Meadowlands: Zanatta upsets in Three Diamonds elim

Zanatta, who hadn't raced since finishing sixth in the Breeders Crown final on October 28, was sharp off the bench in the single $20,000 Three Diamonds elimination for rookie pacing fillies on Saturday night at the Meadowlands, tallying in 1:52 at odds of 14-1.

With Dan Dube coming in to drive, Zanatta left quickly from post eight and yielded to sit in the pocket behind 6-5 favorite Cultured (Scott Zeron) after the 27 2/5 quarter. Cultured would continue on the engine through a half in 56 4/5 and the three-quarters in 1:25 1/5, with Vivians Dream (Brian Sears) offering only a mild first-over bid out of fifth on the final bend.

Cultured turned for home first, but Dube already had Zanatta off the pylons before they entered the lane, and she would surge past Cultured to take command. There was no catching Zanatta from there, as she went on to prevail by a length and three-quarters over Diamondsnpearls (Dexter Dunn). Strong Poison (Yannick Gingras) never saw the cones after floating out from post ten but overcame the wide journey to finish third.

Also making the final, where they will join bye-takers Belissima Hanover and Earthwindfire, were Vivians Dream, Hungry For Love (David Miller), Cultured, Late For Dinner, and Proud Mary.

► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter

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 two wins, four seconds, and a third from 11 tries, and she has now pocketed $186,727. She paid $31 to win.