by Ken Weingartner, Media relations, Harness Racing Communications

East Rutherford, NJ — Captaintreacherous, last season’s Pacer of the Year, returned to the track in qualifier action Saturday at the Meadowlands Racetrack, winning in 1:52 for driver Tim Tetrick and trainer Tony Alagna.

Also notching victories on the star-studded 17-race card were Somwherovrarainbow, I Luv The Nitelife, Sweet Lou, Odds On Equuleus, Rockin Amadeus and Golden Receiver, who paced his mile in a brisk 1:49.3.

Captaintreacherous, who won eight of 10 races and $918,253 last season as a 2-year-old, set the fractions from beginning to end and paced his final quarter-mile in :26.2 as he won by 1-3/4 lengths over Teresa’s Beach.

Last year, Captaintreacherous (Somebeachsomewhere-Worldly Treasure) became the first 2-year-old to win three times with sub-1:50 miles and was the first 2-year-old to be named Pacer of the Year since Camtastic in 1987. His victories included the Metro Pace and Woodrow Wilson.

“I was very happy with him today,” Alagna said. “We were hoping to go a mile in around (1):52 and it worked out good. Timmy was very happy with him; he was very comfortable. He’s very lazy on the front, which is great at this time of year. We don’t want him to go to the front and be real aggressive. It worked out very well.”

Captaintreacherous will return to the Meadowlands for another qualifier next weekend, Alagna said.

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Dan Patch winner Somwherovrarainbow won her qualifier in 1:52.4.

Somwherovrarainbow, who was last season’s Dan Patch Award winner for best 2-year-old filly pacer, won her qualifier by 3-1/2 lengths over Offintothesunset in 1:52.4 with Montrell Teague handling the driving for his father, trainer George Teague.

“She was perfect; couldn’t be better,” Montrell Teague said. “She came home in :26.4 and when I handed the lines to her at the top of the stretch she knew what to do. She’s grown up a lot. She was a little green last year, but now she knows the game plan.”

Somwherovrarainbow (Somebeachsomewhere-Rainbow Blue) won seven of 11 races last year, including the Breeders Crown, and finished the campaign on a six-race win streak. Earlier this month, she won qualifiers at Dover Downs and Harrah’s Philadelphia. She is expected to make her seasonal debut Friday at the Meadowlands in the Simpson Stakes.

I Luv The Nitelife, who was Somwherovrarainbow’s top competition for divisional honors last season, won her qualifier by a head over Give Me An Amen in 1:53.2 (final quarter :26.2) for Tetrick and trainer Chris Ryder. I Luv The Nitelife, who won the She’s A Great Lady Stakes last year, won a qualifier last week in 1:55.3.

“We’ll qualify her once more next week,” Ryder said about the daughter of Rocknroll Hanover-Lisjune. “They’re all coming home fast, but I’m pleased with her. I expect her to get better and better. I thought we might be a week ahead of ourselves, but we’re probably not.”

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Sweet Lou defeated Mel Mara in 1:51.3 with Yannick Gingras driving.

Sweet Lou, a son of Yankee Cruiser-Sweet Future who was the Dan Patch Award winner for best 2-year-old male pacer in 2011 and earned more than $1 million last season at age 3, won his qualifier today by two lengths over Mel Mara in 1:51.3 (final quarter of :25.4). Yannick Gingras drove for trainer Ron Burke.

Odds On Equuleus, with John Campbell at the lines for trainer Robin Schadt, won his qualifier by a neck over Dedi’s Dragon in 1:52.4 (final quarter :26). Odds On Equuleus (Art Major-Latte Lady) won five of nine starts and $417,534 last season as a 2-year-old. He was second in the Metro Pace, losing to Captaintreacherous by a neck.

Rockin Amadeus, last season’s Breeders Crown winner for 2-year-old male pacers, won his qualifier by a neck over Johny Rock in 1:51.3 (last quarter :26.2) with Gingras in the sulky for trainer Jimmy Takter. Rockin Amadeus (Rocknroll Hanover-Kikikatie) won three of 10 races last season and finished second three times.

Golden Receiver, an 8-year-old who has won six of seven races this year and earned nearly $1 million last season, won his qualifier by 2-1/4 lengths over Major Bombay and paced his final quarter-mile in :25.4. He was coming off a fourth-place finish at Harrah’s Philadelphia on April 5.

“It was great,” trainer Mark Harder said about Golden Receiver’s qualifier, with Tetrick in the bike. “It’s obviously a very fast track today; times mean nothing, but the horse did it good. He needed a good mile like that after a bad race at (Philadelphia). He’s great he just doesn’t race well there. I just wanted to get him stretched out and feeling good about himself again.”

Trainer Jonas Czernyson enjoyed a good day with his horses, going 4-for-4 as he swept the morning’s first four qualifiers. Czernyson won with 3-year-old filly trotters Mistery Woman, Thistle Dhu and Deja Vu Too as well as 4-year-old mare trotter D’Orsay. David Miller drove the first two, Corey Callahan the latter two.

“You bring them up and see if you’ve trained enough,” said Czernyson, who spends the winters in Florida and summers in New Jersey. “You never know until you get here. I guess Florida was good to us.”