'EJ' AND 'ROCKET' READY TO MEET OLDER FOES IN FANDUEL

HIGHTSTOWN, NJ -- November 29, 2024 -- Three-year-old My Girl EJ, purchased for $758,000 earlier this month, will make her first start for her new connections Saturday when she faces harness racing’s No. 1-ranked horse, Twin B Joe Fresh, and five other rivals in the $150,000 FanDuel Championship for female pacers at The Meadowlands.

My Girl EJ, who a month ago won the Breeders Crown for sophomore filly pacers at The Big M, will start the FanDuel from post two with Todd McCarthy driving for trainer Andrew Harris. The filly, previously trained by Ron Burke, is owned by Bill Pollock, Bruce Areman, and Harris. She was purchased Nov. 18 through Preferred Equine Online.

This season, the daughter of Sweet Lou-Lucy’s Pearl has hit the board in 15 of 17 races, winning nine and earning $759,649. She is the sport’s richest 3-year-old filly pacer, as well as the co-fastest, with a mark of 1:48.1.

My Girl EJ, a two-time Breeders Crown champion, has 14 wins, 10 seconds, three thirds, and $1.45 million in purses in 30 career starts.

“She’s just a class mare, a readymade champion,” Harris said. “There are no real secrets with her. She’s just a gorgeous animal with amazing ability. Bill has always wanted ones that are at the top of their division, and she’s at the top of her division.

“Burke did an amazing job with her; I’m just lucky to get the lines and hand them over to the next guy. Hopefully, we’ll have a little success (Saturday) and then she’ll get shut down and we’ll regroup for next year. Hopefully, she comes back even bigger and stronger.”

Twin B Joe Fresh last year became the first 3-year-old filly to beat the mares in the FanDuel Championship. She can become the first two-time winner of the event with a victory Saturday at The Big M. The Chris Ryder-trained mare has finished no worse than second in 12 races this season, winning 10 and earning $822,062.

She is the 1-5 morning-line favorite in the FanDuel and will leave from post six with Dexter Dunn in the sulky.

“Twin B Joe Fresh is a clear, clear, clear standout and we knew that going in,” Harris said. “But we just bought (My Girl EJ) and she’s going in the right direction right now, so you might as well take a shot. You’re going for enough money that if you can get a piece of it it’s still a great day and we get a little bit of excitement with her before we shut her down.”

My Girl EJ is not the only 3-year-old in the field. Rocket Deo, trained by Brett Pelling, will start from post one with driver Andy McCarthy. Rocket Deo has won 10 of 16 starts this season, hit the board three more times, and earned $470,598 for owners Morrison Racing Stables and John Fielding.

The daughter of Captaintreacherous-Rocklamation has a mark of 1:48.3, third best this year among horses in the FanDuel, behind Twin B Joe Fresh (1:47.3) and My Girl EJ.

“Basically, this is another start where she gets to race for a lot of money, so why not,” Pelling said. “I had a feeling it might be a little bit of a short field, and that helps. I think the 3-year-olds will hold their own. I imagine one of them will hit the board. (Twin B Joe Fresh) will probably just march to the front whenever she wants and probably just be too good, but the other ones, throw a blanket over them.”

Rocket Deo enjoyed a summertime span of seven starts in which she posted six wins and a second. She capped that stretch with back-to-back Grand Circuit victories at the Red Mile, but a following bout with sickness resulted in fifth-place finishes in both her Breeders Crown elimination and the final. In her most recent race on Nov. 7, she finished second by a neck in the Matron Stakes at Bally’s Dover.

“If I had a disappointment for the year, it was Rocket Deo because I thought she was so dominant in Lexington,” Pelling said. “She came back from there, after two years of being super healthy, and got very sick. It was incredibly disappointing because the Breeders Crown is a big deal. I thought she was a legit contender and sickness kind of took it away from her. She just wasn’t the same.

“Hopefully, she’s got her form back. If she’s as good as she was at the Red Mile, I think she can just go with anyone.”

Rocket Deo and My Girl EJ are both 10-1 on the morning line. The 8-1 second choice is Grace Hill, a 6-year-old daughter of Always B Miki-Western Silk who has won 37 of 80 lifetime races and earned $1.92 million. She won the 2022 FanDuel Championship.

Three-year-old fillies also will be in action in Saturday’s $150,000 FanDuel Championship for female trotters, where sophomores Allegiant and R Melina will face four older foes. A 3-year-old has never won the FanDuel for female trotters.

Saturday’s packed stakes card at The Meadowlands also features $325,000 FanDuel finals for male pacers and trotters, plus the Fall Final Four for 2-year-old trotters and pacers.

Racing begins at 6:20 p.m. (EST) at The Meadowlands. For free programs, visit the track’s website.