Gordon Waterstone

Lexington, KY — The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono will play host to the Pennsylvania Sires Stakes championships for 3-year-olds on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 4), and while Hambletonian champion Captain Corey was relegated to a spot in the $50,000 consolation event for male trotters after not earning enough points in only two starts to make the final, Jujubee, who sparkled on the Hambletonian Day undercard at The Meadowlands with a 1:49.4 victory in the $50,000 Muscle Hill, will line up behind the gate in post four in the $253,000 contest.

Trained by Greg Wright Jr., Jujubee was the leading points winner in the PASS preliminaries, posting two wins and two seconds in his quartet of starts. Jujubee‘s second PASS win came on July 23 at The Meadows, where he won in a career-best 1:53.1, an effort that was followed by his ship to New Jersey for the Muscle Hill on Aug. 7.

Jujubee sparkled on the Hambletonian Day undercard at The Meadowlands with a 1:49.4 victory in the $50,000 Muscle Hill. Lisa photo.

It was the first start ever outside of Pennsylvania for Jujubee, who made all of his first 17 career appearances on the five-eighths-mile ovals at The Meadows, The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono and Harrah’s Philadelphia.

“I told (breeder-owner Jon Erdner) that he could get a nice mark on him, like (1):50 and change, and it just couldn’t have worked out any better,” said Wright, who trains his small stable of three at The Meadows. “It wasn’t that big of a surprise for me because on a mile track I knew he could really step up. That was quite the thrill when the teletimer popped up. I said, ‘Wow, look at that!'”

Driven by Tony Hall in the Muscle Hill, Jujubee tracked from second the leading favorite Dancinginthedark M through fractions of :27.1, :55.2 and 1:23 before rallying past in deep stretch with a final quarter of :26.3 to win by three-quarters of a length. The time of 1:49.4 established a new Meadowlands track record for 3-year-old colt trotters. It also tied Greenshoe as the second fastest mile ever by a sophomore male trotter, behind only Six Pack (1:49.1, 2018) — whose Big M track mark of 1:50 he lowered.

“This was the first time on a mile and I thought if he had to, he could go (1):49 or (1):50, but you need a lot to go right,” Hall said shortly after the Muscle Hill victory. “Everything all fell into place. The trip was excellent; it was picture perfect. The thing about this colt is that he fights all the way to the wire so I knew we were going to give (Dancinginthedark M) all we had if we had to.”

A son of Creatine, Jujubee is out of the Cantab Hall mare La Cantera, who was purchased by Erdner as a yearling for $15,000. La Cantera, who was trained during her first two years of racing by Greg Wright Sr., won just twice in 43 starts over her career, taking a mark of 1:57.1f and earning $20,635.

“My dad bought his dam as a yearling and she had some talent but she couldn’t get around the turns very good,” remembered Wright. “This is by far her best foal. I had his brother (Cantera Hall) for awhile but he was like his mother, he couldn’t get around the turns. He had some speed though and was a good-looking horse.”

Without high expectations early on, Jujubee wasn’t staked as a 2-year-old in 2020, when he made just five starts, never missing the board with a 2-2-1 ledger and a season’s mark of 1:59.1f at The Meadows. Wright said he urged Erdner to make some late payments on Jujubee when he turned three.

“When I got him as a 2-year-old the payments weren’t made but I told the owner to pay the late fee and get him in the Sires Stakes (this year),” said Wright. “(The PASS final) is the race we’ve been aiming him for all year.”

Following Jujubee‘s record mile in the Muscle Hill, Wright couldn’t find a spot to race the trotter. Instead, he qualified Jujubee on Aug. 24 at The Meadows, where he romped to a 20-1/4 length win in 1:54.4 with Mike Wilder driving. In Saturday’s PASS final, Andy McCarthy will get the drive as regular reinsman Tony Hall is unable to make the trip.

“We couldn’t find any races for him unfortunately, so he went in that qualifier to keep him sharp and get a good mile in him,” explained Wright. “He has a lot of miles into him and he’s always raced good in between races of three weeks, so I’m not too concerned about the time off. It would have been nice to get another race in him, especially the week after The Meadowlands. He came out of that race so sharp.”

Wright said a shoeing change earlier this year really helped Jujubee step up his game.

“We had some issues with his feet stinging him earlier this year, training him on the hard track all winter here at The Meadows,” said Wright. “I always had bar shoes on him to protect him. When I started looking for a little more speed we lightened him up and that’s when he really took off. He now has aluminum shoes up front. And I think he’d go even faster with the shoes off.”

Wright said he received several phones calls after the 1:49.4 victory inquiring about purchasing the trotter, but all offers were rebuffed by Erdner.

“The phone was ringing and I directed everybody to the owner,” said Wright. “I don’t know what the highest offer was but I don’t think (Erdner) had a whole lot of interest in selling him. He’s been in the business a long time waiting for a horse like this, and I think down the road there will be more opportunities for him.”

Wright is hoping he can find a race for Jujubee later this month or in early October at The Red Mile. Otherwise, any more opportunities for Jujubee will have to wait until 2022.

“He’s a big, strong horse and he’s grown quite a bit in the last couple months. He’s really filled out,” said Wright. “Next year as a 4-year-old he will be made eligible to some of the big races.”