By Dave Little, Meadowlands Media Relations
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – When it came to
the Saturday night feature at The Meadowlands, track announcer Ken Warkentin
said it best: “Charlie May came to play!”
The 2021 Ohio Horse of the Year made
a huge splash in his 4-year-old debut, powering off cover in mid-stretch to
take the $31,500 Open Handicap for pacers in a lifetime-best 1:48.3.
“It’s interesting because every
season he’s won his first race of the year,” said Charlie May’s owner Don
Tiger. “It’s pretty cool. He surprised me tonight. I knew he’d be very good,
but those were Invitational pacers he was facing with starts under their belts.
We raced him conservatively, but the horse has his own mind. He doesn’t like to
lose.”
After a 3-year-old campaign that saw
him battle the likes of Perfect Sting, Lous Pearlman and Abuckabett Hanover,
Charlie May won 10-of-22 starts and banked a hair under $880,000, and off a
pair of winning qualifiers at Miami Valley Raceway, the gelded son of
McArdle-Stipple Hanover, who is trained by Steve Carter, was more than ready at
first asking for his third season of racing.
A year ago, it was Perfect Sting
gunning down Charlie May in the Oct. 30 Breeders Crown for driver Dave Miller,
so it was ironic that Miller was piloting Charlie May – for the first time ever
– Saturday.
“I got asked to drive him and was
glad to get to race him,” said the Hall of Famer. “We were going to race him
from the end of it and I was able to sit quite a ways. We got some cover and he
did the rest.”
Charlie May was away fifth in the
early going as No Lou Zing and American History slugged it out to the quarter
in :26.1 before American History made a second move to command and hit the half
in :54.3. Miller moved Charlie May off the rail at the five-eighths and quickly
picked up live cover from Backstreet Shadow.
American History was clear by 3
lengths at three-quarters in 1:21.4 as Charlie May continued second-over with
Let It Ride N – who was seeking a second straight score in the weekly feature –
in hot pursuit in the live flow right behind the eventual winner.
Charlie May was tipped off his cover
with an eighth-of-a-mile to go and steamrolled past the field, hitting the wire
1½-lengths in front of Backstreet Shadow. Vettel N was third. Let It Ride N,
the 3-5 favorite, didn’t fire off cover and finished in a dead-heat for fourth
in the six-horse field.
In raising his lifetime stats to 18
wins from just 32 starts, Charlie May padded his earnings to $1,223,777. He
returned $8.00 to his backers as the 3-1 second choice in the wagering.
“We’ll be in the Graduate (at The
Meadowlands) for sure next week,” said Tiger. “And the week after that, The
Confederation Cup (at Flamboro Downs). We have our schedule all mapped out, and
we will show some loyalty to Ohio, and we’ll go to the Dan Patch because that
is a neighboring state (Indiana). We’ll finish up in the Breeders Crown (at
Woodbine Mohawk Park). But we’ll be at The Meadowlands for a good chunk of
races.”
A LITTLE MORE: Dexter Dunn was on target all night,
leading the driver colony with four victories. Joe Bongiorno guided the
winner’s circle visitors in the first, second and third races. … The 20-cent
Pick-6 had a double carryover, leading to $100,000 in “new money” poured into
the pool, for a grand total of $127,024. After Scott Zeron guided 29-1 shot No
Stone Unturned to victory lane in the 13th and final, those with
winning Pick-6 tickets walked away with $12,443.96. … All-source handle totaled
$2,794,862. … Racing resumes Friday at 6:20 p.m.
