Meadowlands Barn Notes for Friday, December 28

Posted: Fri Dec 28 14:01:20 2001 EST

+Meadowlands Barn Notes for Friday, December 28+

FORMER CLAIMER CRACKING UPPER ECHELONS Former claimer Camcracker will take a crack at some of the sport's best older pacers in Saturday night's featured $35,000 open at the Meadowlands. Carded as race six on a 13-race program, the 10-horse field includes 3-1 morning line favorite Aba Daba Doo, a 1:49.1 winner on December 1, who has drawn post four. Camcracker has been rated at 12-1 from post one with Ross Wolfenden to drive. A $75,000 claim on June 30 at the Meadowlands, the five-year-old son of Cambest posted eight wins, nine seconds and four thirds in 32 starts, and earnings of $274,272 this year, most of it for owners Aubrey Friedman of Burlington, Ontario, and Brian Nixon of Centerport, New York. He took a mark of 1:50.1 while defeating free for allers at Mohawk Raceway and finished second to Camotion in the $150,000 Gold Cup at Woodbine Racecourse on October 19. Trainer Mike Harder is well aware of the risks involved in the claiming game, but he became fixated on Camcracker well before taking him this summer. "We were watching him for a month, and he had a big sore on his knee, which pretty much healed over," Harder recalled. "But that kind of put me off for a while. Then I couldn't stand it any longer, and I took a shot. We claimed him, he won his next two starts, then finished third in the open before we scratched him sick. Then we took him to Canada, raced him in the free for alls, and he never went a bad race. He actually beat [defending Horse of the Year] Gallo Blue Chip one night at Mohawk, but he was good at the Meadowlands, too. He was racing well when we got him, and we just got him on the upswing. "He's a funny horse you have to drive the whole way," noted Harder. "Even in his qualifier the other day [on December 21], when I relaxed he kind of pulled himself up in the stretch. He likes to chase horses and never seems to win by much. He's hopeless on the front end. He just won't pick up the lines and go at all, but if he's following someone he'll chase. He went about three starts at Woodbine, pacing his back half in 53 [seconds] and change." Camcracker, who was given time off to freshen, is being pointed towards the $75,000 Rambling Willie Invitational on January 5 at the Meadowlands as well as the three-week Presidential Series, which features a $125,000 estimated final on January 26. "He's never carried a lot of weight, so we gave him a break up in Canada and sent him to a thoroughbred farm," explained Harder, a 40-year-old native of Wellington, New Zealand and former assistant to Ross Croghan. "He did a little light jogging and swimming, and put on some weight. It's still in the back of my mind that he was a claimer, but we hope he'll be competitive. He was racing well before the rest, we were hoping to do the right thing by doing that, and set him up for another big year." It has been a great year for Harder, having won the prestigious Jugette with Pleasure Chest. "It was a pretty good breakout season at $2.2 million [in purses earned]," he noted from his stable at Gaitway Farms in Englishtown, New Jersey, where he has 15 horses. He has another 20 horses based in Ontario.

ONLINE VIDEO NEWS FROM THE MEADOWLANDS The Meadowlands' 2002 Preview Show, which airs on Fox Sports Net on December 27 [4 p.m.] and December 29 [5:30 p.m.], will also be viewable on the Meadowlands website on Friday night. The show will fill the 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. timeslot and can be viewed by clicking the Big M TV link on www.thebigm.com. First post for the opening night card is 7:30 p.m. The Preview Show includes a look back at the 2001 racing season and features on trainer Mark Ford and owner Craig Lipka. The Meadowlands also has signed with a website to archive the video of its races, starting on December 28. That address is: http://www.replaysone.com/meadowlands.shtml

CAM'S BLACKJACK IS WINLESS BUT WEALTHY Winning isn't everything for Cam's Blackjack. The five-year-old pacer makes his 32nd start of the year in Saturday night's fourth race at the Meadowlands. And while he is winless in 2001, he has banked $100,270 this season. The son of Cam's Card Shark, owned by John Lichtenberger and trainer-driver Ray Remmen, leaves from post seven with Remmen in the sulky. While he has not found the winner's circle this year, Cam's Blackjack has a record of eight seconds and seven thirds this year. He has career earnings of $236,072. Cam's Blackjack is not alone in earning more than $100,000 this year without a victory. Others in this category include Amer I Can [26 0-9-3 $270,922], O U Man [11 0-1-4 $180,722], J B B Ingenue [9 0-5-2 $179,822], Ivorie Bayama [12 0-5-4 $127,330] and Son of Grace [17 0-2-5 $104,288].

AROUND THE MEADOWLANDS Wilmington Sam, who is competing in Saturday night's fifth race three-year-old open, is new to both Meadowlands fans and his trainer, Peter Walsh. "I've had him about two and a half weeks," said Walsh, who has as stable of 12 racehorses plus six who turn two on January 1. "He had a touch of travel sickness. I had to rush him to get him qualified. He went fair to good in his qualifier [on December 21], getting a bit tired at the end. I don't know how Wilmington Sam will do in here. I'd expect him to need a run or two over the track." Saturday's fifth race three-year-old open has also drawn Brittany Farms' Capital Request who has a case of seconditis. That is where he has finished in his last four starts, including the Provincial Cup. This year he has one win, seven seconds and a third in 11 starts for earning of $162,400. He has been entered in the Garden State Sales Company's mixed sale on January 21. "He was meant to be a good one," said Brittany Farm's Myron Bell of the $400,000 earner. "He had a couple of quirks that Brett [trainer Brett Pelling] has worked out, and he's not the high strung horse that he used to be. George Segal [owner of Brittany Farms] doesn't usually race four-year-olds, so that's why he is in the sale. The only older horse that George is keeping is Flight Plan, who was lightly raced early on at both two and three, and we feel hasn't reached his full potential." OK Chevalier N has won three straight starts at the Meadowlands, moving his way up the condition ranks to Saturday night's eighth race, a non-winners of $20,000 in the last six starts. "I wouldn't say he's over his head until he gets beat," said Mark Silva, who trains the six-year-old for Bell Valley Farms of Frankfort, Illinois. "I hope the roller coaster keeps on going. He really hasn't gotten a great trip yet. Last time out he was ninth at the top of the stretch, then he was first over before that and way back in his first start here. Those are the three races that I've had him for. I really haven't done anything special or different with him. He wasn't winning at Balmoral, but he was getting stuffed up in some of the racing there. They don't have the flow in races like we do here. He just seems to like the track here and the style of racing."