Meadowlands: Breeders Crown winners, Alagna Armada dominate qualifiers

Joviality S and Ecurie D, two of last year's Breeders Crown champions, were both victorious during Friday morning's qualifiers at the Meadowlands. It was also a big session for trainer Tony Alagna and his armada, as he sent out six winners in nine races.

Driven by Brian Sears for trainer Marcus Melander and owner-breeder Courant Inc., Joviality S was positioned second through fractions of 28 4/5, 57 4/5, and 1:26 1/5, but had already tipped out from behind Beltassima (Dexter Dunn) before three-quarters. Joviality S, a daughter of Chapter Seven who earned $895,341 a year ago, then took command past three-quarters before she drew off in the lane to win by five lengths in 1:53 1/5.

Ecurie D (Ake Svanstedt) led stablemate Incommunicado (Yannick Gingras) through easy panels of 29 3/5, 58 4/5, and 1:27 3/5, then out-footed him in the lane to win by a couple of lengths in 1:54 2/5. Ecurie D, a 6-year-old Infinitif stallion, is trained by Svanstedt and owned by Marko Kreivi Stables Inc., Suleyman Yuksel Stables Inc., and Ake Svanstedt Inc.

All of Alagna's winners were 3-year-olds. Dunn steered Fast As The Wind, last year's Valley Victory and Kindergarten Classic Series champion, to a front-stepping 1:53 1/5 tally in the opener, and then Dunn was also in the bike behind La Vie En Blanc, a Chapter Seven half-sister to Ramona Hill who captured the second qualifier on the engine in 1:55 3/5.

Tim Tetrick guided I Did It Myway, a Captaintreacherous colt who won five of nine starts a year ago, to a 1:51 1/5 victory on the lead in qualifier #3, and Andy McCarthy piloted Danger Zone, another Captaintreacherous colt, to a 1:52 2/5 triumph on the point in the fourth. McCarthy also won the fifth with Captains Princess, a daughter of Captaintreacherous, from first-up in 1:52 4/5, defeating stablemate Lee Loo (Tetrick) by a nose.

Boudoir Hanover rounded out the Alagna trainees to tally, and she was the most impressive one of the bunch, finishing with plenty of pace from the pocket and rolling to a 3 1/4 length decision in 1:51 4/5 with Todd McCarthy handling the Captaintreacherous filly.

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Fortify, a 5-year-old son of Sweet Lou who has banked over $442,000 in his career, was the other winner during the morning. He went down the road to score in 1:51 4/5 for Yannick Gingras and Nancy Takter.