Acl Suteri’s Mado Dream, who’d been second twice, third and then eighth in four prior New York Sire Stakes appearances, got the job done at Monticello Raceway Monday afternoon, cruising to a wire-
to-wire 1:57.2 victory with Jeff Gregory in the sulky in the second $83,922 division of the NYSS Three-
Year-Old Colt and Gelding Trot.
Gaelic And Garlic edged Trouble by a head in the first division in 1:57.1, equaling the track
record for a three-year-old gelding. Gaelic and Garlic and Trouble were 8-5 co-favourites.
Mado Dream went off at 19-1 from the three post with Gregory driving him for the first time.
“You know what? I’ve seen him race all year,” said Gregory, who was driving the gelded son of Taurus
Dream for trainer Annette Lorentzon.
“The girls who train the horse said he was real sick last week and
had a bad line in the program. They said he’s got a good gait and good early speed.”
So Gregory took advantage, quickly making the lead through a :28 first quarter. War Cry Hall, a
12-1 longshot from the rail, settled in the pocket. Meanwhile, Phil Fluet’s Coraggioso, the 4-5 favourite
from the six post, tried leaving, got parked a bit on the first turn and dropped in third on the rail as
Gregory snuck in a :30.3 second quarter.
By then, Coraggioso was chasing first over. Gregory let out a notch and Mado Dream hit the three-
quarters in 1:27.3 a length and a half in front. He trotted his final quarter in :29 4/5 and held off
Coraggioso by two lengths. Slugfest, an 85-1 longshot from the seven post, got up for third for
trainer/driver/owner Ray Schnittker, but there was no show wagering allowed on the race. Brookroad
Knight, the 6-5 second choice, made a costly break before the three-quarters and finished last.
Mado Dream has made remarkable process this summer. He was zero-for-five as a two-year-old and
didn’t break his maiden until May 8th. Two additional victories in the Excelsior Series at Tioga Downs
and in a conditional race at Yonkers convinced his connections to up the ante. Mado Dream responded
with a pair of seconds in the NYSS at Buffalo Raceway and Yonkers, a third in the NYSS at Vernon Downs
and then a poor eighth in a conditional race at Yonkers.
In the first division, Bernard White and Kristie Leigh Farm’s Gaelic And Garlic, trained by Ed Hart and
driven by Jim Morrill, Jr. from the rail, and Trouble, trained by Julie Miller and driven by her husband
Andy from the seven post, put on a quite a show.
Morrill left fast from the rail with Gaelic And Garlic while Miller sent Trouble after him on the outside.
Gaelic and Garlic made Trouble work past a :28.1 first quarter before allowing him to clear, and that
might have made all the difference in the stretch.
Trouble set splits of :57.1 and 1:27, then put away a strong bid from A Penny Earned. But he still had to
deal with Gaelic And Garlic. Miller pulled out from the pocket and the pair dueled head-to-head from the
top of the stretch to the wire, with Gaelic And Garlic nailing Trouble in the final yards to win by a head in
a blazing 1:57.1, which tied the track record for three-year-old colt and gelding trotters.
Gaelic And Garlic, a son of Credit Winner, had finished second at Yonkers and sixth at Vernon Downs in
his two previous tries in the NYSS.
Mado Dream’s victory moved him up from fifth to third in the NYSS point standings which will
determine the eight starters in the NYSS Three-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Trot Final on the Night of
Champions at Yonkers, September 22nd. Gealic and Garlic jumped up from 13th to seventh. The next
NYSS for this division will be Tuesday, August 14th at Saratoga Casino and Raceway.
(NYSHBDF)
