Ken Weingartner

Hightstown, NJ — Not often does a racehorse make his career debut at the age of 6. Even less often does that horse travel from one continent to another to do so.

But that was the case with Australian-born Majorly Sexy, who made his first start last week at The Meadowlands. The 6-year-old male pacer was one of the horses Team Tritton, the driver-trainer tandem of Lauren and Shane Tritton, brought to the U.S. when they relocated their harness racing stable from Down Under in 2020.

Lauren purchased Majorly Sexy, a son of Art Major-Sexy Lady Whitby, as a yearling. In the ensuing years, she watched as the horse’s career was thwarted by a variety of injuries and illnesses. When the decision was made to move to the States, she needed to convince Shane that the unraced pacer was worthy of the journey.

Majorly Sexy and Lauren Tritton finished third from post eight in a $14,500 conditioned pace at The Big M. James Lisa photo.

Any reservations were abated by the fact both Lauren and Shane knew the horse was talented. No matter which of the award-winning Team Tritton stablemates Majorly Sexy faced in training, he was the boss and handled them easily.

“He was always better than all those horses but never got any further, no fault of his own,” Lauren said. “I always knew that he had something there, I just couldn’t prove it. But I had faith in him. He’s such a beautiful horse. He never really did anything wrong but give me heartache.”

Lauren’s heartache turned to a heart filled with joy last week when Majorly Sexy finally made his debut. She was in the sulky as the gelding finished third from post eight in a $14,500 conditioned pace at The Big M.

“He has no idea what he’s doing, he’s just making it up as he goes,” Lauren said. “He was a load of TNT in the race. He kind of over-raced a little bit and got a little weary up the straight. The first thing I said to him after was ‘Good boy, buddy, but next time I’ll show you what to do and you react when I tell you to react.’ But we were stoked with his run. It was really rewarding.”

A week prior to his debut, Majorly Sexy finished second to Grand Circuit winner Covered Bridge, who is racing in the MGM Borgata Series, in a qualifier at The Meadowlands. He also won a qualifier at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono on March 2 and trained once at The Big M, clocking a :26.1 final quarter.

“We wanted to let him stretch out,” Lauren said. “I just let him slide out at the top of the lane and he did it under a hold on his own. I’ve driven a lot of good horses in my career and this horse feels really special. I know he’s got a motor; you can feel that when you’re sitting behind him.”

Majorly Sexy returns to action Saturday in a $17,500 conditioned pace at The Meadowlands. Lauren again will handle the driving, leaving from post three in a field of nine. Majorly Sexy is the 7-2 morning-line second choice.

Lauren Tritton has driven 12 times in the United States. James Lisa photo.

Lauren, who was the youngest person in Australia to drive 500 winners and captured multiple premiership titles Down Under, recently returned to driving following the birth of the Trittons’ second child, Emily. She turned 1 on Wednesday. The couple’s son Levi will be 5 in July.

“I’ll drive when I can; it won’t be a fulltime thing,” Lauren said. “I really enjoy it and I miss it, but it’s a long night. That was the idea coming over here, to have a better life, and settle down a little bit. I’m really enjoying the training side of things as well. Hopefully (Emily) is the next generation female driver.”

Lauren drove at The Meadowlands for the first time in race when she sat behind Majorly Sexy in his debut last week.

“It was great,” said Lauren, who has driven 12 times in the States. “It really reminds me of home. It’s the spitting image of Menangle, just faster. It was a good experience, and the atmosphere was great.”

Even greater thanks to Majorly Sexy.

“It was a long time coming,” Lauren said. “I’m taking everything day by day. Hopefully he stays sound for us because we could be on a really good ride.”