Bella Bellini storms to victory in Hambletonian Oaks

by Ken Weingartner

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Bella Bellini came from mid-pack on the backstretch, advanced three-wide around the final turn, and stormed home to victory in 1:52.1 in Saturday’s (Aug. 7) $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks, for 3-year-old female trotters, at The Meadowlands.

Iteration finished second, 2-1/2 lengths behind, and Contested Hanover was third.

Dexter Dunn drove Bella Bellini for trainer Richard “Nifty” Norman and breeder-owner David McDuffee. It was Dunn’s first Oaks triumph and third for Norman, who won with Personal Style in 2012 and Bee A Magician in 2013. McDuffee was part of the Bee A Magician ownership group.

“It doesn’t get old, I’ll tell you that,” Norman said. “Hopefully, we win many more. It’s great fun. I love it. I love this race.”

Flawless Country led the field to the opening quarter in :26.4 before Darlene Hanover took the top spot in a :56.4 half. Iteration, who started from post 10, came first-over and was the leader at three-quarters in 1:24.4.

Lady Chaos and Bella Bellini followed Iteration in the outside flow, with Dunn timing his charge to victory.

“She’s so fast; I just didn’t want to do too much with her early,” Dunn said. “I knew even third-over that she’s got so much speed, I was confident she could pick them up. There was a bit of shuffling the first quarter. I followed Lady Chaos everywhere and it worked out. I was out of trouble, out of that early speed, and she felt great.

“Coming around the last turn, I was just telling myself to be patient. Lady Chaos started to get tired, so we made our move. She picked them up within a furlong, and the rest is history.”

Bella Bellini’s last quarter was :26.3, equaling the fastest last quarter in the race’s history. Last week, she finished second to Lady Chaos by a head in their Oaks elimination.

“The trip worked out great,” Norman said. “We just wanted to be in a position where she could use her speed, and that’s exactly what happened. I think the whole team did a better job having her ready today. She was more comfortable on the track and Dexter drove her great. It was a team effort.”

Bella Bellini, who paid $3.00 to win as the 1-2 favorite, is a daughter of Bar Hopping out of Bella Dolce. She was winless in seven starts at 2 and has won seven of 11 starts this year. She is the first filly to go without a victory as a 2-year-old and win the Oaks since Jalopy in 2005.

“Nifty Norman is probably the perfect guy to train for me because we both have a lot of patience,” McDuffee said. “We knew she had some ability, and Nifty did a tremendous job with her. I’m as happy for him as I am for myself.”

With the Oaks win, Bella Bellini pushed her career earnings to $386,983.

“I don’t do a lot of breeding, but when I do, I follow my families pretty closely, the ones I like,” McDuffee said. “This family has been so good to me over the many, many years. So, this is pretty special.

“I’ve been in the business for a long time, and you know it’s the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. You don’t always get the jubilation we had today. It’s a very special feeling.”

073121r9 Awsome Trix.jpg — Past Performances

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LONGSHOTS RULE IN HAMBLETONIAN OAKS ELIMS

By Jay Bergman, DRF Harness

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – The 2020 Breeders Crown champion Lady Chaos had started the year slowly, winning just once in seven tries. The Cantab Hall-sired filly found her “A” game on Saturday night at The Meadowlands for driver Dave Miller, going wire-to-wire in a 1:52.4 clocking to capture the first of two $35,000 eliminations for the Hambletonian Oaks for 3-year-old fillies on the trot.

Miller had Lady Chaos on her toes and drove to the lead alertly at the outset, seating You Ato Dream in the pocket prior to the :27.4 opening quarter. From there, Lady Chaos was able to rate the second quarter kindly in just :29.1 as 2-5 favorite Bella Bellini and driver Dexter Dunn played possum not wanting to advance prematurely and towed rivals into the fray.

Dunn pushed the ‘go’ button with Bella Bellini and the Bar Hopping filly hit high gear quickly and looked to be trotting right past Lady Chaos as the two accelerated into the final turn. Miller didn’t allow that to happen, and Lady Chaos drove on keeping her rival at bay through a :27.4 third quarter.

In the homestretch, it was a match race between the 8-1 Lady Chaos and the heavily backed Bella Bellini with Lady Chaos gamely holding her position to the wire by a head and earning post preference for the $500,000 final on August 7. Bella Bellini settled for second with You Ato Dream third across the wire. Contested Hanover and Scott Zeron weaved through traffic for fourth and Brian Sears had last year’s Jim Doherty winner, Darlene Hanover, airborne in the closing yards to earn the final spot.

Lady Chaos is trained by Linda Toscano for owners Richard Gutnick, Tom Pontone, Joseph Lozito Jr. and Enviro Stables. She returned $18.60 to win.

“She fought tonight,” said Linda Toscano following the race proudly of her filly. “So I was tickled with her. She’s an absolute pleasure to train.”

The second Oaks elimination saw fillies coming from everywhere in the homestretch, but it was Scott Zeron behind 24-1 shot Awesome Trix that found the shortest route, skimming the pylons late to score the upset in a 1:52.4 mile.

There was action from the outset as Dutiful left sharply along with Flawless Country and Iteration. Dutiful put Flawless Country in the pocket early but parked Iteration to the :28 first quarter before releasing her. Big City Pearl left from the outside post 10 and found herself parked for Verlin Yoder, who sent the filly up to challenge through the second quarter. Iteration and Big City Pearl were on even terms through the :56 half with Flawless Country moving up with cover second-over followed by Hot As Hill and 4-5 favorite Donna Soprano in the outer flow.

Brian Sears had Iteration in control at three-quarters in 1:24.1 but horses fanned across the track and sought room between rivals. Iteration was brave fighting off challengers for much of the stretch, but Zeron had been fortunate as the two horses he had been following while fourth on the pylons at the three-quarters fanned out for room that opened up the inside lane for Awesome Trix to utilize. Under Zeron’s urging, Awesome Trix hit high gear late for the 1-length victory.

Iteration finished second with Hot As Hill, Flawless Country and Piper Hanover following her across the wire to earn spots in the rich final.

Awesome Trix, a daughter of Trixton that cost $13,000 as a yearling, the least of the 10 in the field, is owned by trainer Chris Beaver along with Aaron Merriman and Robert McNerney. In winning for the third time this year, Awesome Trix returned $50.80 to win.

“She interfered a lot as a 2-year-old but had high speed,” said Beaver following the win. “She’s getting stronger this year and learning to go.”