Hidalgo, Conversano take 5,000 NJSS Finals

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Hidalgo (Muscle Hill) and Conversano (Muscle Hill) both made the lead early in their respective $225,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes finals for 3-year-old trotters at The Meadowlands Friday night and were more than good enough to make those early advantages hold up to the finish line in impressive harness racing efforts.

Hidalgo (Muscle Hill-Brooklyn) won the division for colts and geldings after claiming the lead at the quarter in :27.1 and going down the road from there.

It was exactly what driver Yannick Gingras did not have in mind.

“It was the last place I wanted to be,” said Gingras. “He’s been there before and got beat. I really wanted to get away in the two- or three-hole. At the end of the day, he dug in and got the job done.”

After reaching the half in :56.3 and three-quarters in 1:25, Hidalgo had to deal with a three-pronged attack from Travolta Hanover, Top Gun Hanover and Onajetplane but was able to hold sway after trotting his final quarter in :27.4 to complete a 1-length win over Onajetplane and Top Gun Hanover in 1:52.4. Even-money favorite Mr Walner Fashion went off stride approaching the top of the stretch and finished eighth before being disqualified and placed 10^th.

HIDALGO REPLAY

After opening the season with a pair of starts where he went off stride, trainer Ron Burke added the trotting hobbles, which have enabled Hidalgo to mind his manners, but Gingras didn’t rile his horse up in the final preliminary a week ago in a loss to Mr Walner Fashion because of his breaking issues. Or so it seemed.

“It’s not the whip,” said Gingras. “It’s really just holding him together. But I think that comes with maturity. Tonight, he dug in, but I still like him off a helmet. He’s a big, strong horse. It’s between the ears that sometimes gets to him.”

Hidalgo now has five wins from 16 lifetime tries and earnings of $332,350 for owners Brixton Medical Inc and Hatfield Stables. He returned $11 to win as the 9-2 third choice in the betting.

Conversano continued her superb campaign for trainer Juan Cano, as after brushing to the lead after the quarter, the Andy McCarthy-driven lass was an easy winner in the split for fillies.

“I knew I had a nice horse going into the Garden State [her second start, and win, of 2025],” said Cano. “She was nice at 2 but she wasn’t mature, she needed time.”

Well, her time has come.

In what was the most wide-open race of the 14 on the program on paper, Conversano tore her opponents to shreds, blasting down the pike after making it to the half in :56.2 and three-quarters in 1:25.2.

CONVERSANO REPLAY

From there, driver McCarthy coaxed a final quarter of :27.1 out of the daughter of Muscle Hill-Celebrity Ruth on the way to a 1-length win over a pocket-sitting Torrisi. Even-money favorite What A Bid Hanover, caught in a traffic jam that looked like the Lincoln Tunnel at 5 p.m., rallied for third after swinging four-wide from 10^th with a quarter to go.

Conversano completed the mile in 1:52.3 and paid $9.40 as the 7-2 second choice on the tote board. She’s now won six of 13 career outings and earned $206,125 for her owners Hot Lead Farm.

“She’s happy every day. She trains on the front end at home and always fights back,” said Cano, who couldn’t help but think about the first Saturday in August. “The dream all along has been the Hambletonian Oaks. She needed to mature and she has done that at 3.”

GRADUATION SEASON: On the undercard were three divisions of the second leg of the Graduate Series for 4-year-olds. Two of the dashes were for trotters and went for $50,000 each while the lone pace went for $75,000.

Sir Pinocchio flaunted his class in the first trotting split, grabbing the point before the half after racing third to the quarter. He then opened up a 2½-length lead at three-quarters on the way to a 1¼-length win over even-money favorite Gruesome Twosome in a lifetime-best 1:51.3. The 4-year-old gelded son of Met’s Hall-Lady Cromwell was driven by Jason Bartlett and is trained by Hall of Famer Ed Hart. He paid $7.40 as the 5-2 second choice as he picked up his 14^th win in 29 career tries while raising his lifetime bankroll to $748,259.

Private Access (Muscle Hill-Open Access) followed up his leg one Graduate score at Woodbine Mohawk Park with a flawless performance in the other trot. The Luc Blais trainee made it to the point at the half in :56.3 and held sway to the wire a safe neck ahead of a fast-closing Date Night Hanover in 1:52.2.

Driven by Louis Roy, Private Access returned $5.20 to win as the 8-5 second choice, and now has five wins in 24 lifetime tries while raising his lifetime earnings to $430,606. Highland Kismet, the 7-5 public choice, made a break before the quarter and finished last in the field of seven.

Captain Albano, the Dan Patch 3-Year-Old Male Pacer of 2024, made a triumphant return to the races, winning the pacing division in 1:49.2. The Noel Daley trainee found himself in the two-hole behind Funtime Bayama down the backside, but when the leader bore out off the far turn while tiring, ‘Albano’ cruised to an easy three-quarter-length score. Early leader Calicojack Hanover was second.

Driven by Todd McCarthy, Captain Albano (Captaintreacherous-Angelou) ed his 20^th lifetime win in just 28 tries, and upped his lifetime earnings to just over $1.6 million. He paid $5.20 to win as the 8-5 favorite.

A LITTLE MORE: Todd McCarthy led the driver colony with three wins on the night. … Noel Daley paced the trainers with a pair of jaunts down victory lane. … All-source handle on the 14-race card totaled $3,129,595. … Racing resumes Saturday at 6:20 p.m.

For complete race entries, click here: US Trotting entries.

by Dave Little, for The Meadowlands