from Meadowlands Media Relations

Mike Lachance will look to Four Starzzz King to carry him to his fourth Berry’s Creek trophy on Saturday night at the Meadowlands.

The winner of five straight, Four Starzzz King drew the rail and is rated the 3-1 second choice in the morning line in the featured sixth race, the $260,000 Berry’s Creek.

“Four Starzzz King is just getting better all the time,” noted the Hall of Fame driver. “In January, he was just a horse, a warm body. Now he’s an awful nice colt. The other night in his elimination I didn’t even have to touch him and get after him. I just gave him a couple of taps, tightened the lines and he sprinted to the wire real good. He has the makings of a long-term, top colt when mid-season comes. He has the speed and a beautiful gait. He’s so handy, and he comes off the gate like a rocket. Because of that, it will put him in a good spot when he has to race against the bearcats. He hasn’t shown me any fight when I’m sitting in a hole with him; he relaxes and that’s very important.

“He never ceases to impress me,” said Lachance. “Every week he’s a little bit better and mature, and he hasn’t leveled off. We’re still not sure what kind of horse he is.”

Lachance, who has driven in every Berry’s Creek except 2003, won in 1990 with Mark Johnathan, 1991 with Justin Kin and 1999 with Ideal Towne.

Four Starzzz King, trained by Dave Sabatelli and racing for the FS Starzzzz Stables Inc. of Glenwood, New Jersey, captured his Berry’s Creek elimination by two lengths last week and now has wins in seven of nine starts this year.

“For me, drawing the rail is a big advantage because my horse can leave like a rocket, and he’s a good front runner,” said Lachance. “Plus, I have some options with him. I can really do whatever I want with him.

“Ideally, I think I would like to take control and steal it,” he explained. “Unless something happens, I think my horse is quick enough, and I’d be surprised if somebody else can get around him behind the gate. I don’t deserve to be the favorite. Dube’s horse [driver Daniel Dube with Brandon’s Cowboy] definitely should be, and he’s supposed to be the horse to beat. I don’t know what to expect from him. I don’t know how Dube is going to drive him. Who knows? Maybe he might try to go head-to-head with me off the gate and try to get him to the front. I want to race in front and control the race, but I’m not going to do something stupid and get hooked up in a speed duel.

“I drove another horse in the eliminations for Joe Holloway [Driven To Win], he was okay, but I don’t think he’s the class of the top two,” said Lachance. “It’s a nice bunch of horses, yet there are no killers.”

For FS Starzzzz partners Jeff Cohen of Lloyd Harbor, New York, and Mike Sudaley of Commack, New York, this is their second starter in the Berry’s Creek. They finished second with Four Starzzz Shark in 2001.

“I’m quite happy to be involved with the Four Starzzz King connections because I didn’t have any sharp drives this winter,” explained Lachance. “I wasn’t driving for the top trainers. Last year, I was driving for my son, Patrick, and this season he started to drive his own. But I still had a very good winter, and I’m still holding my own at age 53. I feel that especially in the big money races I can calmly make decisions as good as anybody.

“The FS Starzzzz Stable people asked me at the end of December if I wanted to drive for them,” he said. “They have a bunch of nice young horses, and Four Starzzz Shark was coming back. So, I told them we’d try it. If they were happy we’d keep going, and they weren’t we’d still be friends.

“Four Starzzzz Shark is in Saturday’s eighth race for the Graduate horses,” he added. “So far, knock on wood, he’s been very solid and you couldn’t ask for better.”

The field for the $260,000 Berry’s Creek Final, the sixth race on Saturday night [from the rail out]: Four Starzzz King, Mike Lachance, 3-1; Brandon’s Cowboy, Daniel Dube, 5-2; Yankees In Seven, Jim Morrill Jr., 15-1; Western Prince, David Miller, 10-1; Windage Hanover, Yannick Gingras, 20-1; Spirit of a Shark, George Brennan, 8-1; Cardholder, Ron Pierce, 10-1; Georgia Pacific, Brian Sears, 5-1; Driven To Win, John Campbell, 15-1 and Nineteenth Hole, Eric Ledford, 8-1.

AROUND THE MEADOWLANDS FOR MAY 7, 2004

“I’m happy with the post [two],” said Daniel Dube, who will drive 5-2 morning line favorite Brandon’s Cowboy in the Berry’s Creek.

“I have no strategy planned. I’ll wait and see what is happening at the gate before I do anything. You can drive him with two fingers. He’s very handy. He’s raced big the last few starts, and I’m very happy with him. I’m confident in him.” Although Mark Ford trains the pre-race favorite, he is not over-confident. “It’s the first time I’ve ever had the favorite in this race,” Ford said. “It feels good. But some people are forgetting that this is not a race between Brandon’s Cowboy and Four Starzzz King. There are eight others in there. I suspect that my colt and Four Starzzz King will track each other around. My colt is right on schedule. But it’s too early to be saying anything about the three-year-olds. There seems to be an awful lot of good ones out there right now.”

