Dunn and Twin B Joe Fresh together for $140,000 Haughton

After teaming up for a memorable stakes-and-milestone win two weeks ago, Twin B Joe Fresh (Roll With Joe-Fresh Breeze) and driver Dexter Dunn return to action Saturday (July 13) in the $140,000 Dorothy Haughton Memorial for older female harness racing pacers at The Meadowlands.

Last time out, Twin B Joe Fresh posted a neck victory over Sylvia Hanover in the Perfect Sting Stakes at the Big M. In addition to being Twin B Joe Fresh’s sixth consecutive triumph on the Grand Circuit dating back to last November, it was Dunn’s 2,000th win since arriving in the U.S. from New Zealand in the summer of 2018.

Dunn is among the co-owners of Twin B Joe Fresh, with trainer Chris Ryder, longtime Ryder assistant Peter Trebotica, and Barry Spak.

“I had no idea at all about being close to 2,000 wins,” Dunn said. “I came back to the paddock after the race, and they told me. I was already pumped up for winning the race, and that was like a cherry on top. It was quite cool to get it on her.”

Dunn won 2,226 races in New Zealand, where he led the Premiership in victories for 10 consecutive years before moving to the States. He has been the U.S. Harness Writers Association’s Driver of the Year four times since then, from 2019-2022.

He has sat behind a dozen horses to receive Dan Patch Awards, including 2022 Horse of the Year Bulldog Hanover and 2022 Trotter of the Year Bella Bellini. He has won 15 Breeders Crowns, eighth most in history.

“I’ve driven a lot of nice horses for a lot of good trainers,” Dunn said. “I’ve been pretty lucky to sit behind these kinds of horses. When I came over (to the U.S.) I was just hoping to do a little bit of good. I couldn’t have dreamed of winning the races I have. I still pinch myself sometimes. I’m very thankful.”

Twin B Joe Fresh also keeps Dunn pinching himself. The 4-year-old mare has hit the board in 30 of 32 career races, winning 23 and earning $1.67 million. She finished last season by winning the Matron Stakes and FanDuel Mare Pace Championship, becoming the first 3-year-old filly to defeat her older rivals in the nine-year history of the event.

After a second-place finish against male rivals in her 2024 debut, Twin B Joe Fresh romped to a stakes- and track-record 1:48.2 victory in the Betsy Ross Invitational at Harrah’s Philadelphia, then captured her elimination and the final of the Roses Are Red Stakes at Woodbine Mohawk Park in Ontario. Her 1:48 clocking in the final was only one-fifth of a second off the Canadian record for a female pacer.

“She’s come back super,” Dunn said. “Physically, she’s gotten stronger. She was already a tank of a horse, but she got bigger, which is kind of hard to believe. On the track, she’s pretty intelligent; she knows what she’s doing. What makes her so good, too, is she’s a dream to drive. You can really do whatever you want with her. When you ask her to go, she knows it’s time to go and does her job.”

In the Perfect Sting, Twin B Joe Fresh was fourth heading to the last turn, when Dunn moved her to the outside to follow first-over Sylvia Hanover. Twin B Joe Fresh paced her last quarter in :25.1 to overtake Sylvia Hanover, Canada’s 2023 Horse of the Year, as they approached the finish line.

“Sylvia Hanover is such a good horse, it was tough to get past her,” Dunn said. “It was a really good effort by Joe Fresh.

“Winning a big race is always cool, but it’s a special feeling when you own a horse like her, especially with Chris and Pete and the team. I have about one horse a year; I don’t expect to get another one like her. We’re enjoying the ride with her.”

In Saturday’s Dorothy Haughton Memorial, Twin B Joe Fresh will see the second-through-fourth place finishers from the Perfect Sting: Sylvia Hanover, Silver Label, and Valar Dohaeris. The nine-horse field also includes Grace Hill, the pacing mare division’s Dan Patch Award winner last year, and millionaire Kentucky Sire Stakes champ Strong Poison.

Twin B Joe Fresh, the 8-5 morning-line favorite, will start from post two. Sylvia Hanover, the 5-2 second choice, will leave from post three with driver Bob McClure. Always B Naughty, who was third in the Roses Are Red and second in the Betsy Ross, is next at 5-1 and will go from post five with Andy McCarthy.

The Dorothy Haughton is part of a stakes-filled night at The Meadowlands, highlighted by the $650,000 Meadowlands Pace for 3-year-olds. The card also includes the $428,000 William R. Haughton Memorial for older male pacers, $425,000 E.T. Gerry Jr. Hambletonian Maturity for 4-year-old trotters, and divisions of the Jerry Silverman Memorial (formerly Mistletoe Shalee) for 3-year-old female pacers and Stanley Dancer Memorial and Delvin Miller Memorial for 3-year-old male and female trotters, respectively.

Racing begins at 6:20 p.m. (EDT) at The Meadowlands. For free TrackMaster programs for the Big M, click here.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA