Dewey carved fractions of 27.4, 56.3 and 1:25.4 but did not respond when driver Ray Schnittker called upon him in the stretch. The colt, who had battled a serious throat abcess that nearly kept him out of the Breeders Crown altogether, held on for third as In Focus surged past for the victory in 1:53.4. Stablemate Holiday Credit rallied to get second.
Winning driver Dave Palone said, "He's a little funny about his head and stuff but when Ray was on the front end going pretty stiff fractions, I was pretty happy. When Ray spoke to Dewey in the final turn, I could tell he wasn't really himself tonight, which worked out great for us."
Trainer Jimmy Takter added, "He's been getting better about getting the dirt hitting him in the face. The material is much coarser here at The Meadowlands and I was really worried about that hitting him in the face, but I think he's just about to get over with it." Takter trains the first two finishers in the race.
Results chart
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