By Dave Little, Meadowlands Media
Relations
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – He’d been
away from the races for 34 days but that did not stop Thunder from lighting up
his foes in the sixth and final leg of the Kindergarten Classic, a series for
2-year-olds of both sex and gait, at the Meadowlands Friday night.
Thunder, a John Butenschoen-trained
trotter, sat in the two-hole early before emerging from the rail with
three-eighths of a mile to go. With Yonkers kingpin Jason Bartlett at the
controls, the son of Conway Hall-CR Oh Suzanna made steady progress around the
far turn to get within a head of leader Reign Of Honor before going on to a
dominant 5-length score. Reign Of Honor was second with Memo finishing third.
In lowering his previous lifetime
best by one-and-one-fifth seconds, he completed the mile in 1:54.3 and returned
$3.60 to his backers for owners Crawford Farms Racing, J. Day and V I P
Internet Stables.
A top performer throughout the year
on the New York Sire Stakes circuit who finished second in his previous outing
to the undefeated Gimpanzee, Thunder now has five lifetime wins in only 10
starts and has earned $213,071.
TOP OF THE CLASS: Four horses won second straight
Kindergarten events as they remained sharp for next week’s finals.
Filly trotter Global Pageant (1:56.3)
scored in the opener for trainer Linda Toscano and driver Scott Zeron as the
4-5 favorites while filly pacer Odds On St Lucie (1:53.1) completed an
all-chalk Daily Double at odds of 3-5 for the driver-trainer team of Brett
Miller and Tony Alagna.
The Erv Miller-trained filly pacer
Michelon’s Filly rolled by the field for a second straight week from sixth and
last at three-quarters to score in 1:54.3 with Marcus Miller guiding the 1-2
public choice in the fourth race.
Divine Spirit was the last of those
to win a second consecutive series start, taking a colt and gelding trot in
1:57.4 for driver Andy McCarthy and trainer Brett Pelling. They scored as the
7-5 second choice in the eighth race.
A LITTLE MORE: Alagna had three winners on the
program while Brett Miller had two. … Favorites won the first six races on the
card but were shut out the rest of the way. … One lucky player who used 17-1
chance Mayfair Johnny B on top in the 11th race 20-Cent Jackpot
Super High-Five cashed in big, walking away with $7,037.46 for holding the
single winning ticket with the combination of 4-7-5-9-1. … All-source wagering
on the 11-race program was $1,384,655. … Racing resumes Saturday night at 7:15
p.m.
