Rebuff rolls to track record in Stanley Dancer

Saturday, July 16, 2022

In the second start of his sophomore campaign, freshman Breeders Crown champion Rebuff seized the lead up the backside and held firm on the point to complete a stakes-record 1:49.4 mile — which also equaled the track record for 3-year-old trotting colts — in the first of two $125,000 divisions of the Stanley Dancer Memorial at the Meadowlands on Saturday (July 16).

Off the 1-2 favorite, Rebuff floated off the wings to land in third as Pretender pushed toward the top to lead by a :27.1 first quarter. Temporal Hanover then angled off the cones up the backside and circled to the lead with Rebuff tracking his move approaching a :54.3 half.

Rebuff strode around the final turn to snag a minor breather as Periculum powered first-over to press the leader by three-quarters in 1:23. Periculum levelled off the turn while Rebuff accelerated for home, sprinting in :26.4 to hold off a late charge from Temporal Hanover by three-quarters of a length. Pretender gave pursuit at the inside for third and Periculum held fourth.

“We had a plan for him after the Breeders Crown, and everything has been working out perfect,” trainer Lucas Wallin said after the race. “[Tim and I] talked about it before the race, if we should try to get to the lead so he could be there before the big day.

“We’ve been very confident with him,” Wallin also said. “He actually lost a front shoe in the race. I don’t know where, but that’s even more impressive. We’re not surprised.”

A son of Muscle Hill, Rebuff has now won six races from 13 starts and banked $523,670 for owners Kjell Magne Andersen, Lucas Wallin and Pieter Delis. Tim Tetrick steered the colt, who paid $3.00 to win.

King Of The North had all his rivals at bay to his outside, but he drifted far enough off the pylons to leave a perfect seam for Slay to scoot through and score a 12-1 upset in the second Stanley Dancer division.

With Testing Testing breaking stride in tight quarters and impeding Letsdoit on the first turn, B A Superhero swept to the lead coming to the :27 first quarter as Branded By Lindy followed suit into the backside. Once Branded By Lindy landed on the lead, King Of The North then fired out of fourth to take over the lead before a :54.3 half and raced on a firm grip to the far turn.

Branded By Lindy edged off the pegs passing three-quarters in 1:23.4 and challenged King Of The North coming for home, but all the outside challengers stacked and gave even chase to the tempo-setter into the final sixteenth. However, Slay, who raced last among the six still on stride, veered by a tiring horse inside and darted through a gap to King Of The North’s inside to win by a widening [MARGIN] lengths in a lifetime best 1:51. King Of The North held second from Branded By Lindy while Looks Like Moni finished fourth.

“He’s a very good colt,” said Tony Alagna, who trains Slay for Craword Farms Racing and James Crawford IV. “His biggest thing is he needs to be tactical; he needs a target. He’s not really big enough to do all the work, but if they throw him into the race like this, he’s going to beat some horses. That’s his main thing.”

Slay returned $27.80 to win in nabbing his fourth victory from 14 starts and adding to his account now worth $275,526.