Esprit De Kayjay A isn't getting older, he's getting better.
The 13-year-old gelding won his second straight Meadowlands start after taking four in a row at Freehold, winning the first of two divisions of the second leg of the Dash For The “G” Notes series Thursday night at the Meadowlands. Andy Miller has been in the sulky for all half-dozen victories.
Esprit De Kayjay A worked out a pocket trip and won easily splitting rivals in deep stretch to win in a season's-best 1:53.4 by 2-3/4 lengths over Pan Grad. Salevster Stallion was third.
As the 1-2 public choice, 'Kayjay' returned $3.00 to win for trainer Nick Surick, who also owns the horse along with his mom, Debbie. The veteran campaigner has now won 71 races in 300 lifetime starts and has banked $533,121.
“He's a horse with a lot of problems,” said Surick, who is far in front of the field in the trainer standings at Freehold Raceway. “But he has a huge heart. He seems to do his best work in the winter when they don't go as fast.”
Miller completed a driving sweep of the Dash For The “G” Notes events, guiding Walks Of Life to a powerhouse score in 1:52.4.
The seven-year-old son of Western Ideal burst away from the gate and was never threatened while racing on the lead, scoring by 2-1/4 lengths over May I Cruise West. Every Intention was third.
Walks Of Life's performance was particularly impressive given that the gelding had not raced since late July, when he won at the Meadowlands in 1:51.2.
Trained by Vincent Fusco, Jr., Walks Of Life paid $6.40 to win as the 2-1 favourite, scoring for the 24th time in 104 lifetime outings, and in the process, pushed his lifetime earnings past the $100,000 mark.
(With files from The Meadowlands)