Meadowlands: Zanatta shines in Three Diamonds final

Zanatta showed her win in last week's Three Diamonds elimination was no fluke as she powered to a 1:50 1/5 victory from first-up in the $428,400 final for rookie pacing fillies on Saturday night at the Meadowlands.

Driven by Dan Dube, Zanatta left some from post two but watched as Vivians Dream (Brian Sears), Bellisima Hanover (Todd McCarthy), and heavy favorite Strong Poison (Yannick Gingras) all had a turn on the top through opening-half fractions of 26 2/5 and 54 4/5. Dube then sent Zanatta on an uncovered attack on the final bend and forged her way by Strong Poison on the outside prior to the 1:22 2/5 three-quarters.

There was no catching Zanatta through the lane and to the wire after she put away Strong Poison for good, as the 5-1 shot kept the closers at bay to win by about a length and a half. Vivians Dream got up for second, followed by Cultured (Scott Zeron), Late For Dinner (Corey Callahan), and Diamondsnpearls (Dexter Dunn).

"She was so good, and she was feeling strong. I wanted to sit second or third, but I ended up in fourth. At that point you have to take a shot," remarked Dube. "She did everything well. Sometimes you've got to be in the right place at the right time."

Jenn Bongiorno trains Zanatta, a daughter of Stay Hungry bred by AM Bloodstock Inc., for owner One Legend Stable. Zanatta, a $115,000 purchase at last year's Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, has three wins, four seconds, and a third from 12 tries, and she has now pocketed $400,927. She paid $13.40 to win.

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"I'm being 100 percent honest, she's been my favorite the whole time. We had ten babies last year, and Michael [owner Michael Cote Gagnon] will tell you, I always touted her as my favorite," offered Bongiorno. "She got a little warm during the baby races, so it's been a process getting her to calm down and just kind of understand what we're looking for her to do. She has and I'm really proud of her that she put it all together."

Gagnon was very pleased to have won this race after his charge was stuck with the ten-hole in the Breeders Crown final.

"It's something very special when you find that baby and you see them developing early in their career. We weren't lucky in the Breeders Crown with post ten, but Jenn actually convinced me to keep her on the track for the Three Diamonds. She was right. It's such an incredible moment," he remarked.