Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment hosted its first major stakes card at the new $88-million facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Saturday night featuring the finals of the TVG Free For All Championship Series, the Fall Four Stakes, Nadia Lobell, and Moni Maker.
Sent postward as the overwhelming 1-9 favourite after back-to-back wins in the Breeders Crown and Matron, Shake It Cerry kicked off Saturday's stakes at The Meadowlands with a wire-to-wire romp in the $456,150 Goldsmith Maid for two-year-old trotting fillies.
Ron Pierce sent Shake It Cerry to the lead from post five and carved out fractions of :27.4, :57.1 and 1:26 en route to the 1:53.4 triumph. She opened up three lengths down the stretch with Noon Tea Party (Andy Miller) chasing her home from the two-hole.
The Donato Hanover-Solveig filly is trained by Jimmy Takter and owned by Solveigs Racing Partners of East Windsor, New Jersey. Shake It Cerry's stablemate, Scream And Shout (Tim Tetrick), came on for third.
The time of the mile was just one-fifth of a second off the divisional track record that Shake It Cerry set this past August in the Merrie Annabelle.
“She is special. She has a lot of money and she is so damn good,” said co-owner Goran Anderberg, who ranked her ahead of a long list of past divisional champions trained by longtime partner Takter. “I think she can beat Father Patrick too.”
Shake It Cerry now boasts eight wins and two seconds in 11 career starts and a bankroll of $827,844.
Harness racing's fastest female pacer Shebestingin drew off in the stretch to win the $167,500 Nadia Lobell for three-year-old fillies for trainer Joe Holloway.
Driver David Miller had Shebestingin on the move early and she worked her way to the lead past the :27-second opening quarter mark. The 4-5 favourite took the lead near the :55.2 half-mile mark and turned back first over Charisma Hanover (Yannick Gingras) past the 1:23.1 third quarter station before opening up three lengths for the victory, timed in 1:50 flat.
After going three-for-three as a two-year-old, Shebestingin has compiled a sophomore record reading 12-3-1 in 19 starts while adding $638,626 to her bankroll. Her accomplishments include a 1:47 world record mile in the Glen Garnsey at The Red Mile. The Bettors Delight-Armbro Tussle filly is owned by Val Dor Farms, Theodore Gewertz, and L And L Devisser LLC.
“Right now she’s as good as she’s been all year and getting better,” said Holloway. “Maybe that’s because she was so lightly raced last year, I'm not sure. But she warmed up tonight and was bucking and playing and feeling good.”
UF Dragons Queen (Tim Tetrick) edged out the winner's new stablemate, Somwherovrarainbow (Brian Sears), for second-place honours.
“[Somewherovrarainbow] put in a good effort," added Holloway, who took over the training of the 2012 Dan Patch Award winner this month. "I was trying to drive her home for second, but third is okay. She’s going to be a very nice mare next year. She’s been a very nice mare -- she’s got $800,000 on her card -- so I’m looking forward to next year. They’re a nice pair of horses to race.”
Noticeably absent from the field was division standout I Luv The Nitelife, who was forced to skip the Nadia Lobell after suffering a knee injury earlier this week.
“I would have loved to race 'Nitelife' when I thought my filly was real good and could beat her on even terms,” said Holloway. “That would be great, but you never want to see that happen to a champion. That filly raced great all year. It’s tough enough to get these good horses, let alone have that happen.”
Making his first start for trainer Jonas Czernyson, Muscle Network wore down heavy favourite Nuncio to win the $494,750 Valley Victory for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings.
David Miller earned his second stakes win on the night guiding Muscle Network to the 1:55.1 triumph for F Bellino And Sons LLC of Bronxville, New York.
Odds On Amethyst (Tim Tetrick) and Southwind Spirit (Yannick Gingras) traded turns on the lead early on with the parked Nuncio (John Campbell) rolling up to take over after the :27.2 first quarter. Nuncio led the way to the half in :56.2 and three-quarters in 1:25.3 with Muscle Network advancing first over from fifth before eventually wearing down the 1-2 bettor's choice for the half-length victory. Southwind Spirit finished third.
"It looked like John had a lot of horse around the last turn," said Miller after the race. "We went I think :29.3 to the third quarter and my horse was coming, he felt strong. We came off the turn and he got by John's horse. I know it wasn't a huge last quarter, but he got the job done."
