From Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment 8 June 2024
Breakfast with the Babies, 2024 edition got underway on a perfect Saturday morning at Meadowlands, the sky clear and temperatures in the 20C’s and track fast. Headlining the bill was the usual array of expensive young talent along with several representatives of the hotly anticipated first crop of TALL DARK STRANGER, who did not disappoint.
Pacers came around in race nine and we got our first look at the TALL DARK STRANGERs. Realmenwearblu got them off to a flying start with a front running 1:56.3 win, off a half in a minute, last quarter in :28 flat as he pleased over another TALL DARK STRANGER, Strangerinthenight (TALL DARK STRANGER) who was gaining mildly on the wrapped up winner. Realmenwearblu physically resembles and hails from several of the same connections as his famous sire. Nancy Takter trained both and owns a share of the winner with Patrick Hoopes, RAW Equine and Rojan Stables and Yannick Gingras was along for the ride. Crawford Farms, also a partner on the sire, bred the colt who sold for a sensible $42,000 (Lexington) last fall.
Wavemaker (Zeron), another by TALL DARK STRANGER, was a 1:56.3 winner, asked late to gamely hold off closers on both sides as Oogleville (Jason Bartlett) rallied wide for second while Blue Onyx (Gingras) came through inside for third. This colt, from a CAPTAINTREACHEROUS dam with a classic Brittany maternal pedigree, seemed to resemble that line physically. The winner was a $300,000 (Lexington) purchase with breeder Brittany Farms retaining a piece to join Myron and Stephanie Bell’s Riverview Racing, Steve Head and Pryde Stables. Tony Alagna trains.
Quite possibly the most impressive performance of Opening Day was by the CAPTAINTREACHEROUS filly Ascendance, who was basically restrained by driver Scott Zeron throughout a remarkable 1:54.4 mile to be a geared down three length winner over a willing Ronstadt (CAPTAINTREACHEROUS). Zeron settled Ascendance into third early in the 30.2 quarter from her outside post, but she was having none of that. Off to the front through fractions of :58.1 and 1:26.3, about as slow as Zeron could get her to go, and she finished in hand. An imposing bay, Ascendance is from the top race mare and producer Higher And Higher. Trained by Linda Toscano, she was bred by Steve Stewart, Conquest Acres and David Schmucker, Jr and purchased by Jablonsky Held Stable, Joe Sbrocco, Bill Elliott and In The Gym Partners for $260,000 at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale.
Another big-ticket CAPTAINTREACHEROUS filly, Duration (Dunn) rallied from off the pace to sweep by the field for a 1:54.4 (27.1) win for trainer Tony Alagna. Dunn followed the cover of stablemate Simply Perfect (CAPTAINTREACHEROUS) until late in the stretch before sliding over and asking Duration for pace. She responded to get by Simply Perfect who stayed on for second. The winner was a $200,000 (Lexington) buy for Rob Leblanc, Joe Sbrocco, Pryde Stables, INC and JAF Racing. Michael Robinson, Robert Mondillo, Steve Cheatham and Steve Stewart bred her.
CAPTAINTREACHEROUS capped off a big day with a 1:56 winner Captain Optimistic (Gingras) who stormed out of the pocket with a :26.2 close to get the win over the game pacesetter Attaboychet (Anibal Boras). The winner is another Nancy Takter trainee who was a $160,000 (Harrisburg) investment in the future by 3 Brothers Stables, Marvin Katz and Caviart Farms. Fair Winds Farm is the breeder.
