Breeders Crown: Neuzko Kamado S erases her own track record in 3YO Filly Trot final

Hambletonian Oaks champion Nezuko Kamado S became just the 12th filly in harness racing history to win the Breeders Crown in the same year as she lowered her own track record with a 1:51 1/5 effort to take the $664,500 Grade 1 final for 3-year-old trotting fillies on Saturday night (Oct. 24) at Eldorado Scioto Downs.

Leaving from post four, driver Scott Zeron eased Nezuko Kamado S into a seat fifth as last year's Breeders Crown 2-Year-Old Filly Trot champ Storybook Love (driven by Todd Ratchford) thrusted toward the front from the pylon post. Elimination winner She's Moni (Yannick Gingras) loomed forward rounding the first turn and pushed past Storybook Love after a 26 3/5 first quarter to take the lead before tapping the brakes slightly on the approach to a 54 4/5 half.

Supplemental entrant Little Road (Brady Brown), who also won an elimination, angled off the pylons from fourth and progressed uncovered up the rim with Nezuko Kamado S in tow to the backstretch. Little Road stalled in her bid coming to three-quarters in 1:22 4/5, at which point Zeron nudged his charge three-wide and gathered speed rounding for home. Nezuko Kamado S kept grinding in the stretch and overhauled her peers reaching the final sixteenth to then pull away for a 1 1/2 length win. Busy Miss Lissy S (Ake Svanstedt) stormed widest of all from last for second with Victorianas Secret (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) chasing in the open stretch for third and She’s Moni left in fourth.

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"I wanted to give her the best opportunity to show if she could or couldn't (win)," said Zeron, who scored his first Grade 1 win with Nezuko Kamado S since an injury sidelined him from competing in the Hambletonian Oaks on Aug. 8. "I believed she could - obviously first-up in the final is different than the elims, and obviously coming first-up on She's Moni is a tougher task. Second-over was really good. Having to go three-wide on the last turn, I had my reservations about that. I was more concerned about my patience because I know she's talented enough, and she has enough of lungs to really carry her speed, but at the same time I don't want to tip her over in the last turn trying to get overanxious and make up the ground I'm losing."

Nezuko Kamado S, entering the Breeders Crown from a break in stride when racing off the speed in the Kentucky Filly Futurity in early October, rebounded last week in the eliminations when she lowered the track record for 3-year-old trotting fillies with a 1:51 2/5 mile, which she bettered with her win in the final.

"I guess we could say there's a few blunders along the way just recently, but she came into form obviously again in the eliminations, and she delivered like the champion she is," Zeron also said. "She's a Hambletonian Oaks champion, so she's deserving of (today's win), and I'm honestly just happy I had the opportunity to do it. At the same time, she trotted so good in that last turn for me. I was praying she would (win) and she did, and obviously we straightened down the lane and she's a champion."

Zeron, teaming with trainer Marcus Melander on Friday for another Breeders Crown win with Birr Castle in the 2-Year-Old Filly Trot, won for the first time in the 3-Year-Old Filly Trot. Melander also won for the first time in the event to give himself three trophies to this point.

"But Super Chapter lost at 3-5 (in the Open Trot), so that's what's going to bother me tomorrow," Melander said, "but of course I'm very happy. This is our third final (this year). She's been great all year. She had a little bumps in Kentucky - she got too far off, and it's hard at The Red Mile because all of them go so fast; if you are a little too far back it's hard to catch them. Obviously she was great in the elimination last week, got a great trip today. Fantastic filly."

A homebred for Anders Strom's Courant Inc., Nezuko Kamado S won her eighth race from 12 starts this season and her 14th race from 23 starts in her career, amassing $1.47 million in earnings. The daughter of Chapter Seven-Zefira Kronos IT became the first filly to double in the Hambletonian Oaks and Breeders Crown since Bella Bellini in 2021. Sent off as the 7-5 favorite, she paid $4.80 to win.