"I only had him for two weeks so I can't take much credit," said Czernyson. "We took him and trained him up -- David trained him. We did a couple of little changes to him and it worked out pretty good."
Muscle Network, who broke his sire Muscle Hill's world record in the International Stallion Stakes this summer, watched his earnings soar to $314,350 as he earned just his second win from eight starts.
"I think he's going to be a pretty nice three-year-old," added Czernyson, who will be pointing the colt towards the Hambletonian next year.
Muscle Network paid $17 for the upset.
Driven by Tim Tetrick, Market Share overcame an outside post position and wired a field of talented trotters to win the first $500,000 TVG Free For All Championship Series final.
Leaving from post seven, 6-5 favourite Market Share established the lead into a speedy :26.2 opening quarter and carved out middle splits of :55 and 1:23.1 en route to the victory in 1:51 flat. Takter trainees Uncle Peter (David Miller) and Guccio (Jimmy Taker) finished second and third, respectively.
"I wanted to take it into my own hands from the outside," said Tetrick of his racing strategy. "My horse can really get off the wings from the outside with the angle. I don't do it very often with him, but when I do he always pays me back for it and we got paid today."
With the victory, Market Share surpassed the $3 million career earnings mark. He's earned over $1 million of his bankroll during his four-year-old campaign with six wins in 14 starts, including the Maple Leaf Trot, Breeders Crown and American National.
Linda Toscano trains the son of Revenue S for owners Richard Gutnick, T L P Stable, and William Augustine.
"To use Linda's word, it's been surreal," said Gutnick of sharing ownership of Market Share and last year's U.S. Horse of the Year Chapter Seven. "I just can't believe it's really happening and I hope it keeps continuing. I have a great driver and a great trainer and a whole great team that Linda has so you can't go wrong that way."
Market Share's connections indicated they are leaning towards racing him next year and he has received an invitation to the 2014 Elitlopp.
"He was really good tonight, but he needs rest and deserves a rest...and I do too," laughed Toscano.
Ron Burke was faced with the disappointment of having to scratch his highly regarded two-year-old colt Somestarsomewhere from the $534,500 Governor's Cup due to a minor injury early this week, but another stable starter, Jk Endofanera, stepped up and stole the spotlight for North America's leading trainer.
Jk Endofanera settled away fifth off the gate as a three-wide battle for the early lead ensued with stablemate Carracci Hanover (Yannick Gingras) clearing over insider Ari Allstar (Andy Miller) first and then Stevensville (Tim Tetrick) surging by through a :26.2 first quarter. Once the leaders settled into alignment, Jk Endofanera advanced first over and cleared by the :53.4 half-mile mark. He then fought off Arthur Blue Chip (David Miller) and second over Bushwacker (Ron Pierce) past the 1:23 third quarter mark and down the stretch for the 1:51.4 half-length triumph.
"It's a big win. This was a horse I didn't even have until about a month ago. It's nice to pick up these kind," said Burke. "When we first got him, I didn't know if he was really that much. The first time we raced him I thought well maybe he's a bit better than we thought and then the second time we raced him I started thinking he's a real horse."
The Art Major-Presidential Lady colt, who equalled his lifetime mark taken in the Elevation Stakes at the beginning of the month for Burke, is owned and bred by the New York-based 3 Brothers Stables. He has four wins and three seconds in seven starts with earnings climbing to $371,850.
Driver David Miller earned his third stakes win of the night with Delightful Dragon upsetting in the $394,950 Three Diamonds for two-year-old pacing fillies.
Miller sent Delightful Dragon to the lead from post six with Act Now (Brian Sears) settling into the two-hole ahead of 1-2 favourite Ali Blue (Yannick Gingras) during the :27.3 first quarter. Ali Blue then swept from third to first during the second panel and posted middle splits of :56 and 1:24.4, but the field began to close in on the popular filly down the stretch. Delightful Dragon slipped up the pylons to prevail in a career-best 1:52.4 in a photo finish. Act Now got up for second while Ali Blue settled for third just half a length back.
The win was Delightful Dragon's first in stakes action and third in eight career starts, boosting her bankroll to $227,329.
Noel Daley trains the Bettors Delight-Little Miss Dragon filly, who is owned and bred by New York's Adam Victor And Son Stable.
