Triumphant return for Jimmy Freight

Jimmy Freight (Sportswriter) fought bravely to win his first harness racing start in more than five months on Saturday (Feb. 18) at The Meadowlands.

Scott Zeron guided the stallion, last season’s Camluck Classic and Mohawk Gold Cup winner, into the three-hole and pitched camp through :27.1 and :55.4 first-half panels. He then launched a first-over attack on the backstretch and swiftly drew level with the leading Carbine (Dexter Dunn).

Carbine stuck to his guns down the lane, but a valiant Jimmy Freight put his nose in front approaching the line and found the finish in time to outlast the charging Captain Crusader (Jason Bartlett) and claim the victory in 1:50.

Carbine was second by a head with Captain Crusader just behind in third.

JIMMY FREIGHT REPLAY

Jimmy Freight had been off since finishing fourth in the Canadian Pacing Derby in September. The eight-year-old was a force in early 2022 after returning from a two-year breeding absence – he won eight out of 10 top-level dashes at Woodbine Mohawk Park from February to May and the Mohawk Gold Cup and Camluck Classic before going out with an injury. He then returned for three starts in late Summer. His career record now reads 34 wins in 76 tries with $1,890,050. Brett Pelling trains him for Let It Ride Stables and Jimmy Freight Stable of Boca Raton.

“What we wanted to accomplish tonight was put Jimmy Freight in play while being as conservative as possible,” said winning driver Scott Zeron, as quoted in the Meadowlands’s press release. “I know the horse really well. He never slows down.”

HIGHEST HANDLE OF THE YEAR: Twenty-four hours after The Big M established a new yearly best Friday handle of $3,400,130, action was again vigorous, as a 2023-high $3,802,550 was wagered on Saturday’s 14-race program.

The two-day total of $7.2 million marked the second time this year that weekend (specifically Friday-Saturday, as there have been two Sunday cards) handle exceeded the $7-million plateau.

Also, the streak of $3-million handles is alive and well, as for the 13^th time in as many attempts this year, Friday and Saturday night wagering went past the $3-million mark.

A LITTLE MORE: For the first time this year, a trainer won four times on a card at The Big M. Not surprisingly, that trainer was Ron Burke. Also not surprisingly, Yannick Gingras, Burke’s go-to guy, won four times to lead the driver colony, three of those with Burke students. … Zeron, Dave Miller and Bongiorno each recorded driving doubles. … The 20-cent Survivor Pick-7 provided another great score for one shrewd handicapper. While the sequence did see a 28-1 chance win leg two, two other legs were won by 6-1 and 7-1 shots, with the other four winners paying off at 3-1 or less. The winning player walked away with $8,448 after giving the teller a ticket with just five correct selections out of seven. … Racing resumes Friday at 6:20 p.m.

For complete race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink, with files from Dave Little