Adios Pace, Hambo elim in Daley’s sights

After watching Captain Albano (Captaintreacherous-Angelou) be something of a victim of circumstances in prior races, harness racing trainer Noel Daley liked the way things looked last week in the colt’s Delvin Miller Adios elimination. He wouldn’t mind a repeat viewing in Saturday’s $350,000 final.

Captain Albano captured his Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids elim by 3-1/4 lengths over Timeisonmyside in 1:49.2 on July 20 at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. He is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the final, starting from post four with driver Todd McCarthy in the 58th edition of the event for 3-year-old pacers.

Wish You Well, who won the other Adios elim by 1-3/4 lengths in 1:49.1, is the 3-1 second choice. He will leave from post two with David Miller driving for Nifty Norman. His 1:49.1 mile, which included a blistering :25.2 last quarter, is the season’s second fastest by a 3-year-old pacer on a five-eighths-mile track. Captain Albano’s 1:49.2 score is tied for third.

In his Adios elim, Captain Albano got away third, but moved to the front after leader Noblesville reached the opening quarter in :26.3. Captain Albano and McCarthy controlled the action from there, reaching the half in :55 and three-quarters in 1:22.4 on their way to the win.

It was Captain Albano’s third victory in seven races this season. Last year, Captain Albano was no worse than second in nine starts, winning seven and being named the Dan Patch Award recipient for best 2-year-old male pacer.

“We’ve been trying to get to the front for a month, and if we got there, we haven’t been able to keep it,” Daley said. “The horse has been fine every start. He really has. He just hasn’t had any luck. I’m still happy with him. He seems good, he still seems bright.”

Captain Albano encountered traffic or trip trouble in his prior three races — the North America Cup final, Meadowlands Pace elimination, and Meadowlands Pace final on July 13, when he got parked three-wide near the rear of the field from post seven in the opening quarter mile.

“That race was over at the quarter pole for us; he got three deep and that was the end of it,” Daley said, adding about Pace champ Legendary Hanover and his stakes-record 1:46.3 victory, “I don’t know if anyone was beating him anyway, he was awesome.

“In the North America Cup, he got shut off halfway down the lane. You can’t stop and get started up again. In the elimination of the Meadowlands Pace, he was doubled up with too much pace. That’s when he threw in all those bad steps. It wasn’t for any other reason than he had too much horse. He had to grab him and settle him just to get into the final.”

For his career, Captain Albano has won 10 of 16 races and earned $577,915. He is owned by Patricia Stable, L.A. Express Stable, Sjoblom Racing, and Michael Dolan.

Daley and McCarthy are both seeking their first Adios trophy. They finished third together with Pebble Beach in 2022.

“Hopefully, (Captain Albano) can make it to the top again once things settle down,” Daley said. “We’ll just see.”

Racing begins at 11:45 a.m. (EDT) Saturday at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. For free race programs, click here.

Captain Albano will be among eight stakes starters for Daley on Saturday. Four of the others will be among a group competing at The Meadowlands and include Sig Sauer (Muscle Hill-Sigilwig) in the first of the night’s two $100,000 Hambletonian eliminations for 3-year-old trotters as well as Buy A Round, Miss I La, and Paulina Hanover in the Hambletonian Oaks eliminations for 3-year-old female trotters.

Sig Sauer and driver Andy McCarthy will leave from post eight in their Hambletonian elim and are 8-1 on the morning line. Sig Sauer, who will be making only his third start of the year, is coming off a 1:50 win in a division of the Stanley Dancer Memorial on July 13 at The Meadowlands. It is the fastest mile of the season by a 3-year-old trotter.

“He seems real good,” Daley said. “He was even a little more forward than I thought he would be (in the Dancer) but Andy gave him a great trip, and everything worked out. But you have to remember, that was his second start for the year and his seventh start lifetime, so you’d like to think he’s still on the upward trend. I think that’s our biggest advantage.”

The first elimination field includes 4-5 favorite Karl, trained by Nancy Takter and No. 1 in the Road to the Hambletonian rankings, as well as Goodtimes Stakes champion Highland Kismet and the other Stanley Dancer Memorial division winner Situationship.

“We got a bad post and the tougher of the two divisions, it’s just up to (Sig Sauer) to have a good day,” Daley said. “As long as he has a good day, he’s going to make it in there.

“He’s a handful to deal with on a daily basis, but he’s been very professional every time we’ve taken him to the races. I told people early in the piece that if he’s half as good as he thinks he is, I’m in good shape. It just turned out that he is.”

The top-five finishers from each elim will advance to the $1.05 million Hambletonian final, the sport’s premier race for 3-year-old trotters, Aug. 3 at The Big M. Elimination winners draw for post positions one through five followed by the remaining finalists receiving their posts in an open draw. The draw will be conducted July 30 at Hogan Equine Clinic in Cream Ridge, N.J.

In the Hambletonian Oaks, Paulina Hanover is 6-1 in the first of three $50,000 eliminations. Buy A Round is 5-2 in the second elim and Miss I La is 10-1 in the third. The top-three finishers from each elim plus the fourth-place finisher with the highest lifetime earnings will advance to the $525,000 Oaks final, also Aug. 3 at The Meadowlands.

“My best chance is Buy A Round,” Daley said about the daughter of Walner-On Your Tab, who has hit the board in all 13 career races, winning eight. “She came up with a little bit of a high white count again (last start when she finished second in a division of the Del Miller Memorial). I know she was second, but she was disappointing there. Everything seems good again. Hopefully, she will be back to herself. As long as she’s up close, she can sprint.”

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