by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner

Freehold, NJ — Trainer Richie Silverman might have the ‘X’ factor in Saturday’s Mistletoe Shalee elimination at Meadowlands Racetrack, if not the 3-year-old female pacing division as a whole.

Silverman will send out Thirty X in the lone $25,000 elimination, from which the top seven finishers advance to the Mistletoe Shalee final on July 18 at the Big M. Unraced at age 2, Thirty X has two wins and a second-place finish in three lifetime starts for Silverman and breeder/owner Marvin Rounick.

Thirty X will start the elimination from post three, with Tim Tetrick listed to drive.

“She had some soundness issues last year, but I rated her as good as any filly that I’ve trained in a long time,” Silverman said. “She showed a tremendous amount of ability, so Mr. Rounick and myself decided that we were going to give her time and let her mature and keep our fingers crossed for 2015. She’s coming along well so far this year. It’s very early in the season, but I’m happy where she is today.”

The Mistletoe Shalee elimination is part of a Saturday card that also includes two eliminations for the Meadowlands Pace for 3-year-old male pacers, Reynolds Stakes divisions for 3-year-old male and female trotters, and the $250,000 Graduate Series final for 4-year-old trotters.

First race post time is 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

USTA/Ken Weingartner photo

The lightly raced Thirty X will be making her fourth lifetime start in the Mistletoe Shalee elimination.

Thirty X is a daughter of Rocknroll Hanover out of the Rounick/Silverman Stable star mare Glowing Report, who earned $2.09 million in her career and was a Nova and O’Brien Award winner. Thirty X is a half-sister to stakes-winner Net Ten Eom and her family also includes stakes winners Must See (who is the dam of Dan Patch Award winner Well Said), Perfect Union, and Urgent Action.

“That pedigree, there’s not much better in the business as far as I’m concerned,” Silverman said. “I’m happy the way she’s progressing. She’s still getting tighter, still learning. This is only going to be her fourth lifetime start. We know that going in. I think she’s going to race very, very well.

“Hopefully she’s going to be another step tighter and more mature going into, hopefully, the final. It’s all stepping stones. She’s going up the ladder the way we’d like her to at this point.”

The Mistletoe Shalee elimination features several open stakes winners from last year, including Happiness, Divine Caroline, Well Hello There, and Deli Beach. The top seven finishers in the elimination will join three fillies who received byes to the final: Lynch Memorial winner Bettor Be Steppin, New Jersey Sire Stakes champ The Show Returns, and multiple stakes winner Sassa Hanover.

Silverman knows the Mistletoe Shalee is a step up for Thirty X, but he believes in the filly.

“We wouldn’t put her in this race just as a tightener, put it that way,” Silverman said with a laugh.

“I think if she stays sound she’s going to be a top filly in this division this year.”

Following is the field for the Mistletoe Shalee elimination:

HN-PP-Horse-Driver-Trainer
1-1-Happiness-Yannick Gingras-Ron Burke
2-2-Divine Caroline-David Miller-Joe Holloway
3-3-Thirty X-Tim Tetrick- Richard Silverman
4-4-Band Of Angels-Yannick Gingras-Ron Burke
5-5-Single Me-Brian Sears-Ross Croghan
6-6-Well Hello There-Brian Sears-Ron Burke
7-7-Moonlit Dance-David Miller-Tony O’Sullivan
8-8-Deli Beach-John Campbell-Brett Bittle
9-9-Storm Point-Brett Miller-Ron Burke
10-10-Stacia Hanover-Scott Zeron-Steve Elliott