World record lifts Custard The Dragon into Adios final
Freehold, NJ --- Montrell Teague and Custard The Dragon made quick work of putting to rest any disappointment from a ninth-place finish in the Meadowlands Pace. Very quick.
Custard The Dragon, trained by Teague’s father George, paced harness racing’s fastest-ever mile for a 3-year-old on a five-eighths-mile track (1:48.1) in winning his July 23 elimination race for this Saturday’s $500,000 Delvin Miller Adios at The Meadows. The time also was the fastest ever -- for any horse, any age -- at the Pittsburgh-area oval.
“I got to turn the page on the Meadowlands Pace,” Teague said. “You can’t win every race. It would have been great to win the Meadowlands Pace, but (Custard The Dragon) came back the way I wanted him to. It was really thrilling to see the end result.”
Teague, at the age of 20, was the youngest driver in the history of the Meadowlands Pace. Custard The Dragon won his Pace elimination race before finishing ninth in the million-dollar final on July 16. Teague said he received advice from Yannick Gingras, who was 24 when he finished second with Timesareachanging in his first Meadowlands Pace appearance in 2004.
“I was real nervous out there,” Teague said. “Yannick said it would be a moment I would always remember, no matter what happens. Some people wait their whole lives to be there. He was trying to keep me calm, which was a good thing. That was real nice of him.
“It was a great race; I couldn’t wait to go to it. I wish it had a better ending, but it was great to be in it.”
Custard The Dragon and Teague have enjoyed storybook endings in other races this season. Custard The Dragon has won five of 11 races this year, including the $500,000 Hoosier Cup at Hoosier Park on June 25 and the $300,000 Max Hempt Memorial at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs on May 21.
Teague’s win in the Hempt made him the second-youngest driver in history to win an unrestricted stakes race worth at least $300,000.
In their Adios elim last week, Teague and Custard The Dragon got a favorable trip behind favorite Powerful Mist before overtaking the leader in the stretch to win by 2-1/2 lengths.
“I was concentrating on staying up on Powerful Mist’s back,” Teague said. “I just wanted to have a shot at the end of it. It was a perfect trip.
“I knew he was back and he was on his game. He came out of it like he never did it. He was playing around and is feeling really good right now.”
Also winning Adios eliminations were Rollwithitharry and Alsace Hanover, who equaled the all-age Meadows track record of 1:48.4 before Custard The Dragon established the new standard two races later. Alsace Hanover's time was a world record for a 3-year-old pacing gelding on a five-eighths-mile track.
The draw for post positions for Saturday’s $500,000 final of the Delvin Miller Adios will take place Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., in the Race Book of The Meadows Racetrack & Casino. The draw will air on Meadows Live, kicking off coverage of Wednesday’s card.
Following is the field in alphabetical order, with drivers and trainers from the eliminations: Alsace Hanover, Ron Pierce, Tony O’Sullivan; Custard The Dragon, Montrell Teague, George Teague, Jr.; Eighteen, Corey Callahan, Ian Moore; Hugadragon, Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke; Odysseus Bluechip, Brett Miller, Benoit Baillargeon; Powerful Mist, Dave Palone, Wayne Givens; Real Special, Palone, Burke; Rollwithitharry, Pierce, Jimmy Takter; Wind Me Up, Montrell Teague, George Teague, Jr.