from the Meadowlands Publicity Department

East Rutherford, NJ — Anglebrook is not the favorite in Saturday night’s $95,000 Junior Trendsetter Final at the Meadowlands, but he was an even longer shot to make it to the races.

The Junior Trendsetter is one of six series finals worth a total of $486,825 in purses that provide the racing highlights for Winter Festival Weekend at the Meadowlands. There are two finals on Friday night; a jazz concert, three finals, a $100,000 Pick 4 guarantee and all-superfecta program on Saturday night; and one final and an indoor carnival on Sunday afternoon.

Trainer Chris Ryder, in addition to Anglebrook, sends out a trio of fillies in the $76,500 Tender Loving Care Final for three-year-old pacing fillies on Friday night.

Anglebrook, rated 8-1 in the morning line, drew the rail in the Junior Trendsetter Final, carded as the fourth race. The son of Artsplace is the first foal of the 1999 Jersey Girls Final winner Natural Ingredient, a $250,000 earner. Not only did he not race at two, But Anglebrook almost did not make it at all.

“Anglebrook had a real attitude problem as a two-year-old,” said Ryder of the $14,000 yearling purchase. “He’d try to pull up and run off the track when we trained him. In fact, he took us over the snow banks in the infield more than once.

“We had him gelded, and he had some problems,” recalled Ryder, who owns the bay in partnership with Frederick Hertrich III of Seaford, Delaware and Kiyoshi Sugasawa of Cliffside Park, New Jersey. “Thirty minutes after the surgery, he was standing in his stall and his guts literally started falling out. The vet came back and stitched him up then we rushed him in for surgery. He easily could have died from that and is lucky to be alive.

“He came back real well this fall, and we knew he could go pretty good,” said Ryder, who has 55 horses in training at Winner’s International Training Center in Columbus, New Jersey. “We always liked him. I was a touch disappointed that he finished second the other night (in round two of the prelims). He’ll give a good account of himself, but both he and Thrilled (one of his Tender Loving Care entrants) need two or three more races to get real good.”

Anglebrook’s racing debut came in round one of the Junior Trendsetter in which he got up for a half length victory over En Fuego in 1:53¹. He paid $104.80 to win.

Like Anglebrook, Ryder’s fillies in the Tender Loving Care were also modestly priced. Ryder’s four series finalists had an average price tag of $18,500, proving that it does not take a lot of money to get a good horse. His patience with young horses is poised to pay off.

“I believe in taking my time with my two-year-olds,” said Ryder, a 48-year-old New Zealand native. “If they sore up or are immature, we don’t push them and will give them time off. It’s easy to ruin one if you push them too hard before they’re ready to do it.”

His trio of three-year-old fillies in the $76,500 Tender Loving Care Final, carded as the second race on Friday night, include round two winner Thrilled along with Enlightened One and Twin B Romance, who both posted a pair of runner-up finishes in the two preliminary legs.

They’ll be part of a common ownership five-horse entry along with the Noel Daley-trained pair of Western Fate and Shesaporsche. The entry is rated 3-1 in the morning line.

“Thrilled is probably my best one in the final,” said Ryder of his Real Artist filly whom he co-owns with Crescent T Stable of New City, New York, and Sampson Street Stable of Old Forge, Pennsylvania.

A daughter of $212,000 winning Happytross, Thrilled was an $11,000 bargain buy as a yearling. She posted a 1:55 win in the second round of the series and has post position four in Friday’s final.

“She (Thrilled) sored up at two so we stopped with her,” Ryder continued. “She’s a good training filly and we’re real happy with her. She made a break behind the gate in her first start just because she was green and acting a little goofy. She had the five hole right in the middle of the car and seemed to shy at the starter. I did some extra schooling with her behind the gate which has helped.”

Starting from post five is Twin B Romance, a daughter of Run The Table, acquired by Alvin Jacobson of Crompond, New York, and Sidney Korn of Monmouth Beach, New Jersey as a two-year-old at the Harrisburg Sale last fall for $20,000. The filly was second in both of her series legs.

“I don’t usually buy any two-year-olds but the owners were looking for something to race,” said Ryder of Twin B Romance. “Her past performance lines looked decent and she looked good, so we took a shot without knowing much about her. I didn’t realize it at the time but some of my other clients actually owned her and had her in training in Ontario with Bill Robinson. She tries hard and does everything right. She’s got some gate speed, is real solid, and since she raced quite a bit at two, has an experience edge on a lot of these fillies.”

The third Ryder finalist in the Tender Loving Care is Enlightened One, an Artsplace filly purchased for $28,000 as a yearling by Sampson Street Stable, TLP Stable of Kearny, New Jersey, Deena Frost of Delray Beach, Florida and Jerry Silva of Bellmore, New York. Like stablemate Twin B Romance, she was second in both preliminary rounds. She has post position seven.

“I’m pretty pleased with Enlightened One,” said Ryder. “She’s gotten better and is more genuine every start. Obviously Gussie Herman (the even-morning line favorite) stands out on paper and looks like the horse to beat. We’ll need some luck and some action up front for us. You never know how these series finals will play out.”

The Winter Festival Weekend schedule includes the top older pacing mares in the $86,650 Cape & Cutter Final and the $76,500 Tender Loving Care for three-year-old pacing fillies, both on Friday night. Saturday’s trio of stakes include the $95,000 Junior Trendsetter for three-year-old colt and gelding pacers, the $72,275 Aquarius for four-year-old open pacers and $70,000 Exit 16W for four-year-olds and under.