Ron Pierce, driving Cardholder in Saturday’s Berry’s Creek Final, is prepared to pick up the pieces if the favorites falter. “This colt raced big last week and I think he surprised some people,” said Pierce, whose best Berry’s Creek finish was a second in 2002 with Stoneridge Scooter. “He feels good. I like him. If they mix it up on the front, he’s going to be a factor. I think the three horses to beat, in order, are Four Starzzz Shark, Georgia Pacific and Brandon’s Cowboy.”

Yannick Gingras picked up the catch drive on longshot Windage Hanover and makes his debut in the $260,000 Berry’s Creek. “I’d much rather be in it than watching it on TV,” Gingras said. “I don’t know about this colt yet, so I’ll play it by ear when I get out there. This is the biggest race I’ve been in so far. About three years ago, I was in a sire stakes final, driving for my father back home [in Quebec], and I think it went for $200,000. But this will be the most I’ve gone for, so far.”

Western Prince will leave from post four with David Miller driving in the Berry’s Creek. “I think he’ll need to be a little sharper for the final,” Miller noted. “It’s going to be tough trying to beat the inside two [Four Starzzz King and Brandon’s Cowboy]. He’s a solid colt and has ability, and you never know. I like my starting spot.”

George Brennan won the 1996 Berry’s Creek with Hot Lead, is back with a son of 1994 winner Cam’s Card Shark named Spirit Of A Shark. “I like the way he finished last week, a strong close, and he’s improving,” said Brennan. “I never want to go into a final with a tired horse. This horse is fresh.”

Carl Allen, injured in a spill in last Friday’s qualifiers, had surgery Wednesday on his pelvis at Hackensack University Medical Center.

“They did surgery on dad yesterday, basically putting the pelvis back together,” said Allen’s son, Rod. “He had four small incisions, and they inserted three screws. He can’t bear any weight on that area. Originally they were going to replace the hip, but decided not to. Dad’s anxious to get out of there and get going. He is not laying still, I can tell you that. I’m not sure yet what the rehab schedule is, but I think for now he’s going to stay in Hackensack for five or six more days.”

When Royal Mattjesty paced his mile in 1:48.4 in his May 1 Classic Series division, it marked the earliest sub-1:49 mile at the Meadowlands. It was a week later than the industry record of 1:48.2 by Pacific Fella at Colonial Downs on April 24, 1998. Royal Mattjesty’s win was the ninth sub-1:48 mile for John Campbell to top all drivers. Mike Lachance is second with seven. There have been 46 race-miles with times of under 1:49. Only Cambest has sired a son [Color Me Best in 1:48] and a daughter [Carolina Sunshine in 1:48.4] in that select group. Western Ideal is the only horse with four sub-1:49 miles. Goliath Bayama is the only one to do it three times in a row.

Meadowlands Director of Marketing and Development Glenn Cademartori and his wife, Kirsten, welcomed their first child, Francesca Marina on April 30. The eight-pound, two-ounce baby, who will go by the nickname Cesca, was 19.5 inches.

James Morrill Sr., 69, died on Thursday after a lengthy illness at his home in Saratoga, New York. He is the father of one of the Meadowlands’ leading drivers, Jim Morrill Jr. Born March 1935 in Hanover, New Hampshire, Morrill was an all state football and hockey player in New Hampshire and followed his father, Charlie, into horse racing. Morrill won driving titles at Saratoga and campaigned at the Meadowlands in the in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He won the New Faces [now Suslow] Final in 1979 with Farbro Wave and also campaigned JM Glow and Gay Baroness. There will be a memorial race at Saratoga, on a date to be announced shortly, in Morrill’s honor. He also leaves behind two daughters, Jamie Su and Kelly.

Funeral services were held Wednesday, May 5 for Angela Francesca Derrico [nee Balenzano], mother of Meadowlands trainer Luca Derrico. Mrs. Derrico, who passed away on April 30, 2004, and her husband, the late Dr. Nicholas Derrico, campaigned and bred a prominent stable of horses primarily in the 1960s. Among the notables campaigned by the Derricos were three-time divisional champ [1961, 1962 and 1963] Henry T Adios, winner of the 1961 Little Brown Jug, and 1959 Yonkers Trot winner John A Hanover as well as two divisional champions, Poplar Wyck [1963] and Balenzano [1965]. Mrs. Derrico also bred Bye Bye Sam, Balenzano and HT Luca. She is survived by her sons John and Luca and daughter Josephine as well as son-in-law Jeff Campbell and daughter-in-law Gen Sullivan. She had five grandchildren: Kate, Michael, Nicholas, John and Tim.