No lucky day for Fanning

The luck of the Irish wasn't smiling on Tom Fanning two days before St. Patrick's Day as the New Jersey-based trainer had two horses in to go at the Meadowlands Wednesday night and had to scratch both "injured" - including recent Tender Loving Care leg-winner Annie Duke.



"Annie Duke stuck her foot in the water bucket and (Cajun Laagacy) went out in the field in the morning and came back lame; we think she kicked a post," Fanning explained to harnessracing.com Thursday morning from his barn at Gaitway Farm of the two scratches. "I thought we had a chance to win both races too."



Five-year-old mare Cajun Laagacy was coming off a win at Freehold in her most recent start. As for the 3-year-old filly pacer Annie Duke, she made her career debut in the Tender Loving Care Series and came up a surprise winner at odds of 29-1 in that contest. She followed that up with a seventh-place finish in the final, and had not raced since that Feb. 24 contest.



"We don't anticipate (Annie Duke's injury) being serious. She reared up and got her foot caught on the bucket and she was hung up a little bit," Fanning said. "There is some irritation around the ankle but we're hoping in a couple days it will come down. As long as I can train her a little bit on Monday, I may qualify her next Thursday.



"She's a little tough in the stall. Even in the field, she rolls and gets under the fence. She's tough on herself."



There is some better news in the Fanning stable as he reported that 3-year-old colt pacer Artstanding, who won the $175,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes final and was the runner-up in the $593,000 Governor's Cup final last year, is training back on schedule.



"Artstanding is training back very well and is right on schedule," said Fanning. "I'll try to have him ready for the first Sire Stakes at the Meadowlands that leads into the New Jersey Pacing Classic. What's good is that he certainly finished the year in as good a shape as he started."

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