Ginger And Fred Romps In 1:50.4

Ginger And Fred danced the hottest number in a $247,790 Pennsylvania Sires Stakes effort Tuesday at The Meadows, blazing to a career-best clocking of 1:50.4

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The event for three-year-old filly pacers, known as the Romola Hanover, was contested over five divisions, with Backstreet Sweetie, Im Not Gonna Lie, Hatsaway and Melissas Fancy capturing the other splits.

Ginger And Fred grabbed the lead for Dave Palone in a swift :26.2 and kept pouring it on, scoring by just over seven lengths. Samantha Q was second and Kiss Me Kate finished third. The mile was three-fifths of a second off the stakes and track record established last year by Native Bride.

“She seems to love this track. When she comes here, she does real well,” said Ron Burke, who trains the daughter of Real Artist-Graceful Motion for the partnership of Howard Taylor, Robert Feldman, Edwin Gold and Jerry Silva. “She hasn’t been bad elsewhere, but quite honestly, she’s been a little bit of a disappointment to this point. I don’t think we’ve seen her best. I think at the small-track races, such as the Jugette, you’ll see how good she really can be.”

Burke said that because Ginger And Fred has performed so well at The Meadows, he’s pointing her to the August 1 Quinton Patterson Adioo Volo during the track’s Grand Circuit Week rather than the Mistletoe Shalee.

Backstreet Sweetie enjoyed a pocket trip behind My Lady Bonnard, then used the “Lightning Lane” to out-kick that rival by a nose. Gordyyys Pet was third.

“They went big fractions, but she can go with those,” said winning driver Mike Saftic. “I was more concerned about the back end getting up to her and maybe not getting out.”

John Pentland trains the daughter of Dragon Again-Cindys Place for partners Karen Carroll, Natalie Pentland and Saftic himself, who says he typically limits his equine purchases.

“I like to buy a yearling a year to put something back in the game,” Saftic said of the $27,000 yearling acquisition. “I’d like to take the credit for her, but John Pentland picked her out. She’s had some lameness problems, but she has an engine on her.”

Im Not Gonna Lie is characteristically a closer, but in the Romola Hanover, Daniel Dube allowed her to float to the lead. Despite a parked-out :27.3 first quarter, the daughter of Western Hanover-Trulyawork Of Art delivered a comfortable victory in 1:53.1. She was more than two lengths better than Electric Fool, with Breach The Gap third.

“I’ve never tried to leave much with her,” Dube said. “But she wanted to do it today, so I let her. When she got to the front, everything went well. She won so easy — she could go more.”

Jimmy Takter trains Im Not Gonna Lie for the partnership of Toby Rekoon, Brian Gordon, Kenneth Wood and Harvey Poe.

(The Meadows)

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