Meadowlands: New Jersey Sire Stakes champions crowned

Beltassima and Really Fast pulled upsets in winning their respective $200,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes finals for 3-year-old trotters on a soggy Friday night at the Meadowlands. Sophomore pacers faced off in a pair of $100,000 non-wagering finals of their own, with Neverendingproject and Fika Time getting the victories.

Sent off at 13-1 from post ten in the filly flight, Beltassima and driver Andrew McCarthy left quickly and took the lead away from Wet My Whistle (Yannick Gingras) after the 27 3/5 opening quarter. Wet My Whistle then re-moved to the point, and she would go on to hit the half in 56 seconds and the three-quarters in 1:25 3/5 and didn't face any pressure on the outside as a first-over Awesome Trix (Bob McClure) stalled out alongside Beltassima prior to three-quarters.

Wet My Whistle continued to show the way through the stretch, but McCarthy had Beltassima closing in after angling out, and she forged her way back into command inside the final eighth. From there, Beltassima dug in and was able to fight off Avenir (Joe Bongiorno), who charged home strongly after a second-over trip, to score by a neck in 1:54 1/5. Wet My Whistle had to settle for third.

"I figured it would be tough from out there, but I figured I'd leave and take a spot somewhere," said McCarthy, "but when I saw that there weren't a lot of horses leaving, I went on with it. I just went into it thinking I'd figure it out as it went.

"I wasn't surprised [she won]. She's been terrific."

Tony Alagna trains Beltassima, a daughter of Trixton, for owner Crawford Farms Racing. This was her third career victory, and she has now earned $154,287. She paid $29.20 to win.

In the final for the colts and geldings, Really Fast and Gingras, dispatched at odds of 6-1, motored to the top from post five and chopped out the opening quarter in 27 4/5 over the sloppy going. Cuatro De Julio (Lucas Wallin) then attacked out of the third spot, and he became the new leader before the 55 4/5 half went on the board. The complexion of the race then changed dramatically on the far turn as 4-5 favorite Lindysmusclemania (Dexter Dunn) couldn't advance from first-over and then broke stride, leaving Cuatro De Julio on a clear lead at the 1:24 2/5 three-quarters.

Through the stretch Cuatro De Julio remained the one they had to catch, but Really Fast had dead-aim at him after tipping out, and Really Fast, who sold for $700,000 at the 2019 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, got up late in the going to tally by a neck in 1:52 2/5. Cuatro De Julio was a good second, and Sonofamistery (Brian Sears) advanced from sixth to third in the last quarter.

Really Fast, who didn't race as a 2-year-old, is trained by Nancy Takter for owners Brixton Medical Inc., Hatfield Stables, Al Libfeld, and Marvin and Lynn Katz. Really Fast has a record of 3-1-0 from four career appearances, and he has now pocketed $121,750. He returned $15.20 to win.

"To race like that in the pouring rain," said Takter, "it was a good performance. I was really happy with my horse."

After the first race on the pari-mutuel card, Neverendingproject (Russell Foster) and Anna Jeans (Jason Thompson) faced off in the $100,000 final for pacing fillies. Anna Jeans led through fractions of 29 2/5, 1:00, and 1:31, but Neverendingproject came to the outside prior to three-quarters and out-kicked the pace-setter in the lane to win by three-quarters of a length in 2:01 1/5.

The victorious daughter of Great Vintage is owned and trained by Eric Foster. She posted her second victory from six starts, and she boosted her bankroll to $85,000.

Fika Time (Tim Tetrick), who was the New Jersey Sire Stakes winner at the Meadowlands last year as a rookie, also scored tonight in the colt and gelding pace, stepping off panels of 27 4/5, 58 4/5, and 1:28 2/5 on his way to a five length tally in 1:56 2/5. Neyreit (Harry Landy) and Beda Too Quik (Trae Porter) were second and third, respectively.

Chase Vandervort bred, owns, and trains Fika Time, a gelding by Sunfire Blue Chip. Fika Time is now a six-time winner from seven tries, and he has put away $181,200.

--quotes courtesy of the Meadowlands--