Nine Wins Is Fine For Alagna

Friday, July 7, 2023

Breakfast With The Babies sponsored by Jules Siegel’s Fashion Farms went a day early this week, due to stakes scheduled on Saturday. An overcast, muggy setting was the weather to begin, temperatures hovering near 80 degrees with a mild helping wind in the stretch.

The talent on display this morning was remarkable, heavy with progeny of and siblings to the stars of the sport carrying very high price tags.

Tony Alagna operates at that level, his entrants on today’s card numbered 35, the cost at auction slightly north of $4 million. That number does not take into consideration the considerable value of the homebred stock. Tony started his freshman crop a bit later this season but when they come, they come to play. Today’s tally was nine winners and endless high hopes.

The Tony Alagna trained Muscle Hill colt Bright Star was the barn’s first winner of the day for the, going pillar to post for Dexter Dunn in the second race. They clicked along on a :30 beat until the stretch, where Bright Star responded when asked to the tune of a :28.1 end to the 1:58.2 mile. Coors Hanover (Ake Svanstedt) and Diplomacy (Scott Zeron) closed well into the final split to be second and third, respectively. The winner is Brittany bred and the breeder retained an interest along with Pryde Stable, Caviart Farms and Plouffe & Riverview in this $150,000 (LEX) yearling purchase.

Alagna struck again in the third with Winter Soldier (Andy McCarthy) who sat off the hot fractions of :57.1 and 1:26.3 posted by stablemate Mars Hill (Todd McCarthy) then rallied well between rivals for the impressive 1:55.4 win, trotting his final quarter in :27.4. Cragieburn (Yannick Gingras) also closed it up nicely to be second. Winter Soldier was winning for the second time in as many outings. The son of the French sire Face Time Bourbon was a $140,000 (LEX) purchase by Peter Alagna and Robbie Pryde as Pryde Stables, INC. Order By stable is the breeder.

Special Talent (Dunn), the Walner full sister to Special Way, was Tony’s third trotting winner on the day, using an impressive brush to zip by the field from fifth and last on the final turn then continue on to a clear 2:00.4 win with a :28.1 final quarter while in hand. Hilljorda (Trond Smedshammer) closed nicely to be second. The winner is Brittany bred and went through the ring for $250,000 (LEX) with Robert LeBlanc, Grant & Pryde Stable, Caviart and Coyote Wynd Farms the successful bidders.

Andy McCarthy drove the Brittany Farms homebred Walner filly Local Honey to a wire to wire 1:59- score in her first outing for trainer Alagna. Crisp off the gate, Local Honey cruised along comfortably through a 1:30.4 three panels before kicking home in :28.1 to hold off Treatyofversailles (Domenico Cecere) and a quickly closing She Shaq (Svanstedt).

Sadbirdsstillsing (T. McCarthy) rung up another win for the Alagna Armada when she went all the way and finished the 1:57.3 mile with a :28 flat final quarter under no urging by the driver. Bohemian Hanover (Dunn) rallied bravely for second with Minnelli (Andy Miller) third. Crawford Farms bred and retained part ownership of the Chapter Seven filly with Pryde Stables, INC. after she went through the Lexington sale for $190,000.

Pacing colt Captain Luke (Dunn) took over before the half when a rival went off stride, continued along at an easy rate then took off through a :26.1 end to a 1:53.3 mile over stablemate Hungry To Win (A. McCarthy) continuing the Alagna assault on the day. The son of Captaintreacherous was a $135,00 Lexington buy for Robert LeBlanc, Pryde Stables, Brad Grant and Steve Head from breeder Vieux Carre Farm.

Alagna’s seventh of the day came with a colt that he (along with Marvin Katz) bred, by the first crop sire Bettor’s Wish, Better Is Nice (A. McCarthy) who inherited the lead before the :59 half and held sway through a :26.3 end to the 1:53.4 mile over stablemate Rock The Captain N (Anibal Borjas). The winner went through the ring for $30,000 (LEX) and is now owned by Alagna Racing, Pryde Stables and Birnam Wood Farms.

Caviart Dawn (Dunn) made Alagna’s eighth win an adventure, drifting out while on the lead near the :59 half, thus surrendering the lead, settling in second around the second turn them re-rallying in through the :27.4 final quarter to get by stablemate Heart Of Love N (Borjas) then holding off another barn mate in Odds On Steno for the 1:55.1 win in a photo. The winner is a Sweet Lou filly, a Caviart Farm homebred.

