Wild Again Heads an Unimpressive Field for Meadowlands Cup

A year ago, Wild Again won the Meadowlands Cup, then went on to become the first winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He was entered Thursdayto defend his Meadowlands Cup championship tonight. Whatever the outcome, it is not likely that the 5-year-old horse, who has failed to win a race since the inaugural Breeders’ Cup, will defend that title next month at Aqueduct, part-owner Bill Allen said.

Since the principals of Black Chip Stable neglected to make Wild Again eligible for the first Breeders’ Cup, they paid a supplemental nomination fee of more than $300,000 to make the son of Icecapade eligible last fall. Another fee is due if Wild Again, who has earned just $16,720 this season, is to defend his Breeders’ Cup title, a fee Allen equated to “going to jail twice for the same crime.”

“Last year,” Allen said, “there was no question. We violated the nomination schedule and felt obligated to pay the price. But to have that burden placed upon us twice may be asking too much.”

A dozen horses are entered for tonight’s $500,000 Meadowlands Cup, which will be run for the ninth time at 1 1/4 miles. Skip Trial, winner of the Pennslyvania Derby and Pegasus Handicap in his last two starts, is the favorite, but drew the outside post, which trainer Sonny Hine said will certainly not enhance his prospects.

With the exception of the Pennsylvania Derby, Skip Trial has not raced well from outside post positions. “I’ve got to believe whenever you get the outside post, you take the worst of it. All I can do is hope for some breaks and a few scratches,” Hine said.

Meadowlands officials were hopeful of drawing Gate Dancer and Vanlandingham to the Meadowlands Cup, but neither will start, since both are likely Breeders’ Cup starters. Instead, a rather undistinguished field will race for a great deal of money tonight. Second choice to Mrs. Ben Cohen’s Skip Trial is Bertram Firestone’s Al Mamoon, a 4-year-old grass specialist by Believe It with only one previous start in the East, a sixth-place effort in the Marlboro Cup for trainer Bobby Frankel.