East Rutherford, N.J. – Delightful
Dragon ($6.20) and Mambo Lindy ($10.40) proved tops in Friday (November 11)
evening’s featured events at The Meadowlands, while Jim Marohn, Jr. led all
drivers with a hat trick on the 11-race card.
Delightful Dragon used steady first-over
gains through the middle stages of the $17,500 top-level distaff pacing feature
(race 7), chasing down a fast pace and edging away to a 1:51.4 victory. After
tucking into the third spot early behind pacesetter Seeking Nirvana (Henrik
Lundell), Jim Marohn, Jr. angled the 5-year-old Bettor’s Delight mare
first-over on approach to race’s midpoint, making gradual gains into a :54 half
mile. Delightful Dragon pushed to the fore with five-sixteenths to go as the
pace slackened through a :29 third quarter, and opened 2-3/4 lengths of
clearance on Icommandmyspirit (Corey Callahan), who rallied off third-over
cover to take second from a laboring Gweneeee J (Joe Bongiorno) in deep
stretch.
Noel Daley owns and trains 17-time
winner Delightful Dragon. For Marohn, the featured win was the middle leg of a
driving hat trick, which also included wins aboard Detroit Rapper ($2.80,
1:57.1) and Four Hour Nap ($19.80, 1:53.1).
In the night’s top trotting race, a
$15,000 conditioned event (race 6), Mambo Lindy enjoyed a pocket trip behind
Waiting On a Woman (Vinny Ginsburg) through sectionals of :28, :56 ,and 1:24.3
before angling off the pegs and striking the front in upper stretch. The
5-year-old Donato Hanover gelding edged clear at will as Waiting On a Woman
gave way, evading a belated stand-side challenge from odds-on favorite Rock of
Cashel (John Campbell) to prevail in 1:53.4. Triple millionaire Market Share
(Marohn) stayed on from second-over to save third.
For Mambo Lindy, the win was the 13th
of his career, and just two-fifths of a second shy of his lifetime mark.
Italian-born Patrizio Ancora handled the driving duties for the Antonacci
family’s Greathorse group and trainer Frank Antonacci.
Favorites upended in Pick 5, Jackpot
High-5 hit
As four of five favorites in the night’s
Pick 5 sequence were handed defeat, successful players enjoyed a $4,009.90
dividend in the wager which culminated with Harper Lee’s 19-1 upset. Harper Lee
also keyed a $13,395.06 Jackpot High-5 dividend over Lastladystanding (57-1),
St Lads Morgan (17-1), Paydaze On the Way (2-1) and First Best (3-2 favorite)
in the night’s fifth event. The last-race Jackpot High-5 did not have a single
unique winner, resulting in a carryover of $25,295.61.
A quartet of TVG Finals with a combined
$1.2 million in purses headline Saturday’s (November 12) 12-race card; post
time is slated for 7:15 p.m. EST.
