East Rutherford, NJ – The season opener of the popular Breakfast With The Babies (BWTB), sponsored by Jules Siegel’s Fashion Farms, kicked off the 2-year-old season at The Meadowlands Saturday morning (June 1) under perfect conditions. The track was fast, the temperature in the 70s with no discernible wind when they began at 10 a.m.

Bellareina Dolce and Mattias Melander were winners of the first Breakfast With The Babies qualifier at the Big M Saturday. Chris Tully Photo.

Trainer Marcus Melander and crew were back at it early after a big night with Greenshoe winning the NJSS final with 11 freshman trotting colts and fillies spread over the five races.

Marcus’ brother Mattias drove Bellarina Dolce to a front end, 2:00.1 (:28.1 last quarter) win over closing stablemate Queen Of The Hill (Kasper Foget) and pocket sitter I’m Really Special (Tim Tetrick). The Muscle Hill filly from Bella Dolce was a $400,000 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale purchase by Lennart Agren as SRF Stable from breeder David McDuffee. She’s off to a good start.

“She’s been good all year,” said Marcus Melander of the talented lass. “She’s been a sweetheart, perfect to drive, steers well; nice horse. She has the gait and wants to do it. She has good manner, is very professional. She feels like an aged horse, really. (This qualifier) was perfect. We’ve been here two times training with her before this, so they’re well prepared when they start baby racing. But it was a nice first one for her. It looked she was in hand. We’re happy with her.”

Shishito gave her sire Father Patrick a winner when she came wide into a :28.3 end to a 2:01.3 mile for Tim Tetrick to out close Oblivion (Mattias Melander) and mile-cutter Queso Fresco (Andy McCarthy). Per Engbloom trains Shishito for Black Horse Racing and John Fielding, who paid breeder Diamond Creek Farms $50,000 at the Lexington sale last fall.

“They were very good, I’m happy with them. They all did what we expected. They all behaved and we babied them around a little bit and they all trotted home good,” said trainer Per Engbloom of his five freshmen. “Shishito finished really good from her spot, so that was great, and I also was very happy with Queen Of The Hill. She finished good. It was nice.”

Marcus Melander drove the $200,000 Standardbred Horse Sales filly, Soubrette Hanover, to a 2:02.2 (:28 last quarter) win, up on the wire to nip Torrent (Dexter Dunn) with Becky Lindy (Foget) third. The top two are by Father Patrick, the winner a Hanover bred (Star Hanover), owned by Hanover Shoe Farms.

Melander colts went under the wire together in the fourth with Hellbent For AM S (Mattias Melander) picking up barn mate Maesteraemon (Brian Sears) in the last step of the 2:00.4 mile, while closing into a :27.3 final quarter. Legion Of Honor (McCarthy) made a sharp late gain to be third. The winner is a Swedish-bred son of Muscle Hill from a Supergill dam (Nalda Nof), bred by Am Bloodstock and owned by Anders Strom as Courant Inc.

Melander made it four of five when Expectations (Sears) took over near the :59.3 half, rated a :31.2 third panel then sprinted home in :28.1 for a narrow 1:59.1 score over the closing Take Shape (Tetrick) who was gaining with each stride to just miss by a head. Capricornus (Mattias Melander) was a solid third. Expectations is a Dunroven Farm bred Muscle Hill half-brother to My MVP and was a $60,000 Lexington buy now owned by Vicky Trotting.

Ray Schnittker is back at it, sending a pair of So Surreal colts right on down the road to impressive wins.

Ray steered The Mystic to a front-running, 1:54.2 (:28 last quarter) win over Come On Raags (Scott Zeron) and General Idea (Jason Bartlett). Schnittker, Paul Bordogna and Howard Taylor paid $40,000 for The Mystic at Harrisburg last fall. Fair Winds Farm and Steve Jones bred the colt.

Schnittker came right back with Splash Brother who made every call a winning one over Tomas (Bartlett) in 1:54.3 (:27.1 last quarter). Nolamaura Racing, Steven Arnold and Tammy Flannery share ownership of Splash Brother with the trainer/driver. Steve Jones bred the $30,000 Goshen yearling.

A BWTB aside; escaping notice on Friday evening at Tioga Downs was another So Surreal, the 2-year-old gelding Steuben Moose, who raced in a qualifier against older and paced in 1:54.2 while finishing fourth behind the 3-year-old Live Lucky, a winner in 1:52.4. Roy Marsh, Jr trains and owns Steuben Mouse, an $8,500 Morrisville Yearling Sale purchase from breeder Steuben Farms.

Hannelore Hanover captured his qualifier Saturday morning at The Meadowlands by more than seven lengths. Chris Tully Photo.

After the BWTB show, the great Hannelore Hanover strut her stuff in the fashion of a 1:52.2 (:27 last quarter), 7 1/4 length win over Marion Marauder under a Matt Kakaley hold.

“She was very good, well in hand,” said Kakaley of the trip aboard the World Champion trotting mare. “We wanted to get her stretched out. Last week, she was just dull the whole way. Dull behind the gate, dull in the mile. Today she was way better, strong the whole way. Maybe she just wasn’t feeling herself last week because today she was super.”

BWTB sponsor Jules Siegel had a winner in his sophomore trotting colt Chapter Fashion who just got up to nail Union Forces by a nose in 1:55 for David Miller.

Odds On St Lucie (Tetrick) impressed in a 1:50 (26.3 last quarter) win over Don’t Think Twice A in her third qualifier for Tony Alagna and Odds On Racing.

De Los Cielos Deo put a wow into Saturday’s action with a wicked 1:48.4 win for Miller. He took off fast and just kept going faster, whizzing by the half in :54.4, threw in a :26.3 third then finished it off with a 27.2 kicker to win by more than 12 lengths. Burke trains.

Finally, the horse of the meet thus far this season, Highalator, got in a 1:50.3 (:26.1 last quarter) “workout” for Rich Still and trainer Jenny Bier to close the card.

Results are available online.

Live racing resumes at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday evening.