Home >  Sports >  Other Sports

Friday, October 13, 2000

By Pohla Smith, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

But for one of those "judgment decisions" athletes dread, Astreos would be going for a sweep of the Triple Crown of Pacing and a $250,000 bonus tomorrow night at Ladbroke at The Meadows.

Instead, his human connections have to be satisfied with an attempt for a second jewel and the winner's share of the $404,275 purse of the Messenger Stakes.

An "absolute travesty," trainer Brett Pelling said of the judges' decision that left Astreos second to Powerful Toy in the Cane Pace, first leg of the Triple Crown. Astreos won the middle jewel, the Little Brown Jug, in a raceoff last month and is the favorite to take the Messenger. "He would have had a definite chance to win the Triple Crown."

Astreos did indeed cross the finish line behind Powerful Toy in the Cane Pace at Freehold, N.J., but his driver, Chris Christoforou Jr., filed an objection against the winner as soon as he got out of the sulky. It was his contention that Powerful Toy impeded Astreos' progress by bearing out and failing to maintain his lane in the stretch. Christoforou pointed out that he was bumped so hard by Powerful Toy that he dropped his whip.

The judges agreed that Powerful Toy bore out, but they also said Astreos bore in. Equal harm, no foul. Case dismissed. No appeal filed.

"The process doesn't lend itself to long court battles," Pelling said. "I prefer to let things be settled on the racetrack."

On the other hand, if he realized his horse would otherwise have been going for a sweep in the Messenger, he said he might have handled it differently. "Might" is the important word here, though. As in baseball and football, it's tough to win an appeal of a judgment decision.

For that reason, Christoforou tried to put the incident out of his mind.

"My opinion was the horse interfered with my horse," he said. "The judges didn't agree. It wasn't something that jumped out at me at the time that I had to protect a potential Triple Crown. That's racing.

"We're still going to win the Messenger."

First they have to survive a qualifier, the second of two $40,427 divisions that drew six horses each. Four from each come back for the $323,421 final, 14th and final race on the Meadows' card.

Astreos was posted as an 8-5 favorite for his division, but the field does look a bit tougher than the first, in which stablemate High On Emotion is the 2-1 pick.

Astreos' toughest foe in the division appears to be Ain't No Stopn Him, also 2-1. He showed his affinity for the Meadows' 5/8ths-mile track and two-heat racing when he won the Adios in August. The Blue Pan Group, 3-1 third choice, hit the board in the Jug qualifying divisions.

Pelling also is very high on High On Emotion.

"He's been dynamite the past two weeks. During the fall meet at Lexington [Kentucky], he drew the eight and nine holes and came from improbable places to get big checks."

In the Tattersalls, his most recent race, he rallied late from 10th place to get third.

Post time for the final is about 10:30 p.m. The race will be televised live by the Ladbroke Racing Network.