By Dave Little, Meadowlands Media Relations
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Displaying a
remarkable closing kick, Major Occasion A was airborne through a final quarter
of :26 in her seasonal debut to become the second straight Friday night feature
winner to do it in last to first fashion, taking the $22,500 Winners Over
$50,000 Lifetime for pacing fillies and mares in 1:52.4 at The Meadowlands.
“She’s a good mare,” said winning
driver Dexter Dunn. “Her [1:54.4] qualifier last week was a good one.”
And it proved to be more than enough
to get her ready for the assignment at hand.
It appeared that the race belonged to
Betalady, who was on the lead through soft fractions of :28.1, :57.2 and
1:25.4. Major Occasion A opted to race from last in the six-horse field for
most of the mile, picking up live cover at the five-eighths from 9-5 favorite
Sweet Lucy Lou, who was last week’s come-from-behind winner.
Off the far turn, the ‘Major’ tipped
off her cover before rocketing home to record a 1-length win over Betalady.
Sweet Lucy Lou was third.
“When you’re sitting back last and you’re
chasing good mares, it’s going to be hard to catch them,” said Dunn. “But she
really knocked it down through the stretch. She was good off the helmet and
should have a good season.”
Trained by Nifty Norman for owners
Enzed Racing Stable, Major Occasion A, a 7-year-old daughter of Art Major-Fake
Occasion, returned $6.40 to win as the 2-1 second choice in the wagering. She
now has 21 wins from just 68 career outings, good for earnings of $415,273.
HE’S A GRAND OLD MAN: Even though he was making the 293rd
start of his career, 14-year-old Statesman N looked like a kid out there in the
$12,500 Play Meadowlands Final for $7,500 claimers, scoring by a determined
head in 1:53.3.
Owned and trained by Yogi Sheridan,
Statesman N completed a two-race sweep of the series by brushing to the lead
before the half and holding off the pocket-sitting Northern Rock after the pair
duked it out toe-to-toe through the stretch.
Statesman N, a gelded son of
Christian Cullen-Club Sport who was driven by Dunn, now has 58 career wins and
lifetime earnings of $949,483. As the heavy 2-5 public choice, he returned
$2.80 to win.
A LITTLE MORE: Mark MacDonald continued his winning
ways by pacing the driving colony with three winners on the card, giving him
eight victories over the last five programs. … There were no winning tickets
sold in the 20-cent Pick-6, creating a carryover of $7,384. Those with five
correct collected $96.14. … All-source handle totaled $2,701,155. … Racing
resumes Saturday at 6:20 p.m.
