Creature Of Habit got into the win column for the first time in her career a week ago, and Friday night at the Meadowlands, the daughter of Donato Hanover-Habits Best came right back and won again, taking one of five divisions of the Kindergarten Classic for two-year-olds.
The Nifty Norman trainee scored in the dash for filly trotters by brushing to command down the backstretch before reporting home a safe half-length in front of She Rocks Kemp in 1:55.3 for driver Victor Kirby. As the 8-5 favourite, the winner of two of 11 lifetime starts returned $5.40 to her backers.
In other Kindergarten action, Hen Party ($15.60) went wire-to-wire to defeat 1-5 public choice Annabelle Hanover by 1-¼ lengths in a filly pace for driver Pat Berry and trainer Ron Burke in 1:52.4 while Ideal Perception ($7.60) held off Force N Fury by a hard-fought nose in 1:51.3 in a pace for colts and geldings with Joe Bongiorno in the bike for trainer Tony Alagna.
Hall Of AM S ($5.00 as the favourite) took another filly trot, completing the mile in 1:55.2 to finish 1-¾ lengths in front of Scorched Romance for driver Mattias Melander, who is the brother of winning trainer Marcus.
In a non-betting race before the start of the regular card, Sky Castles scored in a division for trotting colts and geldings for driver Mitch Cushing and trainer Andrew Harris in 1:55.1.
TROLLEY ON TIME: The Erv Miller-trained Trolley hit the Meadowlands' winner's circle for the first time since May 18, scoring by 1-¾ lengths over Max as the 3-5 favourite in 1:54.4 in a $25,000 conditioned trot for driver Marcus Miller.
A LITTLE MORE: A $20,922 carryover from last Saturday led to a total pool of just over $150,000 in the 50-cent Pick-5. Those who cashed had to be sharp, as the fourth leg of the wager was won by 39-1 chance Princess Holly N. The odds of the other four winners were 4-5, 8-5, 2-1 and 9-2. The payoff was $3,054.15....25-year-old Kasper Foget was a winner in his Big M driving debut, guiding For A Dreamer to victory lane in the 11th race at odds of 5-1. The native Of Denmark was a champion European driver in the under-25 division....All-source wagering on the 13-race card totaled $2,294,868....Racing resumes Saturday at 7:15 p.m.
(Meadowlands)