Darlins Delight [$5.80, $4.80, $4.00] held off the late rally of Chancey Lady [$8.80, $5.80] to win the $123,000 Overbid Final for open pacing mares Friday night at the Meadowlands Racetrack
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An early scramble forced 6-5 favorite Martha Maxine (Andy Miller)three-wide on the opening turn as she claimed the lead from Chancey Lady in :27.4. Darlins Delight rushed up to seize command from Martha Maxine in a swift :54.4 and driver Yannick Gingras promptly slowed the tempo as they approached the final turn. Martha Maxine broke stride behind them, leaving Chancey Lady (Jonh Campbell) the only one within striking distance as they entered the top of the lane. However, Chancey Lady could not catch Darlins Delight as she edged away to a 1 3/4-length tally in 1:50.2. Cuz She Can [$14.40] with George Brennan was the best of the rest.
“I was trying to get Andy [Miller and Martha Maxine] behind me,” Gingras said. “I didn’t know which plan was going to work. I had a plan to go to the front but I really didn’t want to have Andy in front of me. His mare’s sprint is probably as good as mine. I figured this race would turn into a sprint race and I wanted to have him behind me. Obviously, that didn’t work out. He beat me going to the front, but we’re in the winner’s circle now.
“[Past the half] I was trying to get a breather, trying to slow down,” he continued. “I heard Andy screaming that his mare was making a break. From there, I figured the field was getting scattered so I just took off. I heard John [Campbell] coming around the last turn. I was worried about [Chancey Lady] because it was first time Lasix tonight and she’s a good mare, but my mare just dug in.”
White Birch Farm’s Darlins Delight, trained by Jeff Stafford, surpassed $2.6 million in career earnings and improved her impressive career slate to 28 wins in 61 starts.
Likeabatoutahell dug in under pressure to win the $50,000 opening leg of the Su Mac Lad Series for open trotters earlier in the evening.
The 2008 divisional champion Enough Talk (Ron Pierce) was first to brush to the lead, but Brian Sears and Likeabatoutahell quickly stole command before the half. Knight Of Intrigue (Brennan) applied immediate pressure to the outside but, despite a game effort, could not catch Likeaboutahell who prevailed by a neck in 1:52.1. Enough Talk angled out at the top of the stretch and closed for third.
It was the third straight win for Michael Andrew’s Likeabatoutahell. The six-year-old gelding, trained by Trond Smedshammer, has now won 19 of 75 career starts and $462,938.
The Su Mac Lad Series continues with a second leg next Friday, March 27.
Lets Get Serious N used a front-end trip to take the $27,500 Preferred Trot in a new mark of 1:52.3 for trainer Virgil Morgan, Jr. and owner Joe Muscara of Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania.
Andy Miller guided the 2-1 second choice to a two and three-quarter length victory over post time favourite Focus with Tetrick and Batalj Launcher, driven by Eric Goodell.
The eight-year-old son of Sondon – Queen Charlotte scored his second consecutive win and fourth of the year good for over $64,375 in earnings. Lets Get Serious N’s 25th lifetime score lifted his bankroll to $294,644.
To view Friday’s results, click here.
(With files from NJSEA)