by Ken Weingartner,
Meadowlands Media
East Rutherford, NJ – Greenshoe rebounded from his first loss of
the season with a commanding 1:50.1 win in the second of Saturday’s (July 13)
two $153,000 Stanley Dancer Memorial divisions for 3-year-old male trotters at
The Meadowlands, defeating Pilot Discretion by 3-3/4 lengths to stamp himself
as the favorite for the Aug. 3 Hambletonian. Super Schissel was third, another
eight lengths back.
The time was one-fifth
of a second off the stakes and track record for a 3-year-old male trotter set
by Six Pack in a division of last year’s Dancer Memorial.
In the first Dancer
division, Swandre The Giant overtook favorite Green Manalishi S in the stretch
to win by one length in a career-best 1:51.3. Reign Of Honor finished third.
Greenshoe, beaten a head
in the Earl Beal Jr. Memorial on June 29, started from post seven in the Dancer
and settled in third behind Pilot Discretion and Don’t Let’em for the first
half of the race. Driver Brian Sears put Greenshoe in motion from there and was
alongside Pilot Discretion as they came out of the final turn before cruising
to victory.
“All along he’s been a
really talented colt, has a really high turn of speed, and he showed it
tonight,” Sears said. “He’s done everything we’ve asked all year long and he’s
done it pretty easily, pretty in hand, so we’re real happy with where we’re at
right now.”
Greenshoe, who was the
1-5 favorite, is trained by Marcus Melander for owners Courant Inc., Hans
Backe, Lars Granqvist and Morten Langli. He has won six of nine career races
and earned $403,223.
Last year, the highly
regarded colt went off stride behind the starting gate or at the beginning of
each of his four races, although he was able to recover and win two. The son of
Father Patrick out of Designed To Be has been on his best behavior this year
for Sears.
“I’m always nervous when
he races,” Melander said. “Even if he’s behaved in all his starts this year, I
still don’t trust him because you know one little misstep can cost you the
race. Today (Sears) left a little bit out of there (from the gate) and kept him
calm, and he behaved.”
In the second division,
David Miller drove Swandre The Giant to his first Grand Circuit win after
picking up nine of his 10 previous victories in Indiana Sires Stakes
competition. The colt, a son of Swan For All out of Adagio, is trained by Ron
Burke for owners Diamond Creek Racing, J&T Silva Stables and Howard Taylor.
Swandre The Giant, sent
off at odds of 5-1, raced without shoes and added Lasix for his Meadowlands
debut. He has won 11 of 18 career starts and $417,568. He has won two of six
races this season.
“It was definitely the
Lasix, and they pulled his shoes off too,” driver David Miller said after
Swandre The Giant snapped a four-race skid. “He felt really strong. Through the
stretch I was getting by (Green Manalishi S) without even asking him yet. He
trotted right on by. He went a huge mile.”
Last year, Swandre The
Giant won his first seven starts, all in Indiana, for trainer-driver Brandon
Bates before being sold to his current owners.
“He dominated Indiana
and Brandon did a great job developing him,” Diamond Creek’s Adam Bowden said.
“This is the kind of horse that we saw. Finally, he realized that.”