The theme is family fun on Sunday, February 22 with an indoor carnival in the Grandstand while the $87,400 Senior Trendsetter is featured on the track. For the kids, there are interactive rides and games, clowns, face painting, caricatures and entertainment by DJ Bobbi.

2004 Winter Series Finals

$76,500 Tender Loving Care (Second Race, Friday, February 20, 2004)

Hd # PP Horse Driver Trainer ML

1 1 Western Fate Yannick Gingras Noel Daley 3-1

1A 4 Thrilled Cat Manzi Chris Ryder 3-1

1B 5 Twin B Romance Jack Moiseyev Chris Ryder 3-1

1C 7 Enlightened One Brian Sears Chris Ryder 3-1

1D 10 Shesaporsche Mike Lachance Noel Daley 3-1

2 2 Follow Your Bliss Jim Morrill, Jr. Mark Silva 5-1

3 3 Gemini Jeannie George Brennan Timothy Torbert 10-1

4 6 Gussie Herman Ron Pierce Tom Shay Even

5 8 Taxi Stand Richard Silverman Bruce Saunders 8-1

6 9 Sounds Perfect David Miller Brett Pelling 6-1

$85,650 Cape & Cutter (Fifth Race, Friday, February 20, 2004)

Hd # PP Horse Driver Trainer ML

1 2 Odds On Michelle Jack Moiseyev Robin Schadt 4-1

1A 10 Odds On Charmaine David Miller Robin Schadt 4-1

2 4 Carolina Sunshine Brian Sears Ross Croghan 5-2

2A 6 Maybe A Rita Yannick Gingras Ross Croghan 5-2

3 1 My Fantasy Jim Morrill, Jr. Mark Silva 9-2

4 3 Armbro View Cat Manzi Bruce Saunders 15-1

5 5 I’ve Got The Life Daniel Dube George Brennan 10-1

6 7 Molly Can Do It Ron Pierce Linda Toscano 5-1

7 8 Jennie Fanetta George Brennan Tom Shay 15-1

8 9 Worldly Beauty Mike Lachance Patrick Lachance 7-2

$72,275 Aquarius (Third Race, Saturday, February 21, 2004)

Hd # PP Horse Driver Trainer ML

1 1 Escape The Wind Roger Mayotte Roger Mayotte Even

1A 5 Border Patrol David Miller Roger Mayotte Even

2 2 Big Money Man Brian Sears Bruce Saunders 12-1

3 3 Pronger Ron Pierce Ben Wallace 5-2

4 4 Tidal Search Mike Lachance Brett Bittle 12-1

5 6 Articulator Jim Morrill, Jr. Brett Pelling 15-1

6 7 Synide Cat Manzi Mark Jordan 8-1

7 8 Boulder Creek Daniel Dube Mark Silva 5-1

$95,000 Jr. Trendsetter (Fourth Race, Saturday, February 21, 2004)

Hd # PP Horse Driver Trainer ML

1 6 Point Well Taken Daniel Dube Brett Pelling 4-1

1A 9 Art Aficionado Jim Morrill, Jr. Brett Pelling 4-1

1B 10 Best Of Show Ron Pierce Brett Pelling 4-1

2 1 Anglebrook TBA Chris Ryder 8-1

3 2 Four Starzzz King Mike Lachance Dave Sabatelli 5-2

4 3 Absolute Best Jack Moiseyev Kenneth Tisa 8-1

5 4 Yankees In Seven David Miller Darby Miller 10-1

6 5 Kenny the Cowboy N Brian Sears Ross Croghan 3-1

7 7 Flight Sign Mike Lachance Robert Siegelman 10-1

8 8 En Fuego George Brennan Ross Croghan 6-1

$70,000 Exit 16W (Fifth Race, Saturday, February 21, 2004)

Hd # PP Horse Driver Trainer ML

1 3 It’s Not Luck Mike Lachance Patrick Lachance 5-1

1A 4 Casimir Camotion Patrick Lachance Patrick Lachance 5-1

2 7 Cannon Hanover Jim Morrill, Jr. Bruce Saunders 6-1

2A 10 Hale Hylight Brian Sears Bruce Saunders 6-1

3 1 Dream Rocket Jack Moiseyev Jerry Evilsizor 3-1

4 2 Iron Legend Ron Pierce Mark Silva 9-5

5 5 Matt Hershey Brian Sears Kelly Stackowicz 12-1

6 6 West Gun Yannick Gingras Joseph Guarino 15-1

7 8 Build A Fire Yannick Gingras Mark Ford 10-1

8 9 Clinton Debriefed David Miller Steve LeBlanc 8-1

$87,400 Senior Trendsetter (on Sunday, February 22, 2004, to be drawn on Wednesday).

Horse Driver Trainer

Domination Ron Pierce Noel Daley

Dream Believer Daniel Dube Kelly Stackowicz

JD Easter Magic David Miller Noel Daley

Newsam Howard Parker Ernest Adam

Ritch Art Cat Manzi Darby Miller

Rosedale Mascot Mike Lachance Ken Rucker

Southwind Salem Yannick Gingras Mark Ford

Top Flight Ron Pierce Noel Daley

Visitor Parking Jim Morrill, Jr. Daniel Sheddan

What’s Demotta You Cat Manzi Larry Remmen