NJ Sire Stakes 2-Year-Old Colt Pacers- Leg 2 at Freehold

Thursday, October 12, 2023

By Katie Eick for Freehold Raceway

Two, $10,000 divisions of the second leg of the Standardbred Development Fund NJ Sire Stakes for 2-year-old colt pacers took place on Thursday, October 12, 2023 at Freehold Raceway.

Race three was the first division. Jason Bartlett won easily with 1-5 Wish You Well from post 4 for Nifty Norman. After pacing the first turn from first-over with some pressure from Marcus Miller and Jaxsons Wish (post 3) who were first on the inside, Wish You Well soon overtook Jaxsons Wish and set the pace for the rest of the race without competition. The Bettor’s Wish gelding put up fractions of :29.0, :59.0, 1:27.4, and crossed the wire with his ear-plugs still in place in 1:56.0 for the owner, Kovach Stables LLC. Bet on Mac (post 5) and Austin Siegelman finished second, Lazaruls (post 2) and Steve Smith finished third.

The second division took place in race five where 3-5 favorite Caviart Justice (post 1) teamed up with Jordan Stratton to earn his second lifetime win. In the first turn, he settled in behind Dan Dube and Divine Cosmo (post 5) and then wasted no time pulling to battle for the lead. Shortly after they reached the quarter pole in :28.3, Caviart Justice cleared to the front and led the rest of the pack to the half in :58.0 and the three-quarter pole in 1:27.3. Going into the final turn, Seen Here (post 3) driven by Jim Marohn Jr. put on some pressure from first over and the two dueled down the stretch. Ultimately, it was Nancy Takter trainee, Caviart Justice who pulled away and crossed the wire first in a time of 1:55.2 on the Freehold half-mile oval. Seen Here finished second and Divine Cosmo finished third. The young Lazarus colt is owned by Caviart Farms and Christina Takter.

Freehold will host the second leg for 2-year-old pacing fillies on Saturday, October 14. The finals for both colts and fillies will take place the following Saturday, October 21, 2023. Live racing at Freehold Raceway takes place on Fridays and Saturdays beginning at 12:30pm.