For most trainers, navigating the winter in the Northeast is but a routine. Though 2021 has produced perhaps a bit more snow and colder temperatures, those that condition Standardbreds have dealt with the elements and moved on. Trainer Shane Tritton, who along with his wife, Lauren, arrived with their stable in 2020, are not just new to the country but to New York winters as well. "The coldest it gets in Australia is around 32 Fahrenheit," Shane Tritton said. "I don't know how trainers do it." The "it" Tritton was referring to was training and traveling to and from racetracks in the area, something that has hardly been routine for him. "Getting back from the track the other night, we were going like eight miles an hour over black ice," Tritton said. "I stopped to fill up and fell." Fortunately for Tritton and his stable, obstacles have come quite regularly since their arrival, with COVID-19 initially suspending racing and keeping horses sidelined and now winter settling in. Neither has dampened their spirits as they have five horses ready for action this weekend at the Meadowlands and a host of others pointing towards the lucrative Blue Chip Matchmaker and Borgata Pacing Series races at Yonkers in March. On Friday it will be a late night for the stable at the Meadowlands with Australian import Sporty Spook (post eight) going in the 13th and final race for Tritton. "I claimed him because he was a really nice horse Down Under, and I thought he would do," said Tritton. Sporty Spook has only raced once since the January 16 claim for $12,500, and he's entered for a $7,500 tag on Friday. "Dexter (Dunn) drove him and suggested we make a few changes. I think with the drop in class and some changes he'll be better," said Tritton. The stable's fortune should improve markedly on Saturday with four in the box. Unfortunately for Tritton, two of his horses landed in the same race, with Western Fame (post five) and New Zealand-bred Flaming Flutter (post seven) facing seven others in the non-winners of $11,500 class carded as race six. "Over the last month Western Fame has really gotten a lot better," said Tritton. "I'd been telling the drivers to put him on the front-end, but they would leave and then give up the lead. I gave Jordan (Stratton) marching orders to go down the road last week." Those orders played out perfectly as the $1.8 million winner showed some of that vintage form he had displayed just a few years back with a wire-to-wire 1:51 1/5 mile at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. Western Fame returns to the big track but still remains at a comfortable class level. Flaming Flutter is a 12-year-old stable favorite that posted a 1:49 1/5 record at the Meadowlands last year and returns to the track for the first time in 2021. "He's a little better on the big track, but it was a case of trying to get him into a class," said Tritton, who suggested that others in his stable fit the same class at Yonkers. Gods Spirit (post nine), another Kiwi import, has been lightly raced since arriving on these shores but clearly has a big engine. "I think he may have been the fastest horse I brought here," said Tritton. "I thought he would be the kind of horse that might go in (1):47 and change. He's had trouble getting acclimated." After posting a 1:50 1/5 mile last June at the Meadowlands, Gods Spirit either drew poorly or was scratched due to sickness. He races on Saturday following a huge 26 second final quarter and a third-place finish at the same level he'll face in Saturday's eighth race. While the Trittons arrived with just their own stock last year, many owners have seen what they can do and supported them. "I'd say we've got about 15 right now," said Tritton of the stock he's been given locally. "It's been a mixed bag, some have worked in our program and others haven't." One horse that Tritton believes is on the verge of improvement is Cool Clifford, a 5-year-old that had been making breaks. Cool Clifford was wearing trotting hopples when he arrived in Tritton's stable in January, but they are gone now. "I kind of kept the same equipment on him at the beginning but decided to make a few changes," said Tritton. The changes appear to be helping as Cool Clifford showed trot at both ends of his mile last week, impressing pilot Andrew McCarthy according to the trainer. Cool Clifford, a son of Kadabra, starts from post three in Saturday's $12,500 12th race conditioned event for trotters. Tritton has nominated a solid group for the coming Blue Chip Matchmaker and Borgata Pacing Series. On the mares side Lady Dela Renta, My Ruebe Star, and Maczaffair are being pointed for the Matchmaker. Tritton put four in the Borgata (nee Levy), including the 2018 final winner Western Fame. He will be joined by Bronx Seelster, Pat Stanley, and Yayas Hot Spot.