The last 2-year-old race on the card saw Alagna get his ninth and Dunn his seventh win when Run The World Deo cut the mile and held on by an inch over stablemates Gifted One and Bree Hanover in 1:55.2, home in 27.1. Pryde Stable, Brad Grant, Pete Alagna and Caviart Farms share ownership of the Stay Hungry colt who was purchased at Harrisburg for $80,000 from breeder Deo Volente Farms and Fidencio Cervantez.

Trotting colts kicked off the day with Skydiver, a Greenshoe colt from Ariana G, sweeping by the field in the stretch for Dunn to win in 1:59.4 while trotting a :27.2 final quarter to get the job done over another Greenshoe colt, Oh Brother (Andy McCarthy) who was also trotting well late. The winner was a $350,000 Lexington Select Sale (LEX) yearling now owned in part by breeder Marvin Katz with Bud & Kelly Hatfield and Brixton Medical and is trained in the Marcus Melander barn. Al Libfeld gets a co-breeder credit on this sharp colt.

A princely pair of Chapter Seven colts dueled through the length of the stretch and a :27.4 final quarter with Wild Ticket (Brian Sears) refusing to be denied and just edging by mile cutter Fly By (Scott Zeron), who dug in gamely, at the end of the 1:57.2 mile. The winner is another Melander trainee, bred by Al Libfeld and purchased for $200,000 (LEX) by AMG Stable, Kenneth Kjellgren, Heights Stable & Mantorp Stable.

Chaparmbro came to trainer/driver Trond Smedshammer for the princely sum of $250,000 from the Harrisburg sale, a higher than usual price for Trond to pay for longtime owner Wanda Polisseni as Purple Haze Stables along with partner M3 Racing. Clearly, Trond saw something in the half-sister to Dejarmbro, the major stakes winner that Trond trained to a million-dollar winning career for Wanda a decade or more ago, as the Chapter Seven filly won powerfully this morning over a good field in 1:58.4. Chaparmbro and Trond stalked behind the 30 second beat through the three quarters and when tipped out responded with a :28.2 finish to hold off the close of a pair of Alagna fillies in Whoops Hanover (Dunn) and Harley Quinn (A. McCarthy). Fair Winds Farm bred the winner.

Ake Svanstedt drove Situationship to a 1:58.2 / :27.1 win for Knuttson Trotting, Little E, LLC, and Tomas Anderson in the eighth. Ake sat along mid pack through the usual fractions then threaded the Chapter Seven colt through as rivals were scattered across the track through the drive to get the win. Caballero (Smedshammer) also split horses with good late foot for second and Alamo Mission (Dunn) rallied nicely from last to be third. Situationship was bred by Crawford Farms and brought $85,000 at Lexington.

Bee Our Money (Patrick Ryder) led early, yielded then reemerged from the pocket in the stretch to win in a very civilized 2:01.3 / 28.3. Big Ben Pellini S (Zeron) cut the middle fractions and gave way grudgingly late while Loxahatchee (Brian Sears) the Greenshoe first foal of Hannelore Hanover had trot late for third. Chris Ryder trains the winner and owns in partnership with Bill Ezzo, Carl Sackheim and J&T Silva. The cost was $150,000 (LEX) from breeder Lindy Farms.

Ryder combined with Dexter Dunn to get his second and Dunn’s fifth winner of the day with Gem Quality, a Captain Crunch first cropper, who went eyeball to eyeball with Remember The Alamo (A. McCarthy) through a 26 flat end to a 1:53.3 mile, neither colt giving an inch until the final strides where Gem Quality took the win. The winner is a Let It Ride and Bottom Line homebred with Brad Grant and Enviro Stables joining in as owners.

Trainer Ron Burke and driver David Miller combined to win the first of the day’s pacing races with the Lazarus filly Mary Of Bethany. She sat a pocket as Well Aware set easy fractions, slipped through in the stretch to get the lead and hold off a three-pronged Alagna assault led by Reachingforthemoon (A. McCarthy) through a :27.4 end to the 1:55.4 mile. Mary Of Bethany was a $50,000 Harrisburg buy for Tom and Scott Dillion from breeder Peninsula Farm.

Live racing tonight at 6:20 with the first leg of the popular Kindergarten series featuring top freshman on the card and tomorrow night is a big one with elimination races for the Meadowlands Pace and Graduate finals. Get your free programs here.