Meadowlands: Burke and others look for late-season Kindergarten victory

The Meadowlands hosts four Kindergarten Series finals for each freshman division on Saturday night, and the sport's leading trainer Ron Burke was fortunate enough to land the pole position in two of the races. For Burke, who is well ahead of any rival when it comes to wins and earnings in 2022, a victory by either Loubet in the $233,970 Kindergarten final for 2-year-old colt and gelding pacers (race nine) or In Italian in the $279,290 final for 2-year-old filly trotters (race five), would be more than icing on another successful season.

Looking at Loubet, initially there is a lot to like in the homebred son of Sweet Lou that has missed plenty of time this year but now appears on the right track.

"He was sidelined with a weird issue," said Burke, without going into details. "We had to give him time off and he's come back well."

Loubet made just one start in the Kindergarten Series, and that came a week ago (November 11) as Yannick Gingras guided him wire-to-wire, easily holding off finalist Goldin Greatness in a 1:53 3/5 clocking.

"We've got David [Miller] driving him. He drove him in a baby race earlier this season and really liked him," said Burke. "With the post position I'm hoping for a mid-pack trip that he can close from."

While Loubet has but three starts, the Kindergarten final finds him up against not just horses with more experience but many that have been much faster. First on that list would be Gingras's choice in Save America (post six), a colt that has already won in 1:49 4/5 this year in the Metro Pace elimination and then finished a good second in the final for trainer Nancy Takter.

Burke raced Loubet's sire and dam Atsallrite Hanover and thinks the mare may finally have struck gold for him and his partners. "She never quite got there as a racehorse," Burke said of Loubet's dam. "She died after this horse was born. She really hadn't produced much until this colt. He was our best training down."

While Burke is hopeful Loubet will get a nice check on Saturday night, he was more than cautious about the competition and likely looking forward to a successful 3-year-old campaign.

"There's some horses that are probably more experienced than him and just as fast or maybe faster," said Burke.

The trainer said that Loubet is ineligible to the Governor's Cup as the stable had hoped to race him earlier in the season before issues sidetracked those plans.

In Italian, the full sister to Burke's champion mare, the soon-to-be retiring Atlanta, will hope for a good check in the Kindergarten final for juvenile trotting fillies (race five) as Burke again calls on David Miller to substitute for Yannick Gingras, who is committed to Mambacita (post six).

"She raced much better first-time Lasix," said Burke, referring to her third-place finish in last Saturday's (November 5) final Kindergarten preliminary where In Italian finished behind finalists Heart On Fire (post five) and Wild Jiggy S (post eight).

"David's (Miller) going to drive her, and he has a way of working out a trip for horses that should do her well," said Burke. "Second time Lasix is also a good angle."

In Italian was a $750,000 yearling buy at last year's Harrisburg auction, and thus far has won twice in nine starts for Burke this year.

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Jim Doherty Memorial champion Instagram Model returns to the site of her major triumph for trainer Annie Stoebe and landed post two for driver Scott Zeron.

"I was happy with her last race," said Stoebe, "We got money in the Breeders Crown, and you have to be happy with that. She really needed that race."

Without any Breeders Crown elimination race, Instagram Model hadn't had a competitive race for 35 days between her victory in the Reynolds at Tioga Downs on September 23 and the Crown finale at Woodbine Mohawk Park on October 28, and was a decent fifth behind Special Way.

Zeron had been Instagram Model's driver before an injury sidelined him and forced him to miss the Doherty. The Chapter Seven-sired Instagram Model was a $350,000 purchase and is out of a sister to Breeders Crown winner King Of The North.

Trainer Ake Svanstedt qualified three for the Kindergarten final but lacked any luck in the post draw as Emira Mil It (post seven), Wild Jiggy S (post eight) and Bond (post 10) all drew to the outside of the field. On a positive note is the performance of Bond, the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champion who returned to action last Saturday (November 5) with a stellar 1:54 Kindergarten score, trotting a final quarter in 26 4/5 to complete the mile.

A pair of red-hot 2-year-old colts meet in the $268,180 (race eight) Kindergarten final for colt and gelding trotters, with Volume Eight (post seven) on a three-race stakes winning streak and Southwind Admiral (post 10) a winner in seven of nine starts this year, meeting for the first time.

Charleston (post one) is the likely favorite in the $238,810 Kindergarten final (race 10) for 2-year-old pacing fillies. The Downbytheseaside-sired filly has been first or second in all nine starts this year with six wins. She most recently finished second in the Breeders Crown final (October 28).

The 14-race Kindergarten card kicks off at the usual 6:20 p.m. start time, but fans and friends of longtime Meadowlands on-air personality Dave Brower are invited to show up at 5:30 to honor his memory.