By Frank and Ray Cotolo, for The Meadowlands
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ— The lights of the tote board shone brightly
across the “sloppy” track after each of the $50,000 Meadowlands Pace
eliminations on Saturday (July 10) at The Meadowlands when a pair of long-odd
competitors crossed the beam first.
A breathtaking 81-1 upset by Hellabalou, with Andrew McCarthy at
the lines, was the highlight of the first $50,000 elimination for the
Meadowlands Pace.
The Sweet Lou colt, trained by Eddie Dennis, got everyone’s
attention right off the gate as he swept to the lead from post 7 moving to the
first turn.
"I had a look across [as the field got started off the
gate] and nobody really looked that dedicated to leaving hard,” McCarthy said
after the race, “so I bounced him out of there and got him to the front.”
Charlie May settled into the garden spot with 2-5 favorite One
Eight Hundred in third. One Eight Hundred then sprung off the pylons to take
the lead from Hellabalou to a :26.4 first quarter and rolled to the half in
:56.1 under minimal pressure. Heart Of Chewbacca meanwhile pulled first over
from fifth and made slight gains through the final turn.
One Eight Hundred took the field to three-quarters in 1:23.2 but
came under attack as Charlie May launched out of the pocket and then downed the
tiring pacesetter into the stretch. However Hellabalou was full of pace, and in
deep stretch angled three wide to take the lead and win by a half length in
1:49.2.
“I was
just trying to get him into the final,” McCarthy said, “but he raced great. He
had a lot of punch in the stretch. I've driven this horse a lot. He's very
talented. He's been racing good without showing it on paper."
Charlie
May finished second. Chase H Hanover swerved through traffic to snag third from
One Eight Hundred while Rockyroad Hanover rallied to take fifth and complete
the first elimination’s finalists.
Hellabalou, the longest shot in the seven-horse field, paid
$165.60 to win. Eric K. Good owns Hellabalou, who raised his lifetime earnings
to $93,886 in his fourth win from 15 starts.
The second “Pace” elimination went the way of another, but
slightly less, high-priced contender when the Ron Burke pupil Southwind Gendry
grabbed the front and cruised to capture a 1:49.1 win at odds of 10-1.
Also leaving from post 7, Southwind Gendry slid to the top and
pocketed Lawless Shadow moving to a :27.1 first quarter while even-money
favorite Perfect Sting landed in third. Southwind Gendry continued up the
backstretch leading a headstrong Lawless Shadow through a :56.1 half and then
cruised under minimal pressure to three-quarters in 1:23.3 before the sprint
for home.
Southwind Gendry’s lead began to diminish come the final
sixteenth, but the gelded son of Always B Miki held on by a neck to keep a
resurgent Lawless Shadow at bay. Perfect Sting — angling from the pylons off the final
turn — rallied down the center of the track for
third while American Courage and Abuckabett Hanover checked in fourth and
fifth, respectively, to round the finalists.
“I was planning on taking him back and just maybe one-move him,
just to get in the final for next week,” winning driver Yannick Gingras said
after the race. “But then nobody was leaving, so I took a shot out of there.
But he was more willing today. He hasn’t been wanting to leave all year really
and today I planted him on the gate and he left out of there on his own.
“He’s definitely better following horses actually," Gingras
also said. "On the front, he’s a little bit lazy. Of course those
fractions helped tonight, but you could see even late he’s just waiting on them
to get close to him.”
A winner in 13 races from 18 starts, Southwind Gendry has banked
$734,841 for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC, Phillip Collura, Knox Services
Inc. and J&T Silva-Purnel & Libby. He paid $22.00 to win.
