Meadowlands: Tritton barn brings out handful for Saturday card

Trainer Shane Tritton will send out five horses this Saturday night at the Meadowlands, hoping to ease his stable into the new year while at the same time getting the necessary racing experience.

"They've been off for a bit," said Tritton of the group that have missed three weeks or more heading into this weekend's races.

Tritton had some good draws and bad ones on Saturday, with Bookem Danno, a lightly-raced maiden drawing the rail in the first race on the card. Bookem Danno has drawn the rail in all four of his lifetime starts here at the Meadowlands, and that's not exactly been to his advantage thus far.

"He's a maiden drawing in with non-winners," said Tritton, recognizing the luck has not helped Bookem Danno win a race yet. "He's got plenty of ability, but he got taken out of the race badly last time."

A 4-year-old gelding by Huntsville, Bookem Danno paced in 1:51 3/5 in his first career start in December at the Meadowlands and faces a solid field in the $15,500 non-winners of 2 class that may keep him a maiden for just a little longer.

"He needs to get dragged into the race, but I think he's a [1]:50 pacer," said Tritton.

Nandolo N has been the most consistent of all the horses Tritton has had since arriving in North America. The now 11-year-old son of Betterthancheddar has maintained his edge while racing at the top level over the last four years.

"I don't know if there are that many horses racing that have raced first-up as many times as he has," said Tritton, paying homage to the warrior Nandolo N has been, whether racing at the Meadowlands or Yonkers. "I put him in the series at the end of the year at Yonkers for a lark, and then he went out and actually won a leg and made it to the final."

Nandolo N's last start came in that $250,000 MGM Grand Prix Series final at Yonkers on December 16, and thus the trainer wasn't overly optimistic about Saturday's return.

"He's been off for a while, but he's racing at a lower level than he has in quite some time," said Tritton.

Nandolo N drew post two in Saturday's ninth race, a non-winners of $12,500 in last four starts event with a $17,500 purse. Tritton thinks he fits well with this group but doesn't think he can beat one horse.

"My dad's (Peter Tritton) horse is a real nice one," said Tritton of Sherlock N (post five). "That horse was one of the best 3-year-olds in Australia and New Zealand."

That was a few years ago, with the 6-year-old Sherlock N having raced just once since October 2023 prior to Saturday's contest. Sherlock N qualified in 1:52 4/5 last Saturday (January 18) with a 25 4/5 final quarter.

Tritton believes his best chance of victory on Saturday will likely come from Muscle Factory A in race 13. Like Nandolo N, Muscle Factory A is a horse that joined Tritton's stable shortly after his move to North America.

"I had him as a 2-year-old in Australia," said Tritton of the 10-year-old son of Roll With Joe.

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Muscle Factory A has not raced since December 14 and has been riddled with outside draws.

"He's had zero luck and has been racing great," said Tritton of Muscle Factory A, who landed post six against non-winners of $3,000 last four company.

Both Springsteen and Hypebeast drew post 10 in races four and 12, respectively, for the Tritton stable, and the feeling is that though both come into the race ready for action the draw is likely to make things difficult.

With 24 horses in training, Tritton's philosophy racing in North America has evolved over time while his patience has been his greatest asset. It's A Me Mario is perhaps the best example of the benefits of giving a horse time to mature.

"I decided that we weren't going to push him hard as a 4-year-old," said Tritton. "He did end up racing in the Open a lot and won 11 races at Yonkers, which is pretty good considering he's not the kind of horse that can dominate others." It's A Me Mario has gotten better each year under Tritton's care, with his 4-year-old season proving his best to date with $233K banked.

"We'll stake him a little more this season and start early in the Borgata," said Tritton of It's A Me Mario, a son of American Ideal.

Another potential top-class horse Tritton is hoping to see bounce back in 2025 is Chimichurri N.

"He finished third behind Ruthless Hanover in a [1]:47 mile behind Mirage Hanover right before that one became the best 3-year-old," said Tritton. "He suffered a P1 fracture and may have raced a couple of times with it."

Chimichurri N is on the comeback trail and Tritton is happy with his progress thus far.

Tritton has looked for younger horses to fill out his stable and is more cautious than ever when it comes to importing horses. "I'm much more selective now than I was when I first came over," said Tritton, recognizing from experience that not all horses make a favorable transition to racing in North America. There has been a shift with the stable looking for younger horses to take advantage of the money for 2 and 3-year-olds in stakes races.

"I've got a very nice 3-year-old pacing filly that raced just once last year," said Tritton, referring to All Hail The Queen. "She finished fourth in her only race, a New York Sire Stakes at Monticello, and she actually suffered two fractures in the race."

The filly by Courtly Choice had won a pair of qualifiers at Monticello prior to that July 1 debut, including a 24-length romp in 1:57 2/5.