Stakes season begins at the Meadowlands on Saturday night as sophomore pacers will take the stage in divisions of the Home Grown, an event for horses either sired or bred in New Jersey. Trainer Noel Daley has a pair of potentially-exceptional sophomores that made debuts in spectacular fashion last Saturday (April 19). Worklifebalance and Smooth Dream were at opposite ends of the betting spectrum when they made their initial start for Daley in overnight events at the Meadowlands. Worklifebalance came from the back of the pack to score in 1:50 4/5 for driver Andy McCarthy as a 26-1 outsider. Smooth Dream paced to an impressive 1:50 1/5 mile in his debut for Daley and went off at 3-5 odds, as many bettors were witness to a wickedly-inspiring qualifying mile a week earlier. "They were going pretty fast that night," said Daley in explaining the fast times. "If you saw Smooth Dream in the qualifier, you knew what kind of handful he was." The Catttlewash-sired gelding, a half-brother to Desperate Man, only joined Daley's stable recently. "I knew they thought highly of him. He's still a work in progress but he has high speed," said Daley. Smooth Dream had shown promise in just a handful of starts as a 2-year-old but had a bone chip removed following his final start of 2024 (August 22 in the New Jersey Sire Stakes final). Following the April 12 qualifier Daley had to make some equipment changes. "We didn't have earplugs in the qualifier," Daley said about one of the adjustments made that also included an adding a headpole. Smooth Dream was much smoother in his debut, with driver Todd McCarthy getting him away cleanly and relaxed enough to let a horse pass in a comfortable second quarter. Smooth Dream paced home effortlessly with a 25 4/5 final quarter for just his first career win in four lifetime starts. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter For Daley, the prep mile was perfect given the level of competition expected in the coming weeks as the Home Grown will be followed by the New Jersey Sire Stakes that should be quite competitive. On Saturday, Smooth Dream starts from post five (race eight) but faces horses with stakes success, including Manolete (post six), another son of Cattlewash that was first or second in 10 of his 12 starts as a freshman for trainer Bruce Saunders. Manolete held his own racing with older horses in his sophomore debut on April 19 at the Meadowlands. McCusker, the upset winner in last year's New Jersey Sire Stakes final, has prepped for his debut in Florida with a pair of solid qualifiers at Spring Garden Ranch for trainer George Ducharme. One of six sons of Cattlewash in this the lone $50,000 Home Grown division for males, McCusker drew post four. Daley's Worklifebalance (post three) faces a solid group of five in one of two divisions of the Home Grown for sophomore filly pacers carded as race six of 14 on the Meadowlands Saturday program. "She qualified well," said Daley. "Andy (McCarthy) just kept her quiet." A winner of $70K as a freshman, Worklifebalance rallied strongly to capture her season's debut in 1:50 4/5, and Daley hopes she can build off that performance. On Saturday, Worklifebalance meets a far more qualified level of talent and will need to step up her game to compete. Rodeo Drive Deo (post four) has qualified back on a pair of occasions for trainer Ron Burke and looks well-prepared to tackle the best on the Grand Circuit. Bred in New Jersey by Deo Volente Farms, the daughter of Captaintreacherous finished third in last year's Breeders Crown despite starting from post 10. With four wins in 11 starts, Rodeo Drive Deo earned over $393K. Reckless Abandon (post six) makes her sophomore debut in this division following a juvenile season where she won three of her six starts, good enough for a six-figure bankroll. Brett Pelling trains the daughter of Cattlewash. The first Home Grown division for 3-year-old pacing fillies goes as race two on the card with Breeders Crown finalist Gigglingonthebeach (post one) making her sophomore debut against just four fillies in the $30,000 contest. Daley has 40 2-year-olds in training and is gearing up Captain Albano for his 4-year-old campaign. "He's coming back well," said Daley. "I'm probably going to skip the Graduate leg in Canada with him. I'm looking to have him qualified and hopefully his first race will be in the invite at Harrah's Philadelphia." That Invitational, called the Joe Auger Memorial, is slated for May 25.