Meadowlands: Jimmy Freight preps for Borgata in Saturday feature

It's a rarity to see a $45,000 featured pacing event at the Meadowlands on the first Saturday in March. Fortunately, on Tuesday 10 horses were entered and a handicap was created to make the event fair enough for the combatants, nine of whom will try to upset Jimmy Freight in his second start of the year.

The 8-year-old Jimmy Freight starts from post 10 in Saturday's tenth race feature and trainer Brett Pelling is happy, perhaps not with the post but most definitely the race.

"I wanted to keep him on the big track," said Pelling. "It's a handicap but I'm glad the race filled."

In his seasonal debut two weeks ago, Jimmy Freight came first-up with driver Scott Zeron and managed to squeak out a short victory over pace-setter Carbine in a 1:50 clocking.

"He's such a smart horse," Pelling said. "I spoke to Dexter [who drove Carbine that night] at the Awards banquet, and he thought he had Jimmy Freight put away in the stretch." The veteran proved too tough in his debut, and Pelling is hopeful that's a positive sign moving forward.

"He's going into the Borgata [at Yonkers Raceway] in a couple of weeks, and this should be a good prep for that," Pelling said.

As for the $45,000 purse Jimmy Freight will race for on Saturday, the trainer was more than pleasantly surprised. "I had no idea whether the race would fill or what the purse was going to be when I entered him. It's great."

Scott Zeron will again pilot Jimmy Freight, who sports a career bankroll in excess of $1.6 million, a number more than a million ahead of Nandolo N (post six), the second-highest earner in the field. Nandolo N returns to the big track for trainer Shane Tritton after skipping last Monday's (February 27) Yonkers' feature due to weather. The 9-year-old son of Betterthancheddar took a career mark of 1:48 3/5 on January 22's Sunday afternoon Meadowlands program.

Captain Crusader A (post five) is making his third Meadowlands start after arriving from Ohio for trainer Jeff Cullipher. In his first two outings he sprinted home in sub 26 territory without earning a win. On February 18 he fell just a neck shy of Jimmy Freight while third in a wicked sprint to the wire.

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Saturday's ninth race finds Pelling with the 4-year-old BB Lucky Boy making his seasonal debut after a pair of qualifiers that were good but not great.

"I wasn't sure what to make of his last qualifier [February 18]," said Pelling of the second-place finish in a 1:53 1/5 mile. "Then the horse that beat him came back and won his first start, so maybe it was pretty good."

The return winner was Shadow Cat (post two), who is back after a 1:50 3/5 victory in his 2023 first outing last Saturday (February 25) and finds himself in the same field with BB Lucky Boy, who landed post five for driver Jordan Stratton.

"He was a bit of a wild horse when he came to me," said Pelling, who sent the horse to consecutive victories towards the tail end of 2022 at Yonkers before giving him the needed break. "He's trained back and been nice and calm."

Whether the more relaxed version of BB Lucky Boy will exhibit the same blistering speed he showed as a 3-year-old when he blew out a field in 1:49 1/5 at Pocono last October remains to be seen.

Saturday's field will certainly be a good barometer for Pelling to find out just where BB Lucky Boy will fit in the coming weeks, as it includes some classy veterans and a returning 4-year-old with ability. Bettor Memories (post three) and My Pal Joe (post four) have been Open types for years, with the former nearing the $1 million mark in career earnings while also searching for his 50th career win. My Pal Joe had a brutal journey last week, racing parked out the entire mile yet still finishing second.

The 4-year-old Soaring Now (post seven) makes his debut for trainer Noel Daley following a December purchase. The Indiana-sired son of JK Endofanera was a star on the Indiana Sires Stakes circuit a year ago, winning six of his 14 starts with a fastest win time of 1:48 1/5.

Pelling is looking forward to the Borgata Series (first leg at Yonkers on March 20) with Jimmy Freight and hoping to see some short fields in the process.

"I think the good thing for him is that he won't have to race against Tattoo Artist or Leonidas A in the preliminaries," Pelling said, as both horses share common ownership with Jimmy Freight's connections.

As for the likely Borgata Series competition, Pelling has a ton of respect for the recent Down Under arrival Lochinvar Art A. "He's a top-class horse," Pelling said, suggesting the horse was a more dominant force in his prime than Leonidas A was when he came to the States.