Meadowlands: Fashion Schooner, Pretender tally in NJ Classic finals

Fashion Schooner, the Hambletonian Oaks champion, added another significant win to resume on Friday night at the Meadowlands by winning the $275,000 New Jersey Classic A level final for 3-year-old filly trotters. Pretender captured the companion event for sophomore colts and geldings.

Driven by Tim Tetrick, Fashion Schooner moved from fourth to first after the 27 3/5 opening quarter and then maintained command through a 56 second half and a 1:23 3/5 three-quarters. Fashion Schooner continued to show the way through the stretch, and although Jiggy Jog S (Dexter Dunn) tipped out of third and came with a big rally, it wasn't enough as Fashion Schooner reached the wire a neck to the good in 1:50 2/5. Raised By Lindy (Yannick Gingras) came in third.

"With her I try to have a clear path," said Tetrick. "Once I get her started, she kind of has a mind of her own and wants to get to where she wants to be.

"That horse of Ake's [Jiggy Jog S] is a really good filly, but we got the jump on them a little bit. My filly raced great, and we got to the wire first. She kept digging, it's just that the other horse raced really well. My horse has been pretty impressive all year long. It's just a matter of whether she can keep her mind straight. Jim [Campbell] and the connections have done a great job with her."

Campbell trains Fashion Schooner, a daughter of Walner, for owner/breeder Fashion Farms LLC. This was her seventh win from 13 career starts, and she has now pocketed $620,962. She paid $2.40 to win as the 1-5 favorite.

In the final for colts and geldings, Pretender (Andy McCarthy) was positioned second behind King Of The North (Mark MacDonald) through fractions of 26 3/5, 56 1/5, and 1:25, but had moved off the pylons before three-quarters. Pretender went by King Of The North in the stretch and held sway over a gaining Temporal Hanover (Brian Sears) to scored by three-quarters of a length in 1:51 3/5. King Of The North had to settle for third.

Pretender, a Muscle Hill colt, is trained by Nancy Takter for co-owners/breeders John Fielding, Herb Liverman, Joyce McClelland, and co-owner Caviart Farms. Pretender has a record of 5-3-6 from 24 tries, pushed his bankroll well over the $500,000 mark, and returned $11.40 to win as the 4-1 second choice.

"He's not a very big horse," said Takter. "But he has a very big heart.

"I thought it was going to work out that way. I thought Mark (MacDonald, driving King Of The North) would be aggressive. It was just a matter of Pretender out-sprinting the horse who made the front. Andy (McCarthy) drove him perfectly. Pretender will head to Canada for the (Sept. 24) Canadian Trotting Classic, and, assuming he stays well, then the (Oct. 9) Kentucky Futurity and the (Oct. 29) Breeders Crown. He's been racing super all year and hopefully he can add to that and get some more accolades."

Peyton Hanover [1:52], a Muscle Hill filly bred by Hanover Shoe Farms, and Abruzzo [1:53], a Walner colt bred by Black Horse Racing, won the $100,000 New Jersey Classic B level finals for 3-year-old filly trotters and male trotters, respectively.

Brian Sears drove Peyton Hanover, who rallied from third-over and paid $27.60 to win, for trainer Marcus Melander and owners Jeff Snyder and Four Friends Racing Stable LLC., and Abruzzo, who dug in on the front-end for his victory and returned $10.60 to win, had Marcus Miller in the bike for trainer/co-owner Erv Miller and co-owner John Koliopoulos.

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Tetrick and Campbell also teamed up to win the lone $40,000 division of the fifth leg of the Miss Versatility Series for mare trotters with Next Level Stuff, who led all the way and scored over Bella Bellini (Dunn) and When Dovescry (David Miller) in 1:50 4/5. Owned by breeder Runthetable Stables, Next Level Stuff made her 19th trip to the winner's circle and has now pocketed $836,960. She paid $15.00 to win.

Five New Jersey Classic eliminations for B level 2-year-olds also took place during the program. Todd McCarthy drove Lazarus-sired filly Alexa's Fantasy [1:53 1/5] and Tactical Landing colt Southwind Admiral [1:55 1/5] to wins in their events. Alexa's Fantasy is trained by Aaron Lambert for co-owner/breeder Jeff Snyder and co-owner Michael Snyder, and Southwind Admiral, bred by Southwind Farms, is co-owned by trainer Ron Coyne Jr. in partnership with Blair Corbeil, Richard Carney, and Farrell Carney.

Dyladmar, a Muscle Hill colt bred by Michael Pozefsky, won another colt and gelding trot elimination in 1:55 4/5 for Andy McCarthy, Paula Wellwood, and Dreamville Stable, while Bella Ciao [1:55 2/5] and Gotta Get Crackin [1:56 3/5] won the pair of eliminations for filly trotters. Joe Bongiorno drove Bella Ciao, a daughter of Muscle Hill bred by Kjell Andersen, for trainer Jenn Bongiorno and owner One Legend Stable Inc., while David Miller steered Gotta Get Crackin, a Walner filly bred by Tim Klemencic, for trainer Jessica Fallon and owner Frugal Not Cheap Stable.

Saturday night's card at the Meadowlands will include a $21,218 Pick 6 carryover.

--quotes courtesy of the Meadowlands--