Meadowlands: Fanning quartet find good spots for Saturday action

Trainer Tom Fanning has a solid stable of 26 these days with five 2-year-olds preparing to race later this year. On Saturday night Fanning sends out four of his veteran performers in separate races on the 14-race program at the Meadowlands.

Kicking off the festivities for the Fanning four will be Give Us Awave A, a not-so-recent import that Fanning is hoping finally gets the ball rolling.

"He was supposed to be racing in January," said Fanning, noticeably disappointed in where the 6-year-old son of Mach Three has been thus far. "We had setbacks with a quarter crack and he had the thumps."

More recently Give Us Awave A was scratched due to sickness in February at Freehold. "I think he's back on track now," stated Fanning.

Give Us Awave A drew post six in Saturday's fourth race, a non-winners of $3,000 last five contest that Fanning believes is well within the gelding's capability.

"He should do really well in there," Fanning said.

Give Us Awave A returned after a four-week absence in an overnight race at Freehold last Saturday (March 4) and had little chance coming from the back after drawing post eight. Still, his trainer was encouraged by the effort to see him return to action at the Meadowlands this week.

"I think he's a horse that needs to race every week," Fanning said, noting that this will be the first time the horse has raced consecutive weeks since his arrival.

If there has been one staple to the Fanning stable over the years, it's the fact that he has extended the racing career of a solid group of trotters and seen his owners reap the benefits of the management. The now-7-year-old No Drama Please has been a consistent part of the stable for years and returns from the rail with driver Dexter Dunn in Saturday's fifth race. It's a non-winners of $10,500 last five conditioned affair, and Fanning is happy how No Drama Please is entering the race.

"I thought he qualified really well," said Fanning of the effort last Saturday (March 4) over the Meadowlands surface where he finished a solid third in a 1:55 4/5 clocking.

"It's a bit of a tough non-winners of $10,500," relayed Fanning, given that seven of the 10 horses in the field have earnings in excess of that amount in their last five starts and yet find a way into the field through additional conditions. Nonetheless, the capable No Drama Please could be a factor.

"I think he's going to have to work out a trip," said Fanning.

The recently-imported Harry Knows IR (post nine) makes his third start in North America, moving up slightly following a 1:54 1/5 victory last Saturday.

The 8-year-old Mississippi Storm surprised a few people last week, Fanning not among them, with his superb performance right off the bench. The gelded son of Cantab Hall smoked his final quarter in 26 4/5 after being a willing follower of the pace for seven-eighths of a mile.

"I think he surprised [driver] Jordan [Stratton] a bit," Fanning said.

A career earner of $801K, Mississippi Storm has been a staple in the Fanning stable since he was purchased as a 2-year-old by longtime owner Joseph E. Smith. "He paid $75,000 for him," said Fanning.

Mississippi Storm has earned six figures every year since the acquisition and has proven better with age, banking nearly $384K in the last two seasons.

Fanning says he doesn't do anything special with his trotters, but the longtime performance indicates he's doing something right.

"I just look for trotters that don't make breaks. Ones that can leave the gate and get around a half-mile track," said Fanning.

Mississippi Storm clearly does all three quite well.

Mississippi Storm landed post five in Saturday's $40,500 trotting feature at the Meadowlands, carded as race nine, and seems in good position in a race that was handicapped, leaving last week's winner Rich And Miserable (post nine) and runner-up Ahundreddollarbill (post eight) saddled with the outside draws.

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Paternity Suit A (post two) closes out Fanning's quartet in race 12, a non-winners of $5,000 last five conditioned event.

"He should be ok in there," said Fanning, who suggested when on his game Paternity Suit A is a notch above this level.

In addition to his 2-year-olds, Fanning is quite excited about the prospects of some 3-year-olds, most notably the $100,000 Harrisburg Mixed Auction purchase Captain Batboy, who was second last year in the Nassagaweya at Woodbine Mohawk Park behind Save America.

Another is the Stay Hungry gelding Fendi Hanover, who is on the comeback trail.

"I was very high on this horse last year," said Fanning. "I trained him back today [Wednesday] in 2:01 with a last quarter in 28 with me driving." The implication suggests there's a lot more in the tank.

The American Ideal-sired Southwind Sambucca has been working on his game over the offseason, with Fanning hoping to reverse a 2-year-old trend.

"He couldn't get around the half-mile tracks," said Fanning, noting that the rich New York Sire Stakes program was the objective. "We've been training him on the half and he's getting better."

The Saturday Meadowlands program kicks off with a 6:20 p.m. first post.