race recap

ALLEGIANT ALMIGHTY IN BREEDERS CROWN VICTORY

By Frank Cotolo, for the Breeders Crown

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Breeders Crown elimination winner Allegiant, with Scott Zeron in the bike again, won the $600,000 Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old Filly Trot at The Meadowlands on Saturday (Oct. 26), crossing the finish in a personal-best and stakes-record-equaling 1:51.1.

Zeron fired his filly off the gate and took the lead easily enough, but R Melina was looking to avenge losing her elimination and overtook Allegiant for the lead in a soft :27.4 first panel. Willys Home Run took safe cover behind the first two with Elista Hanover behind them in fourth.

Nothing changed as R Melina guided the field to a :55.4 half, but Elista Hanover took to the outside to chase, giving cover to elim-winner Drawn Impression while the top two rolled towards three-quarters in 1:23.2. Zeron's filly had tons of trot saved from the catbird-seat journey when he sent her mid-track to use that saved energy for a convincing challenge to win and defeat R Melina by 2-1/4 lengths. Elista Hanover took the third spot with Drawn Impression in fourth and Warrawee Michelle closing from last for fifth.

Even though it was a smooth trip, Zeron said "It shows how tough she really is." The win by the daughter of Tactical Landing, from the Yankee Glide mare Too Good For You, puts her on the edge of being a millionaire with $933,197 in her wallet lifetime. Bred by Atlantic Trot Inc. and Steve H. Stewart and owned by Ryan W. Smith, Allegiant scored her 10th win in 25 starts over two seasons.

Zeron scored his eighth Breeders Crown trophy with his second-straight win driving Allegiant. "I was happy to sit in the second spot," he said after the race. "She shows me no emotion [when we race]." He also praised trainer Linda Toscano, who won her ninth Breeders Crown trophy and first in this division, for how the filly has been handled.

Allegiant matched the stakes record set in 2022 by Jiggy Jog S with the win and paid $6.00 to win.