Marcus Miller made the most of his trip to the Meadowlands on
Saturday night, scoring wins in 5 of the 14 races on the card. Two of his
victories came in New Jersey Sire Stakes which continued at the one mile oval
in East Rutherford. The 14-race betting card included two divisions each
for the two year old colt and filly pacers.
The first Sire Stakes leg was held as a non-betting event for the
two year old pacing colts and was won by Beat The Drum, a son of Tell All,
showing good acceleration in the stretch and chasing down Doo Wop Hanover late,
completing the mile in 1:54.1. The winner was sent out by typical-trotting
connections of Bender Sweden Inc, and owner/trainer Staffan Lind while driven
by Eric Carlson.
Next it was Western Vintage flashing promise as he used a powerful
first over brush in tripping the teletimer in a sharp 1:52.4 with Marcus
Johansson. Trained by Nancy Johansson for
Perry Soderberg, Western Vintage has already proved to be a bargain yearling
purchase, costing just $7,000 at the Harrisburg yearling sale.
On the filly side, the two Sire Stakes divisions saw wins by
Rockingcam Park and Ideal Helen. The former, a $7,500 Harrisburg yearling
appears to be another bargain baby, as she put forth a powerful first over
effort, scoring in 1:52.4 for Marcus Miller. Rockingcam Park is trained
by co-owner Ron Coyne Jr. and is owned in part by B C & E R Corbelli and
Ron Coyne Stables Inc. Ideal Helen was the most impressive winner of the
night, showing a powerful brush on the far turn and romping to an open-length
score in a wrapped up 1:53.3. That filly completed a strong night for
stallion Western Ideal, who's offspring won a pair of Sire Stakes and for
driver Marcus Miller who notched five winners on the card.
The Summer Survivor Series Finals were also held on Saturday.
The Trot went to Raven Victory who returned from a break in stride in The
Pennsylvania Sire Stakes at Pocono with a strong 1:56 mile tonight. Raven
Victory is owned by M Biasuzzi Stable Inc and trained by Linda Toscano.
The Summer Survivor Series Pace saw Ima Giggity Fool roll to a 1:50.1
performance for Vincent Ginsburg. That winner is trained by Taylor Gower
for owner Brian Bennett.
It was another strong betting night at the Meadowlands. The
14-race Saturday program showed an increase of 43-percent over the same
Saturday in 2012.
Racing resumes on Friday night with New Jersey Sire Stakes and
Reynolds Stakes action. The Saturday night program features eliminations
for The Meadowlands Pace, William Haughton Memorial and Mistletoe Shalee, along
with New Jersey Sire Stakes action and another leg of the TVG Free-For-All
Trotting Championship. Post Time for both programs is 7:15 P.M.
