East Rutherford, N.J. –
Inittowinafortune ($5.00) seized command early and never looked back in Friday
(November 25) evening’s top distaff pace at The Meadowlands, using a powerful
:54.2 back half to evade her eight rivals in the $17,500 feature by 2-3/4 lengths.
Corey Callahan wasted no time with the
6-year-old daughter of Cams Fortune, putting her in play and clearing the lead
just upon entering the first turn. Inittowinafortune made every call a winning
one, facing no pressure at all through sectionals of :27 and :55.3 before
edging away from a mild first-over challenge from Windsun Glory (Joe Bongiorno)
in the final five-sixteenths of the mile. Inittowinafortune sprinted off at
first asking, and she maintained clearance on the field while taken in hand for
the last sixteenth of her 1:50 triumph. Windsun Glory dueled down pocket rival
Better Said (Brett Miller) in upper stretch to secure a clear runner-up spot,
while Shutthefrontdoor (Scott Zeron) charged down the grandstand side from the
tail of the field to just nab Delightful Dragon (David Miller) for third.
Michael Russo trains 34-time winner
Inittowinafortune for Michael Pagonas. The win was her second of the season,
and just two-fifths of a second shy of her lifetime best.
Pick 5 yields hefty payday
While two of five favorites prevailed in
the night’s 50¢ Pick 5 sequence, mid-price winners Big Expense ($25.80,
Kyle Husted) and Young American ($15.00, Kyle DiBenedetto) in the third and
fourth races respectively set up for a carryover situation should any horse
save odds-on favorite Opulent Yankee prevail in the closing leg. As Opulent
Yankee ($3.40, Andy Miller) indeed converted in a dominant 1:54 performance,
successful players ultimately earned $8,870.20 on the wager which attracted a
total pool of $41,754.
Total handle for the 12-race card was
$2,179,769. First post for Saturday (November 26) evening’s 13-race program at
the Big M is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Eastern, and the closing race
20¢ Jackpot Super High Five carryover mounts to $44,213.23.
