Nuclear Breeze rebounds

Nuclear Breeze fired on all cylinders and drew off to a 1 1/4-length victory in the $116,600 Presidential Series Final Saturday night at the Meadowlands.

Nuclear Breeze, sent off at even-money odds, returned $4.20, $2.80, $2.40. Load The Dice, who cut the fractions, was second, paying $2.60, $2.40. Roddy's Bags Again was third by a length and a half, which was worth $2.80 for a show ticket.

Nuclear Breeze, who had an eight-race winning steak snapped last week, returned to the winner's circle for the ninth time in his last 10 tries. He paced the mile in 1:49.2, his fifth sub-1:50 mile.

"The last couple of weeks, he wasn't quite as sharp as I thought he was but Roger (trainer Roger Hans) did a great job with this horse," said winning driver Brian Sears. "When I scored this horse tonight, I knew he was really sharp. I was hoping they'd mix it up a little bit. I was a little disappointed that Hop Sing was scratched (sick). I thought he might leave out of there and mix it up a little bit for me. I thought if I could set this horse in for a half mile, he would give me a good run and it might be enough. My horse got a good trip, got some cover, took us where we needed to go and it was pretty much a sprint from there."

Nuclear Breeze, a 5-year-old son of the ill-fated Nuclear High and the Falcon Seelster mare Radiant Breeze, benefited from cover, following Escapable Beaux in the outside tier on the backstretch. He tipped three wide on the turn for home and sprinted by Load The Dice, the winner of last week's second leg of the three-week series for free for all pacers.

Nuclear Breeze is owned by his breeder, Thomas Cooke of Rockville, Maryland, a professor at Georgetown University. Cooke is also using Nuclear Breeze as a breeding stallion.

"This is beyond our wildest expectations," said Cooke. "This is not something that we planned for. The Meadowlands -- we love you and this horse loves the Meadowlands and we'll be back. We have some good news. There is a mare on the farm in foal to Nuclear Breeze.

"Where he goes next -- we are going to keep that a big mystery," Cooke added. "Tell our friends in Florida (Pompano Park's Isle of Capri is in February), we're not sure. We'll see him back here (the Meadowlands). It's just a matter of when."

The victory pushed Nuclear Breeze's career bankroll to $331,432.

"My horse raced great," said Yannick Gingras, the driver of Load The Dice. "He had to pace hard around the backstretch to get the lead. He had a little breather in the third quarter. But he got out-sprinted in the stretch. The best horse won the race tonight. But my horse raced very well."

Load The Dice is heading south for the $250,000 Isle of Capri Series at Pompano.

"He's leaving Wednesday and going to Rob Lorenzo to race in the Isle of Capri," said John McDermott, the trainer of Load The Dice while he was in New Jersey. "He's going to skip the prep and get ready for the first leg. He raced great tonight. Mike (Lachance with Roddy's Bags Again) stretched him out around the backside, going 26 in the second quarter. There's no shame in getting beat by a horse of that caliber. Nuclear Breeze raced great tonight." (Meadowlands)

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