By
Dave Little, Meadowlands Media Relations
EAST
RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Esprit De Kayjay A isn't getting older, he's getting better.
The
13-year-old gelding won his second straight Meadowlands start after taking four
in a row at Freehold, winning the first of two divisions of the second leg of
the Dash For The “G” Notes series Thursday night at the Meadowlands. Andy
Miller has been in the sulky for all half-dozen victories.
Esprit
De Kayjay A worked out a pocket trip and won easily splitting rivals in deep
stretch to win in a season's-best 1:53.4 by 2¾-lengths over Pan Grad. Salevster
Stallion was third.
As
the 1-2 public choice, 'Kayjay' returned $3.00 to win for trainer Nick Surick,
who also owns the horse along with his mom Debbie. The veteran campaigner has
now won 71 races in 300 lifetime starts and has banked $533,121.
“He's a horse with a lot of problems,” said Surick, who is far in front
of the field in the trainer standings at Freehold Raceway. “But he has a huge
heart. He seems to do his best work in the winter when they don't go as fast.”
Miller
completed a driving sweep of the Dash For The “G” Notes events, guiding Walks
Of Life to a powerhouse score in 1:52.4.
The
7-year-old son of Western Ideal burst away from the gate and was never
threatened while racing on the lead, scoring by 2¼-lengths over May I Cruise
West. Every Intention was third.
Walks
Of Life's performance was particularly impressive given that the gelding had
not raced since late July, when he won at the Meadowlands in 1:51.2.
Trained
by Vincent Fusco Jr., Walks Of Life paid $6.40 to win as the 2-1 favorite,
scoring for the 24th time in 104 lifetime outings, and in the
process, pushed his lifetime earnings past the $100,000 mark.
A LITTLE MORE: Driver Jim
Marohn Jr. recorded three winners on the card, including a sweep of the Late
Daily Double. … All-source handle on the nine-race program totaled $1,150,707.
… After once again not resulting in a single-ticket winner, the carryover for
the late 20 Cent Jackpot Super Hi-5 swelled to $37,595.13. ... Racing resumes
Friday night at the Big M with a first race post time of 7:15 p.m. … During
December, the Meadowlands will race Thursday through Saturday nights.
