfect steer by Zeron. The Muscle Hill colt found early pocket position from the outside and had plenty when called upon through the :29.2 closing quarter to a clear win over Armbro Hall with $320,000 LSYS purchase The Perfect Lindy closing to be third. The winner is trained by Tony Alagna for Brittany Farms, John Cancelliere, Little E and Winter Harbor Partners.
Promise Delivered impressed with both his speed and maneuverability in the fourth race, as driver Tim Tetrick had to change course abruptly to avoid a breaker on the last turn, yet the colt continued his momentum to edge past Curious De Vie for a 1:58.2 win. He’s a Muscle Hill $50,000 (SHS) buy for trainer Staffan Lind and owners Bender Sweden, Acadia Farms and Elmer Fannin.
The pacing races began with Mario Mazza’s A List Hanover cutting the mile for Andy Miller and winning in 1:56.1, holding off a late-rallying Penpal with a :28.2 last quarter. Julie Miller trains the Somebeachsomewhere filly that was a $160,000 Harrisburg purchase by Mr. Mazza.
Zeron and Alagna combined for another win with the nice Vintage Master filly Vintage Babe. She led all the way through comfortable fractions then sprinted home in 28 flat for the ‘W.’ Tony and Jodi Siamis ponied up $25,000 at LSYS for the winner.
It was ‘Settlemoir squared’ in the seventh race, as Jason Settlemoir (the Meadowlands’ GM) called the dash which was won by Settlemoir, a pacing colt by Western Ideal. Driven by trainer Jimmy Takter, Settlemoir was prominent throughout the mile, posting all the fractions then digging in gamely to hold off a wave of closers in the :27.4 final quarter of the 1:55.2 mile. Christina Takter, Herb Liverman and the Fieldings are the proud owners of the $105,000 Lexington buy.
Dr J Hanover was a winner for Alagna and Tetrick, as the colt cut the mile and closing out the 1:55 score with a :28.1 final quarter over Sunken Treasure with Jann And Dean gaining late for third. Dr J was a big ticket yearling with Brittany Farms, Marvin Katz, John Cancelliere and the Dr J Partners parting with $300,000 to buy him at Harrisburg then naming the Somebeachsomewhere colt for Dr Jablonsky from Hanover Shoe Farms.
The ninth race saw three colts flash under the wire in a line, with Cruise Patrol splitting Artmagic and Uncle Nicky for the 1:56.1 win. Cruise Patrol is a $60,000 LSYS Bettors Delight colt trained and driven by Jimmy Takter for owners wife Christina, Fielding, Fielding and RAW Equine.
Takter collected another win with Badstormanyport, driven by Yannick Gingras to a 1:55 flat record. Gingras placed him in a pocket early, following through a :59 half and 1:27.1 three quarters and the ‘Somebeach’ colt went by the leader willingly when asked. Tom Hill (the horse) closed nicely to be second. The winner was a $90,000 SHS yearling and is owned by the partnership of Takter, Fielding, Sbrocco and J&T Silva Stable.