10/23/2024
Congratulations to Sergent Standardbreds breeders of #4 and #6 this weekend in the Breeders Crow!
Draws completed for four remaining Breeders Crown finals
by Ken Weingartner, for the Breeders Crown
(Grace Zimmers photo)
Cream Ridge, NJ – Twin B Joe Fresh, the No. 1-ranked horse in the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll, will leave from post five in Saturday’s $400,000 Breeders Crown Mare Pace at The Meadowlands and was made the 4-5 morning-line favorite.
The post-position draws for the finals of the Breeders Crown Mare Pace, Open Trot, 3-Year-Old C**t and Gelding Trot, and 3-Year-Old C**t and Gelding Pace, were held Tuesday as part of a luncheon at Hogan Equine in Cream Ridge.
Elimination winners drew for posts one through six before the remaining finalists were placed in open draws in their respective events.
Twin B Joe Fresh, who finished second to Grace Hill in the single Mare Pace elimination last week, has nine wins and two seconds in 11 starts this season for trainer Chris Ryder and driver Dexter Dunn. She has won 28 of 38 lifetime races, missing the top three only twice and earning $2.06 million. She had a nine-race win streak snapped in her Crown elimination, when she started from post 10 at The Big M.
“She’s fine,” Ryder said. “She’ll be ready. I keep saying the same thing, I have to pinch myself. She’s been winning, and winning well. It’s a big joy. It’s very exciting.”
Grace Hill will leave from post three for trainer Virgil Morgan Jr. and driver Todd McCarthy and was established as the 4-1 second choice. Grace Hill captured the Mare Pace in 2022. She has won 35 of 77 races and $1.86 million during her career. She missed the board in four straight starts during the summer but has three consecutive victories, two in conditioned classes, since a month layoff.
“She just needed some time off and we regrouped,” Morgan said after Grace Hill’s elim triumph. “Obviously, it paid off. She was real good in the last two starts, but she’s supposed to be against those horses. That worked to our benefit coming in here.”
The field also includes two-time Breeders Crown champion Sylvia Hanover, who will leave from post nine for trainer Mark Steacy and driver Bob McClure and is 6-1. Canada’s 2023 Horse of the Year has won 20 of 37 lifetime races and earned $1.75 million.
In the draw for the 3-year-old c**t and gelding pacers, elimination winners Mirage Hanover and Captain Albano got posts one and five, respectively. Elim winners Daiquiri Hanover and T C I drew posts two and six, respectively, in the 3-year-old c**t and gelding trot final.
There were no eliminations for the Open Trot, which features a field of 11.
The draws for the remaining eight Breeders Crown events were conducted previously. The Breeders Crown finals for all 2-year-old events will be Friday at The Meadowlands. The other events will be Saturday at The Big M. First-race post time is 6:20 p.m. (EDT) both nights. FOX Sports will air coverage from 8-11 p.m. both nights; Friday on FS1, Saturday on FS2.
Following are the fields for the Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old C**t and Gelding Pace, 3-Year-Old C**t and Gelding Trot, Open Trot, and Mare Pace with morning-line odds.
$600,000 3-YEAR-OLD C**T AND GELDING PACE
PP – Horse – Driver – Trainer – Odds
1 – Mirage Hanover – Dexter Dunn – Jake Leamon – 9-5
2 – Nijinsky – Louis Roy – Anthony Beaton – 3-1
3 – Calicojack Hanover – Louis Roy – Luc Blais – 15-1
4 – McCrunch – Andrew McCarthy – Nancy Takter – 15-1
5 – Captain Albano – Todd McCarthy – Noel Daley – 8-5
6 – Sweet Beach Life – Matt Kakaley – Travis Alexander – 20-1
7 – Timeisonmyside – Anthony MacDonald – Tim Twaddle – 20-1
8 – Gem Quality – Tim Tetrick – Chris Ryder – 15-1
9 – Captain Luke – Tim Tetrick – Tony Alagna – 10-1
10 – Howlenthehills – Matt Kakaley – Travis Alexander – 25-1
$600,000 3-YEAR-OLD C**T AND GELDING TROT
PP – Horse – Driver – Trainer – Odds
1 – Private Access – Louis Roy – Luc Blais – 15-1
2 – Daiquiri Hanover – Ake Svanstedt - Ake Svanstedt – 6-1
3 – Amazing Catch – Dexter Dunn – Ake Svanstedt – 10-1
4 – Highland Kismet – Tim Tetrick – Mark Etsell – 9-2
5 – Security Protected – Scott Zeron – Marcus Melander –15-1
6 – T C I – David Miller – Ron Burke – 5-2
7 – Greenspan – Todd McCarthy – Jim Campbell – 20-1
8 – Sig Sauer – Andrew McCarthy – Noel Daley – 3-1
9 – Secret Agent Man – Andy Miller – Julie Miller – 20-1
10 – Tony Adams S – Dexter Dunn – Ake Svanstedt – 5-1
$600,000 OPEN TROT
PP – Horse – Driver – Trainer – Odds
1 – Ari Ferrari J – Jason Bartlett – Tony Alagna – 12-1
2 – Up Your Deo – Ake Svanstedt – Ake Svanstedt – 12-1
3 – Asteroid – Tim Tetrick – Jeff Cullipher – 20-1
4 – It’s Academic – David Miller – Ron Burke – 8-1
5 – Winner’s Bet – Dexter Dunn – Nancy Takter – 6-5
6 – Hillexotic – Austin Hanners – Todd Luther – 15-1
7 – Periculum – Scott Zeron – Marcus Melander – 9-2
8 – Hasty Bid – James MacDonald – Nancy Takter – 20-1
9 – Bestfriend Volo – Yannick Gingras – Nancy Takter – 20-1
10 – Logan Park – Dexter Dunn – Robert Fellows – 3-1
11 – Oh Well – Todd McCarthy – Marcus Melander – 10-1
$400,000 MARE PACE
PP – Horse – Driver – Trainer – Odds
1 – Always B Naughty – Yannick Gingras – Nancy Takter – 10-1
2 – Strong Poison – Yannick Gingras – Virgil Morgan Jr. – 12-1
3 – Grace Hill – Todd McCarthy – Virgil Morgan Jr. – 4-1
4 – Silver Label – Scott Zeron – Nick Gallucci – 8-1
5 – Twin B Joe Fresh – Dexter Dunn – Chris Ryder – 4-5
6 – Kobe’s Gigi – David Miller – Ron Burke – 20-1
7 – Beach Cowgirl – Jason Bartlett – Ron Burke – 25-1
8 – Dabarndawgswatchin – Tim Tetrick – David Menary – 20-1
9 – Sylvia Hanover – Bob McClure – Mark Steacy – 6-1
10 – Valar Dohaeris – Mark MacDonald – Ake Svanstedt – 25-1
