Benjamin Hanover used an ideal pocket trip and a perfect steer from U.S. Hall of Fame driver Dave Miller to take down 1-2 favourite Lexus Kody on Friday night, May 17 at The Meadowlands in the featured $37,671 Winners Over Trot.
Looking for a fourth straight win, Lexus Kody was predictably away quickly from post seven in the seven-horse field and settled on the front out of the first turn. Miller had Benjamin Hanover on the go and settled into the two-hole as Lexus Kody hit the quarter in :26.4, which may have been the difference in the outcome, since his fastest opening panel during his three-race win streak was :27.2.
There were no issues down the backside, as Lexus Kody trotted the half in :55.1 and three-quarters in 1:23.1, with all appearing well for the chalk players.
But just after straightening away with three-sixteenths of a mile to go, Miller eased Benjamin Hanover off the rail and inched away at the leader’s edge through the entirety of the stretch drive before hitting the wire a head in front of Lexus Kody in a lifetime-best 1:50.3, four-fifths of a second faster than his previous mark. Stabile Genius was third.
“He’s a little bit of a nervous horse, a little antsy,” said Miller. “So, I gave him a score to calm him down. After that, he felt like himself. [In his last start, when he broke at the start but eventually finished second] he was way too hot and got crammed at the gate. Tonight, my plan was to sit the pocket and he got his nose up. He went a couple of real good races at [Harrah’s Philadelphia] and we couldn’t be happier with him.”
Trained by Joe Holloway, Benjamin Hanover is putting together a superb season. He’s won half of his eight starts and hit the board on seven occasions. The four-year-old gelded son of Sebastian K S-By A Nack Hanover now has 11 victories from just 18 lifetime attempts, good for more than $100,000 in earning for owners Sarah Andrews, Angela Cornell and Jarod Miller.
As the 4-1 second choice, Benjamin Hanover paid $10.80 to win.
There were no winning favourites during the Early 20-cent Pick-5 sequence, but none of the winners went off at odds greater than 6-1. Those with winning tickets were rewarded with a payoff of $1,051.78.
All-source betting on the 14-race card totalled $3,102,763 USD, marking the 32nd time from 38 race cards this year wagering has gone past the $3 million USD mark at The Meadowlands.
Racing resumes on Saturday at 6:20 p.m. with the featured event the $145,150 USD Arthur J. Cutler Memorial Stakes for open trotters. The Cutler – and three-year-old trotting sensation Karl – can be seen live on a two-hour live broadcast on Fox Sports 2 (FS2) that kicks off at 9 p.m.
(Meadowlands Racetrack)