EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. _ Bee A Magician and
Mistery Woman won the eliminations for the Hambletonian Oaks next Saturday at
The Meadowlands Racetrack.
The top five finishers in each elimination
for 3-year-old trotting fillies advanced to the $500,000 final, the companion
event to the $1.2 million Hambletonian that same afternoon.
The connections of the elimination winners
will draw for post positions number one
through five in the final. The remainder of the field
will be determined by random selection.
Bee A Magician, driven by Brian Sears, is
a perfect 8 for 8 this season following her victory in the first $35,000
elimination. Trained by Richard "Nifty" Norman, Bee A Magician
trotted the mile in 1:53 3/5, paying $2.20 to win as the 1-10 favorite. She
beat Ma Chere Hall by two lengths with Frau Blucher third.
This was a perfect tune-up for the big
test next week.
“She was real good,” Sears said. “We
weren’t trying to set any records, just get around there safe, out of trouble.”
Handover Belle and Fashion Athena also
made the final.
Mistery Woman beat Classic Martine by 1¼
lengths in 1:53 with David Miller in the sulky for trainer Jonas Czernyson. She
paid $7.20 to win.
“It looks like she’s coming into herself,”
Czernyson said. “We just need a little bit of luck.”
To Dream On was third, followed by
Coffeecake Hanover and Time To Kill to complete the Oaks field.
The evening also featured a pair of
$50,000 eliminations for the $213,650 U.S. Pacing Championship, also on
Hambletonian Day.
The format was the same as for the
Hambletonian Oaks: the first five finishers advanced to the final with the
winners, Sweet Lou and Warrawee Needy, selecting their posts.
Sweet Lou took his elimination in 1:49
1/5, beating a boxed-in Bolt The Duer by 1 1-4 lengths and paying $5.80 to win.
Yannick Gingras drove for trainer Ron Burke as the 4-year-old moved ever closer
to $2 million in career earnings.
“He’s been racing really good,” Gingras
said. “He’s had a couple of tough trips that might have stung him a little bit.
The last three starts, he’s been really sharp again.”
A Rocknroll Dance, last year’s Meadowlands
Pace winner, Modern Legend and Thinking Out Loud also made the final.
Warrawee Needy got up in the final strides
to nip Golden Receiver, a very game pacesetter, by a nose in the second
elimination.
It was the third win in the last four
starts for the 4-year-old trained by Carl Jamieson. His son Jody was at the
lines for the mile in 1:48 2/5.
Three starts back, Warrawee Needy set the
world record: a 1:46 4/5 dazzler in the William Haughton eliminations.
Conditions were not as conducive for
another record assault, but the finish was just as dramatic.
Tracking Pet Rock around the final turn,
Warrawee Needy tipped wide in the lane and took dead aim at Golden Receiver who
fought for every inch right to the wire.
“He’s just been an awesome animal,” Jody
Jamieson said. “We’ve been money in the eliminations. We’ve got to start turning
that into finals. I wanted to be a little bit conservative tonight. He’s a
great horse. He’s a world champion. I wasn’t surprised he got up.”
The 17-10 second choice, Warrawee Needy
paid $5.40 to win.
Foiled Again was third with Hurrikane
Kingcole fourth and Pet Rock, the 3-2 favorite following his win in the
Haughton final, getting the fifth and final berth.
The winner of the U.S. Pacing Championship
will earn 35 qualifying points toward the inaugural $500,000 TVG Free For All
Final on Nov. 30 at the New Meadowlands Racetrack.
Hambletonian prospects had their final
tune-ups in a pair of $25,000 Opens for 3-year-old trotters.
Corky and High Bridge, both trained by
Jimmy Takter, scored wins.
Corky went wire to wire in the first Open,
holding off E L Rocket by a head in 1:54 3/5 with David Miller at the lines.
Corky posted his fourth victory in nine
starts this year, paying $5.60 to win as part of an entry with Muscle Mountain.
He figures to be one of the favorites when the Hambletonian post positions are
drawn on Tuesday. Corky sits atop Ken Warkentin’s latest Road to the
Hambletonian rankings, and did nothing to diminish that standing.
“He got a pretty easy trip the whole way,”
Miller said. “He’s a pretty durable horse. He ought to be able to handle the
heats.”
High Bridge likely punched his
ticket for the Hambletonian with a one length win over Wheeling N Dealin, last
season’s Breeders Crown and Dan Patch Award winner, in 1:54 3/5.
It capped a memorable day into night for
Takter and Gingras as they teamed to capture the Delvin Miller Adios at the
Meadows with Sunfire Blue Chip earlier that afternoon.
I Luv The Nightlife, the leading
3-year-old pacing filly, battled back to edge Jerseylicious by a nose in the
$20,000 prep for the $125,000 Thomas D’Altrui SBOA Miss New Jersey next
Saturday.
Tim Tetrick was at the lines for trainer
Chris Ryder as I Luv The Nightlife posted her seventh win in eight starts this
year, including The Meadowlands’ Mistletoe Shalee.
She paid $2.40 to win. The time was 1:50
3/5.
Johny Rock tuned up for the $250,000
Anthony Abbatiello SBOA New Jersey Classic, also on Saturday, with a
pacesetting win in 1:50 1/5. John Butenschoen trains the colt who won for the
third time in 10 starts this season. Andy Miller drove Johny Rocks to a three-
length score over Emeritus Maximus with Wake Up Peter third. He paid $13 to
win.
Hambletonian Oaks Elimination night marked
another night of wagering increases.
Despite the Hambletonian
Eliminations being a part of the heat format on Hambletonian Day, handle was
up $700,837 or 35-percent. Live handle was also up slightly, despite
a Bon Jovi concert at MetLife Stadium.
The Meadowlands will carry its momentum
into the final weekend of the meet, looking to complete an impressive
accomplishment, showing a double-digit handle increase on each of the 70 days
raced.
Post time Friday is 7:15 P.M. and post
time for Hambletonian Saturday is 11:50 A.M.