She paid $21 to win.
Harness racing's richest pacer Foiled Again captured the $512,000 final of the TVG Free For All Championship Series, catapulting his earnings over the $6 million mark.
The race was one of the most anticipated harness racing events of the season as the three-year-old colt Captaintreacherous accepted an invitation to face the top older pacers, including the richest and fastest horses in the sport, after winning his divisional Breeders Crown final.
When the wings of the gate folded, Golden Receiver (Corey Callahan) fired to command with outsider Bolt The Duer (Mark MacDonald) on his back. Driven by Yannick Gingras, Foiled Again settled into third as Dynamic Youth (Ron Pierce) broke stride and moved into the safety lane with favourite Pet Rock (David Miller) away fourth and Captaintreacherous (Tim Tetrick) fifth in the 10-horse field.
Golden Receiver fired off an opening quarter in :26-seconds before Gingras moved Foiled Again underway and took over command en route to the half in :53.1.
As Foiled Again led the way to three-quarters in 1:22, Pet Rock advanced first over with Captaintreacherous following his cover, setting up an exciting stretch drive.
Foiled Again continued to lead into the stretch with the field fanning across the track and Golden Receiver closing up the pylons. However, Foiled Again dug in to score his 76th career win by a neck in 1:49.2. Golden Receiver was second with Bolt The Duer finishing one length behind in third. Sweet Lou (Matt Kakaley) and Modern Legend (John Campbell) came on for fourth and fifth. Captaintreacherous finished sixth.
"I was happy to get to the rail in the first turn," said Gingas after the race. "I wanted to take my time to move to the front. That was my plan, moving back, but I didn't really want Pet Rock to move with me so I waited a bit there.
"If he doesn't get tortured he's hard to pass. He's been getting a lot of tough trips, but he doesn't let me down, that's for sure. He's a great horse, $6 million tonight, what else can you say?"
Ron Burke trains Foiled Again, who has won 11 of his 29 starts as a nine-year-old, including the Ben Franklin and Breeders Crown, for his third straight million-dollar campaign. The Dragon Again-In A Safe Place gelding is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, and Jjk Stables LLC.
Following Foiled Again's final start of the year, Burke noted that the iron tough pacer has exceeded his expectations with all of his accomplishments.
"Even if you would have said at the beginning of the year that he would do this, we would have said we couldn't believe it," said Burke. "He's got even better; this is his greatest year. He took on all comers this year. He's got 29 starts -- that's the most I've raced him since he was a four-year-old. We've asked him to do a lot and he's done more than we could ask."
Burke said Foiled Again will likely head to North Carolina for his winter break and resume training in the middle of January.
"He doesn't get a long rest, he races a lot," said Burke. "It's basically the same path we've followed for the last couple of years and it seems to work for him."
Standout trotting filly Bee A Magician wrapped up a perfect sophomore campaign with one final victory in the $253,000 Moni Maker.
Brian Sears sent 1-9 favourite Bee A Magician to the lead from mid-pack after a :27.2 opening quarter and never looked back as she cruised through panels of :55.3 and 1:25 en route to the 1:53.3 victory. Ma Chere Hall (Corey Callahan) finished one length behind from the pocket while fellow Jonas Czerynson trainee Mistery Woman (David Miller) came from last to show.
Bee A Magician has won all 17 of her starts this year in stakes action to earn over $1.57 million in purses.
Trainer Richard 'Nifty' Norman admitted in a post-race interview that he was a little anxious heading into the race.
"Absolutely," he said. "It's the end of the year, it's the last time so I just wanted to get it over with, but she came through again and we're very proud of her."
The Ontario-sired daughter of Kadabra and Beehive is owned by Melvin Hartman of Ottawa, Ont., along with Florida's Herb Liverman and David McDuffee.
"We've had an unbelievable year," said McDuffee. "I've been in the business a long time and I've had some good horses. This is my first great horse and it's just an unbelievable feeling."
Garnering Horse of the Year buzz with her accomplishments, the filly's trainer noted that her record speaks for itself. "You can't deny what she's accomplished," said Norman.
Bee A Magician is now 27-for-30 lifetime and has amassed a $2.32 million bankroll.
She will enjoy a three month winter break before returning to the races next year.
Total handle for the Saturday card was $3,490,950.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Meadowlands Racetrack.