Meadowlands: Hambletonian hopeful Inexpressable looks to make noise

It has been 10 years since Marion Marauder became the last horse to capture the Trotting Triple Crown. This weekend at the Meadowlands, Inexpressable will take his first step toward trying to become the next.

Inexpressable, who won the Trotting Triple Crown's first jewel - the MGM Yonkers Trot - on June 26, this Saturday (Aug. 1) competes in the first of two $100,175 eliminations of the Grade 1 Winning Key Farm Hambletonian Stakes, for 3-year-old trotters, at the Big M. The Hambletonian is the Crown's second jewel, followed by the Kentucky Futurity.

Nine horses have won the Trotting Triple Crown since its inception in 1955.

Inexpressable will start his elimination from post three in a field of nine, with Scott Zeron, who incidentally was the driver of Marion Marauder, in the sulky. He is 9-2 on the morning line, the fourth choice behind 2025 Dan Patch Award winner Apex (5-2, post seven, driver Dexter Dunn, trainer Marcus Melander), stablemate American Power (7-2, post eight, James MacDonald, Melander) and Endurance (4-1, post nine, Andrew McCarthy, Chris Beaver).

The top five finishers from each elimination will return for the $1 million Hambletonian final on Aug. 8 at the Meadowlands. Elimination winners will draw for post positions one through six in the final. All other finalists will be placed in an open draw for the remaining post positions. The draws for the finals of both the Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks will be conducted on Tuesday (Aug. 4) during a luncheon from 2-5 p.m. (EDT) at The Chateau Grande in East Brunswick, N.J.

"That's what we'll be working for," said trainer Lucas Wallin, who owns Inexpressable with Germany's Karin Walter-Mommert, about the Trotting Triple Crown. "I'm very happy with him. Obviously, winning the Yonkers Trot was fantastic. Right now, he's probably not in the top three horses in the country out of the 3-year-olds, but I really like how he's heading and how he is improving. I'm excited to see him in the elimination. That will be fun."

Inexpressable, a son of Walner-Ineffable, was purchased for $325,000 at the 2024 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. His mom is a half-sister to Venerable, a three-time Grade 1 winner who received Dan Patch and O'Brien Awards in 2021, and to Grand Circuit winner Crucial, the dam of a 2024 Dan Patch and O'Brien honoree Maryland.

Last year, Inexpressable hit the board in four of five races, winning two, including the $100,000 Kentucky Commonwealth Series final for 2-year-old male trotters in 1:53 at Lexington's Red Mile. He raced only once more, finishing third in a division of the International Stallion Stakes (G3), where he was timed in 1:52 1/5.

"We raced him once during the Grand Circuit at Lexington, and he was just maybe a little short of the best ones," Wallin said. "It's me and an owner from overseas, and she's very patient, so we gave him those (five) starts and decided to turn him out. He showed me enough to really look forward to this season.

"He's a big, beautiful colt, so I think he's going to just get better and better. He covers a lot of ground and he's strong. And he's got a good attitude; that's probably what I like about him most."

Wallin brought back Inexpressable slowly, with the colt making a break in his first start in May before winning a conditioned race at Harrah's Philadelphia on June 4 and using a big rally to capture the Yonkers Trot at the distance of 1 1/4 miles three weeks later at MGM Yonkers Raceway.

In his only other race this year, he finished third behind Apex and American Power in a division of the Stanley Dancer Memorial (G3) on July 11 at the Meadowlands, where the field reached three-quarters in a pedestrian 1:26. Inexpressable trotted his last quarter in 25 4/5, second-best in the race, but could not make up enough ground on the leaders, who were only one-fifth of a second slower coming home.

"He couldn't really come home any faster than he did," Wallin said. "That was incredibly slow fractions there. I don't think that will happen this time, hopefully. But he showed that he's fast enough. I think everything looks good."

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Heading to Saturday's elimination, Inexpressable is No. 10 in Meadowlands announcer/analyst Ken Warkentin's Road to the Winning Key Farm Hambletonian rankings. Apex is No. 1, American Power is No. 2, and Endurance is No. 5.

"Apex, Endurance, American Power are the three, but I think it's a wide open race," Wallin said. "It's not like we're only going to talk about two horses. There are a lot of horses that could win. It's racing. If (Inexpressable) is good enough, he'll make the final."

For his career, Inexpressable has earned $233,270, with seven top-three finishes in nine races.

In the second Hambletonian elimination, Big Ranger, Ohio's 2025 Horse of the Year, is the 3-1 morning-line favorite.

The Meadowlands will also host three eliminations of the Grade 1 Hambletonian Oaks, for 3-year-old filly trotters.

Racing begins at 6:20 p.m. (EDT) Saturday at the Meadowlands.

Following are the fields for the Hambletonian eliminations:

Hambletonian Elimination 1 - Race 7

PP - Horse - Driver - Trainer - Morning Line

1 - Practical Man - Jordan Stratton - Tom Fanning - 12-1

2 - Captain Naughty - Jason Bartlett - Per Engblom - 12-1

3 - Inexpressable - Scott Zeron - Lucas Wallin - 9-2

4 - Highland Destiny - Tim Tetrick - Nancy Takter - 15-1

5 - Ardonne - Åke Svanstedt - Åke Svanstedt - 15-1

6 - AI - Yannick Gingras - Ron Burke - 8-1

7 - Apex - Dexter Dunn - Marcus Melander - 5-2

8 - American Power - James MacDonald - Marcus Melander - 7-2

9 - Endurance - Andrew McCarthy - Chris Beaver - 4-1

Hambletonian Elimination 2 - Race 9

PP - Horse - Driver - Trainer - Morning Line

1 - It Could Be Worse - Scott Zeron - Linda Toscano - 4-1

2 - Minoan - Andrew McCarthy - Noel Daley - 10-1

3 - Spencer Hanover - Jason Bartlett - Marcus Melander - 10-1

4 - Kingmen - James MacDonald - Per Engblom - 20-1

5 - Nix Nacken - Dexter Dunn - Marcus Melander - 5-1

6 - Requiem - Ronnie Wrenn Jr. - Matt Burkholder - 12-1

7 - Magic Punk - Yannick Gingras - Åke Svanstedt - 8-1

8 - Big Ranger - Tim Tetrick - Anette Lorentzon - 3-1

9 - Diabolic Hill - Todd McCarthy - Annie Stoebe - 7-2

10 - Wolfpack Crown - Troy Beyer - Victoria Stratton - 20-1