Mark Ford trainees Handsome Harry and Keep It Real nabbed the lion's share of the $40,000 purse in the opening round of the Aquarius Series for four-year-old pacers Saturday night at the Meadowlands
Racetrack.
Handsome Harry burst through on the pylons to win the featured seventh race by a half-length over his stablemate in 1:51. One of the early sophomore standouts last season, Keep It Real (John Campbell) claimed the lead from Handsome Harry before the half and laid down middle fractions of :56.1 and 1:24 as they headed into the stretch.
Driver Yannick Gingras and Handsome Harry slipped through late for the victory, while favourite Go Go Solano (George Brennan) rallied on their outside to finish third. Handsome Harry paid $17.40.
A star on the New York Sire Stakes circuit, Handsome Harry had a prolific three-year-old season. He finished first or second in 20 of 21 starts, racking up an impressive 15 wins and $303,107 in earnings. Ralph Del Priore Jr. of Memphis, New York and Harry Doyle of Matawan, New Jersey bred and own the son of Dream Away.
The three-week Aquarius Series continues with a second leg on Saturday, February 13 and concludes with an estimated $84,000 final on Saturday, February 20.
In regular racing action, Corky Baran and driver Daniel Dube uncorked another winning performance in this week’s $32,000 Invitational Pace.
Presidential champion and 3-2 favourite Blatantly Good and Beeeyouuuuuu (Brian Sears) fired off the gate from Posts 1 and 3 respectively while Post 2 starter Corky Baran settled in third. Beeeyouuuuuu caught the baton before the :28-second first quarter mark, but was looped by Blatantly Good shortly after.
As the field headed down the backstretch, Corky Baran tipped to the outside and advanced to the lead en route to the half in :56.
Western Shore (George Brennan) was next to move and applied pressure heading past the three-quarters station in 1:24, but Corky Baran kicked away by two lengths in the stretch to wrap up his second straight win in a time of 1:50.3. He paid $8.80 to win as the bettor’s third choice.
Western Shore and Blantantly Good finished second and third.
The winning seven-year-old son of Rambaran is trained by Jean Drolet for owner Stephen Schneider of Roslyn Heights, New York. In six starts this season, Corky Baran has put together a record of 3-2-1 good for $60,000 in earnings.
Meadowlands Pick Six Pays Out $131,599
After a nine-day carryover, the Meadowlands Pick Six was hit for $131,599.80 on Saturday, February 6, 2010.
It was the second highest Pick Six payout in Meadowlands history. A $96,355 carryover attracted an additional $247,453 in wagering on the Saturday Pick Six. Two tickets, both purchased in Canada, chose the correct sequence: 9-Real Platinum ($15), 4-Art At Heart ($6.60), 1-Internationalstyle ($8.40), 1-Handsome Harry ($17.40), 6-Lets Getit Started ($6.20) and 10-Best Magic ($66).
A $1 base wager, the Pick Six is available nightly on Race 4 through 9. A 10-day carryover produced a record $1.3 million pool and $193,384 payoff on April 4, 2009.
To view Saturday's results, click here.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)