from the Meadowlands Publicity Department

East Rutherford, NJ — Trainer George Teague, Jr. sent out a trio of winners in the New Jersey Sires Stakes for 2-year-old pacers on Wednesday night (June 20) at the Meadowlands.

Lisa Photo

Ron Pierce steered Duneside Perch to a 1:52.4 score in a NJSS division.

Teague’s Duneside Perch was the fastest of the freshman colts on the card. Driven by Ron Pierce, he romped by more than nine lengths in 1:52.4 in the fifth race NJSS division. Duneside Perch had two victories in baby races before making his pari-mutuel debut in the NJSS. Teague and his sister, Brenda, share ownership of the colt with Patrick and Marianne Callahan, who race as Only Money Inc. of Hartly, Delaware. The son of Cam’s Card Shark-Duck Duck Goose was a $45,000 yearling purchase at the 2006 Lexington Selected Sale. He is a full brother to the hard-knocking pacer Aba Daba Doo, a winner of 28 races and more than $500,000 in earnings.

“He showed right from the start that he had some talent,” Teague said. “He seems to do everything pretty easily. I was not surprised at the time. I’m looking forward to racing him this season.”

Teague also swept two of the NJSS divisions for fillies. He teamed with driver Brian Sears to send Cartniverous out to a 1:55.2 win in the second race division. Cartniverous was a $20,000 yearling purchase by George Brem and Leonard Hubbard of Cambridge, Maryland at the 2006 Standardbred Horse Sale at Harrisburg.

Teague’s other winner was Just Desserts, who got up by a head to win the sixth race division in 1:57.1 with Ron Pierce in the sulky. Owned by Teague and Thomas Janes’ Vip Internet Stable of Piscataway, New Jersey, Just Desserts was a $20,000 yearling buy at the 2006 Lexington Selected Sale.

Granny Gui looks for upset in $175,000 NJSS final

Granny Gui is one of five daughters of Dream Vacation hoping to pull off the upset in the $175,000 New Jersey Sires Stake Final for 3-year-old filly trotters on Thursday night (June 21) at the Meadowlands.

Among the competition she will face are Possess The Magic, who led all 2-year-old trotters in earnings last year, and Gerri’s Joy, winner of the 2006 Merrie Annabelle.

Trained by Sam Fava, Granny Gui will start from post seven and is rated at 10-1 on the morning line in Thursday night’s seventh race. She captured the first two rounds of the NJSS, both at odds of 9-1, and was a strong third after starting from post 10 in last week’s leg of the series. Granny Gui enters the NJSS Final with a record of three wins in 13 career starts.

“Donald Dancer had her early on,” Fava said. “Bob Stevenson trained her down, too. She was fifth in a Matron elimination last year (at Dover Downs) and trotted in 1:57. She got beat by a track record (Michelle’s Angel in 1:56.2). She qualified well coming back and I didn’t really change much on her. I got her after her Harrington lines (on May 16). She had a problem staying flat and just grew out of it.”

Granny Gui was a $15,000 yearling purchase at the New Jersey Classic Sale (sold as Bloodstock’s Dream) by Sophia Stables Inc. of Mt. Kisco, New York, the nom de course of Ernie Henick. Fava and Henick have a longstanding friendship.

“It is friendship before ownership with Ernie,” he said. “He’s a wonderful guy, dedicated to this business. He loves it. He’s one of the reasons I’m back. From 1996-2004, I took a kind of hiatus. I was working in our family construction business, but I couldn’t stay away. It’s in your blood. You know how it is in this business.”

Fava has been training horses since the early 1970s, most notably 1982 Monticello OTB Classic winner Bo Scots Blue Chip, who not only won that race by nine lengths but did so over Cam Fella. Fava is the only trainer to have defeated the two-time Horse Of The Year on a half-mile track. He also trained Pinocchio, Broadway Express, Bad Self, Pomp Again and Motoring Blue Chip.