Muscle Hill big winner on front end

November 22, 2008

Upset winners prevailed as fields for a quartet of $700,000 Breeders Crown Championships for two-year-old trotters and pacers were decided Friday night at the Meadowlands, and post positions for the races will be drawn early Saturday evening and announced prior to the start of the racing card. Elimination winners may select their post positions for the final.

Eight championship finals for two- and three-year-olds, worth a combined $4.9 million, will be contested Saturday, Nov. 29 at the Meadowlands.

Captain Sir rallied from last to take the first of two $25,000 Two-Year-Old Colt Pace eliminations for father-son duo Carl and Jody Jamieson. Captain Sir trailed the field into the stretch and sailed down the lane to catch Art Colony by a nose in 1:52.3. Sent off at 38-1, Captain Sire paid $78.20, $18.60 and $5.80 in the night�s sixth race. Well Said, Dial Or Nodial and Magicmaker Hanover also advanced to the final.

�He�s been a real fast colt all along,� said driver Jody Jamieson. �When he kicked for home, he kicked real hard. It�s been a long year. These horses have been going a long time save for Art Colony, and he was second. It says something about the class of the two-year-old horses this year. These horses can last a long time and they�ve all got good money on their cards. We�re just lucky tonight to have a fresh horse coming up.�

Captain Sir has now won three of six lifetime starts. Trainer Carl Jamieson shares ownership of the Art Major-Yankee Luck colt with Thomas Kyron, Arthur Slack and George Harrison.

Major In Art [$4.20] fought off a wall of challengers to win the second elim for the Two-Year-Old Colt Pace. Brian Sears completed a Crown hat trick as he steered the son of Art Major-Miami Spice to a 1:53.4 victory. Trained by Justin Lebo, Major In Art swept the Woodrow Wilson and Metro earlier this season. Also heading to next week�s final are Clear Vision, Artists Rally, If I Can Dream and Western Dakota.

Double-digit winners also dominated the elims for the Two-Year-Old Filly Trot. Musical Mystery [$66.60] nipped world-record holder Honorable Daughter in the final strides to win the last of the three elims in 1:56.3. Mike Lachance steered Musical Mystery to her sixth win in 11 starts. Her credits include the American-National on Sept. 16 at Balmoral Park. Ron Gurfein trains the daughter of Cantab Hall for owner/breeder Brittany Farms. The filly�s dam, Musical Victory, won the 1998 Breeders Crown.

All Star Hanover [$29.20] and Yursa Hanover [$19.20] took the other two elims with respective 1:59 and 1:56.2 victories. The rest of the Two-Year-Old Filly Trot finalists are Celebrity Athena, Celebrity Juliet, I Wanted Wings, Michelle�s Way, Timelesswinner Two and Southwind Wasabi.

Muscle Hill [$2.40] extended his streak to seven in the first of two elims for the Two-Year-Old Colt Trot. With Brian Sears in tow, Muscle Hill bucked the trend as one of the few front-end winners on a bitterly cold evening with a 1:57.2 mile. Trained by Greg Peck, Muscle Hill won the Peter Haughton and New Jersey Sire Stakes Championship at the Meadowlands. His lone loss was a second in his career debut. The son of Muscles Yankee-Yankee Blondie is owned by Jerry Silva and TLP Stable.

Explosive Matter [$3.40] remained undefeated as he picked up his fifth win in the second of the freshman trot elims for driver Ron Pierce, trainer Noel Daley and Adam Victor & Son Stable. One of three elim winners sired by Cantab Hall, Explosive Matter won the Matron Final at Dover in his start prior.

Cesar A Blue Chip, Citation Lindy, Federal Flex, Keystone Activator, Select Yankee, Triumphant Caviar, Tom Cango and Winning Mister also advanced to the final.

White Birch Farm�s Racing Star [$33.40] lived up to her name as she pounced off a ground-saving journey to win the first of two elims for the Two-Year-Old Filly Pace. Yannick Gingras steered the chestnut filly to a 1:54 victory for trainer Jeff Stafford. In the second elim, Hawaiian Drink [$3.20] held on for a 1:55.3 victory for Brian Sears and trainer Tracy Brainard.

Also advancing to the Two-Year-Old Filly Pace are Break The News, Fox Valley Topaz, Ginger And Fred, Notjustaprettyface, Special Sweetheart, Thou Shalt Not, Twist N Clout and Warrawee Kay. (Meadowlands)

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