Whirlwind effort from $413,600 Valley Victory winner

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Again in a tight spot in the straightaway, Fast As The Wind had a wide-enough gap open ahead for harness racing driver Dexter Dunn to dash the Tony Alagna through and deliver as the 3-5 favorite in the $413,600 Valley Victory on Saturday (Nov. 20) at The Meadowlands.

Coach K Hanover kicked for the front to a :27.3 first quarter while Fast As The Wind protected position from the pylons in second and his stablemate Slay settled into third. Slay then pushed off the pegs up the backside and engaged with Coach K Hanover, who strung the challenger out to a :55.1 half before breaking and promptly regaining stride to the final turn.

Slay slowed the tempo as Coach K Hanover inched first over with Pretender in tow rounding the final turn. Meanwhile, Fast As The Wind raced locked to the pylons passing three-quarters in 1:24.2. A path opened midway through the stretch as Slay gave way and Coach K Hanover forged for the front with Pretender to his right flank. And with racetrack ahead, Fast As The Wind swept up the inside lane to claim victory by a half length in a 1:53.2 mile.

Coach K Hanover held second with Pretender settling for third and Threepointbluechip taking fourth.

FAST AS THE WIND REPLAY

“He was good early, but then he got some sickness like a lot of our horses in Lexington,” Tony Alagna said after the race on the Cantab Hall colt’s continued bounce back in form. “We left Lexington [and] he just started to come out of the sickness. Since he’s been back here at The Meadowlands, he’s been phenomenal. But early in the year, he was third in the Peter Haughton and we thought we had a real player until the sickness hit him in Lexington.”

Owned by Leblanc & Kribbs, Joe Sbrocco, John Schmucker and Fodera Barbera Frank, Fast As The Wind has banked $566,007 while collecting his fifth victory from 15 starts. He returned $3.40 to win.

For full race results, click here.

by Ray Cotolo, for Meadowlands Racetrack