Test Of Faith, whose multiple Dan Patch Awards include the trophy for 2021 Horse of the Year, will begin her final season of racing Saturday when she joins 10 mares in the $142,260 Perfect Sting Stakes for older female pacers at The Meadowlands.
Tag: Ken Weingartner
Toscano duo seek crowns in Yonkers stakes
Linda Toscano will send out highly regarded contenders in Friday’s two stakes races for 3-year-old fillies at MGM Yonkers Raceway with trotter Sadie Hanover looking to remain undefeated this season and pacer Ucandoit Blue Chip, who holds a special connection to the trainer’s heart, aiming to continue her own winning ways.
Magical Acres holds dozen qualifiers for 2-year-olds
Magical Acres held 12 qualifiers for 2-year-olds Wednesday (June 28). Chris Ryder led all trainers with three wins while Linda Toscano and Nifty Norman each had two. Katie Gangell-trained male pacer Denial posted the morning’s fastest time, 1:55.1, over the training center’s five-eighths-mile oval.
Taking a shot with ‘Fling’ in Messenger
American Fling has shown the ability to step around a half-mile track, so the defending New York Sire Stakes champion earned the chance to step out Friday in the $250,000 MGM Grand Messenger Stakes for 3-year-old pacers at MGM Yonkers Raceway.
Gaitway hosts its final qualifiers
Gaitway Farm held 10 qualifiers for 2-year-olds on Monday (June 26) as its June events for the rookies came to an end. Trainer Ron Burke had four winners while Jennifer Bongiorno, Julie Miller and Symon Spicer each had two. Burke-trained colt Dancin Champion, a 1:55 winner, had the day’s fastest pacing time over the one-mile oval while Spicer-trained Shiv took trotting honors with a 1:58.2 clocking.
Iwon’t Backdown As stands his ground
Over the years, trainer Anette Lorentzon has named some of her family’s homebred horses after songs, but Iwon’t Backdown As is more than a nod to a Tom Petty hit. It fits her 4-year-old trotter to a T. On Saturday, Iwon’t Backdown As returns to The Big M for the third-and-final preliminary round of the Graduate.
Engblom hopes for ‘Trendy’ result in Graduate
When it comes to his style on the racetrack, Trendy Teen is with it. A 4-year-old gelding, Trendy Teen has jumped up to Grand Circuit action this season and held his own in the first two rounds of the Graduate Pacing Series, putting himself in position to reach the July 8 final with another strong performance this Saturday (June 24) at The Meadowlands.
A change in philosophy and Kierkegaard K
Swedish-born trotter Gone Baby Gone never had the opportunity to fulfill the potential trainer Åke Svanstedt saw in the filly at the age of 2. Five years later, though, she is making her presence known through the performances of her first foal, Kierkegaard K. Three-year-old colt Kierkegaard K, the No. 4-ranked horse on the most recent “Road to the Hambletonian” produced by Meadowlands announcer/analyst Ken Warkentin, is 2-for-2 this season and coming off equaling the fastest trotting mile ever at Vernon Downs as he heads to Friday’s second of two eliminations of the MGM Yonkers Trot.
Freshmen take another turn at Magical Acres
Magical Acres held 13 qualifiers for 2-year-olds Wednesday (June 21). Trainers Tom Cancelliere, Noel Daley, Chuck Sylvester and Carter Pinske each sent out two winners over the training center’s five-eighths-mile oval. They included Sylvester’s colt Ever Clever, who recorded the morning’s fastest trotting mile for the rookies, and Cancelliere’s colt Steven’s Saloon, who had the quickest pacing mile.
Trainer Tony Alagna reaches 2,000 win milestone
Tony Alagna got career training win 2,000 on Sunday (June 18) when Saldana Hanover won the fifth race at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania. George Napolitano Jr. was in the sulky. The 3-year-old filly is a daughter of Captaintreacherous, who was Pacer of the Year for Alagna in 2012 and 2013 before becoming one of the sport’s prominent sires.