Freehold: Point Reyes, Southwind Admiral connect in NJSS-SDF finals

Two-year-old trotters of both sexes were in the spotlight on Friday afternoon at Freehold Raceway in a pair of $70,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes Standardbred Development Fund finals.

The race for the fillies changed past the start when heavily-favored I'm Amused (Jason Bartlett) made a break, throwing the contest wide-open. In Italian (Austin Siegelman) overcame post eight with a strong leaving move that carried her by Walover (Trond Smedshammer) for the top spot beyond the 28 3/5 opening quarter, and In Italian would then back down the tempo to just 59 1/5 at the half as Vallee Doree (Pat Lachance) began a first-over bid out of fourth, providing cover to Haley Hill (Jordan Stratton) and Point Reyes (Tyler Buter).

In Italian clung to the lead at the 1:30 three-quarters, but Vallee Doree went by her on the final bend and turned for home first, leaving Haley Hill and Point Reyes to take up the chase three-wide and four-wide. Through the stretch Vallee Doree tried to hold on, but she couldn't fight off the closers, with Point Reyes firing home fastest on the grandstand side to prevail by a neck in 2:01. Sweet Tactics (Tyler Miller), who found room after getting shuffled back on the far turn, closed well to finish second, and Haley Hill wound up third.

A daughter of E L Titan bred by Patty Hogan, Point Reyes is trained by Todd Buter for owners Tom Vassiliou and Nick Tallarico. Point Reyes has a record of 3-2-2 from ten lifetime starts, has now earned $57,225, and paid $34.20 to win as a 16-1 offering.

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There wasn't nearly the same type of drama in the colt and gelding final as Southwind Admiral (Dan Dube) re-moved to the engine after the 28 2/5 opening quarter, kept control through a 58 2/5 half and a 1:28 3/5 three-quarters, and then ended up winning by 8 1/4 lengths in 1:57 1/5 after New York Sire Stakes champion The Gruffalo (Jeff Gregory) made a break on the last turn after advancing first-over into the pocket. Smooth Landing (Bartlett) ended up second, with Dyladmar (Jim Marohn Jr.) back in third.

Trainer Ron Coyne Jr. also co-owns Southwind Admiral, a Tactical Landing colt bred by Southwind Farms, with partners Blair Corbeil, Richard Carney, and Farrell Carney. Southwind Admiral hasn't missed the board in eight tries, posting six wins, a second, and a third, and he pushed his bankroll to $112,025. He returned $3.20 to win as the 3-5 favorite.