By Dave Little, Meadowlands Media
Relations
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Highalator
continued his remarkable Meadowlands run Saturday night, taking the second leg
of the Golden Receiver Series in 1:48.3, giving him four wins in five Big M
tries this year.
Displaying his trademark explosive
early speed, the 5-year-old son of Somebeachsomewhere-Higher And Higher went
parked around the first turn from post eight and grabbed the top while on the
outside in :26.4.
Ricky Still then relaxed the 3-5
favorite, rating the second fraction in :28.3 before Always At My Place was on
the move first over at the half chipping away at Highalator’s advantage to
become a threatening presence at three-quarters.
Then Highalator went to work.
The Jenny Bier trainee shrugged off
Always At My Place before sprinting his final quarter in :25.2 to record a
1¼-length win. Pocket-sitting Sweet Rock was second with Classy Dragon
finishing third. The winning time equaled the third fastest mile in the sport
this year.
Highalator returned $3.20 to his
backers and has now won five of his last six – the only loss coming at the
Meadowlands when he went a huge mile to get second – and is two-for-two in the
Golden Receiver. Lifetime, he’s won 27-of-60 starts and earned $394,028 for
owners Jenny Bier, Joann Dombeck and Midsize Construction.
Earlier on the card, Caviart Ally
bested a strong field in the $30,000 Preferred for pacing fillies and mares.
The 5-year-old daughter of Bettor’s Delight-Allamerican Cool made the top while
parked in :26.4 and went all the way from there, scoring by a half-length over
Gold Orchid N in 1:50 as the 7-5 favorite for driver Andy McCarthy and trainer
Brett Pelling. Delightfulmemphisn was third with Bettorhaveanother fourth.
Youaremycandygirl, making her seasonal debut, finished fifth.
A LITTLE MORE: McCarthy was on fire early on,
driving four of the first five winners on the card. … Wagering on the 50-Cent
Pick-4 was typically strong, with a total pool of $102,126. Big M TV’s Dave Brower
gave out the Pick-4 to his followers. For those who played Brower’s ticket, the
wager was $32 with the payout a handsome $2,028.15. … The Late 20-Cent Jackpot
Super High-Five yielded a single-ticket winner despite the race being won by
the 6-5 favorite. The ticket with the winning combination of 2-3-1-10-9 paid
$33,010.24. … All-source handle on the 13-race card totaled $2,566,272. …
Racing resumes Friday at 7:15 p.m.
