Meadowlands: TVG farewell to a pair of great mares

Saturday night will mark an end to the racing careers of two brilliant mares. Trainer Nancy Takter has been fortunate to be associated with the likes of Kissin In The Sand and Manchego throughout their storied racing sagas. On Saturday, both are among the favorites to capture TVG Finals at The Meadowlands before separating themselves from a sulky for the final time and moving on to second careers.

What happens in the future to these soon-to-be broodmares is hard to know for certain, but what the pair have collectively brought to the racing world over the last four years is something worth taking a long look upon.

"I would have to say her race in the Lynch was the most memorable," said Takter, looking back at the epic performance of Kissin In The Sand at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono back in the summer of 2018. For those with short memories, Kissin In The Sand drew post nine on the outside of the Lynch field despite winning her elimination. "I spoke with Marvin (Katz,-co-owner) after she drew post nine and he said 'maybe we should scratch her'. I didn't think that was a good idea since the race was going for good money and we could still get second or third."

According to Takter, driver Scott Zeron downplayed the outside post in advance of the Lynch and suggested he could perhaps work out a trip for the daughter of Somebeachsomewhere despite the tough draw. The Lynch pitted Kissin In The Sand against her rival Youaremycandygirl, who had drawn post two for the race. As juveniles, Youaremycandygirl was the clear division leader but Kissin In The Sand came back as a 3-year-old and had obviously closed the gap between the two.

Inevitably, the trip Zeron worked out for Kissin In The Sand required the filly to remain parked on the outside for the entire mile distance, covering all turns an added distance away from the pylons. Making matters even worse was the lack of cover as Youaremycandygirl carved out torturous fractions of 26, 53 2/5 and 1:20 3/5 for the first three quarters of a mile. "At the three-quarters, I didn't expect to get a check," said Marvin Katz as he recalled the race vividly. "But she was so tough and went past Youaremycandygirl in the end." It was a match-race in the truest sense, with Kissin In The Sand's will to win the deciding factor.

It was an epic performance by Kissin In The Sand and she followed it up with victories in the Mistletoe Shalee as well as a 1:47 4/5 win at The Red Mile leading up to the sophomore Breeders Crown date, once again at Pocono.

The 2018 Breeders Crown for sophomore pacing fillies was contested over a sloppy track and would once again test the mettle of Kissin In The Sand. Scott Zeron would again drive her and start from the outside post nine in the battle for supremacy, and the race would look much like the Lynch with the exception of the final result. Youaremycandygirl and Kissin In The Sand were on near-even terms at the 25 4/5 opening quarter. The two battled through moderate middle-half fractions and once again Kissin In The Sand won the match-race with her rival. In the end, Percy Blue Chip, one of five fillies in the race trained by Ron Burke, edged past Kissin In The Sand for the victory.

The loss didn't sit well with owner Katz, who had obviously thought the gifted filly deserved to have a title on her resume. "We usually stop with our fillies after the 3-year-old season," said Katz, who has a lucrative broodmare band. "Nancy (Takter) convinced me that we should bring back Kissin In The Sand to race as a 4-year-old."

The trials and tribulations about Kissin In The Sand's 4-year-old season, where she was never quite able to succeed against a vintage crop of older mares, might have forced her into retirement prior to the 2020 season, but Katz deferred. As part owner of Tall Dark Stranger he was thinking ahead.

"I wanted her first foal to be by Tall Dark Stranger," said Katz. "I also wanted her to win a Breeders Crown." That second wish came true just a few weeks ago and though Katz couldn't be there to witness it in person, it still ranked high on his list of Kissin In The Sand's greatest performances. "That's a great group of mares that she's racing against," Katz said, knowing full well that beating last year's Horse of the Year Shartin N is never a given no matter what the circumstances. "Nancy's done such a great job with her and I couldn't have been happier," said Katz.

Manchego spent the first two years on the racetrack including an undefeated 2-year-old campaign with a dozen victories under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Jimmy Takter. His daughter Nancy took control in 2019 when Manchego was a 4-year-old and helped pave the way towards the daughter of Muscle Hill becoming a world champion.

"I would say that my most memorable race for Manchego was when she set the world record at Dayton," said Nancy Takter. Perhaps most surprising to Takter was the journey Manchego took just getting to Dayton. "We sent her up to race in the Maple Leaf and she freaked out on the trip and tore her leg up pretty good." Though Manchego would qualify for the Maple Leaf final, she did not perform up to expectations and Takter sent the mare to Ohio to try to regroup.

"She won an overnight at Scioto," said Takter, recalling the victory in early September of 2019. "Still going into the race at Dayton I kind of thought she was going to be a little short having not raced in three weeks."

To Takter's surprise Manchego proved anything but short, as driver Dexter Dunn put her on the lead with a 26 3/5 opening quarter in the Dayton Trotting Derby and Manchego, despite intense pressure, marched away from her rivals by nine lengths in a world record 1:50 1/5 effort.

In her next start, Manchego would take a career best 1:49 victory in the Allerage at the Red Mile.

Takter took a great deal of pride in Manchego notching both the 2019 and 2020 Breeders Crowns, with the former her first in the class. "You know, in spite of all of my dad's Breeders Crown victories he's never had one in the Open Mares category," Takter said.

Perhaps Manchego's best performance to date in 2020 came in the Spirit of Massachusetts at Plainridge Park in July when Dunn put her on the front in a still mind-numbing 25 2/5 opening quarter over the rock-hard five-eighths oval. That quarter, as well as the taxing fractions that followed, took the sting out of Atlanta on that afternoon and propelled Manchego to a 1:49 3/5 world-record performance.

"I have to think that no matter how long Plainridge exists that time will never be broken," said Takter.

The next chapter in the careers of these two brilliant mares is about to unfold. For Takter, who also saw her champion Tall Dark Stranger exit to Hanover Shoe Farms just a week ago, there was time to pause and reflect.

"In thinking of Tall Dark Stranger, we went to Lexington and bought him for $330,000 with the idea in mind that he would be the kind of horse he became. Winning the Metro at 2 and then coming back to win the North America Cup and Meadowlands Pace this year and retire to Hanover Shoe Farms is really what the mission was," Takter said. "As for the stable, I came back and told everyone that 2021 is going to be a rebuilding year. Teams that win the championship lose players to free agency all the time."

Replacing horses of the caliber of Kissin In The Sand and Manchego will take time, as both enjoyed brilliant four-year racing careers. We wish them and their connections the best of luck in their next endeavors.