Lucky Jim [$4.60, $4.00, $3.80] showed his success was more than just a fluke as he toppled the titans of trotting in the lone Arthur J. Cutler Memorial elimination Friday night at the Meadowlands Racetrack
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The four-year-old gelding extended his winning streak to nine races as he trounced a field that included world champions Corleone Kosmos, Enough Talk, Arch Madness and Misterizi.
Starting from the rail, Lucky Jim and driver Andy Miller got away third around the first turn and sprinted up to take the lead from Prayer I Am (George Brennan) after a :27.1 opening split. They strolled through middle fractions of :57 and 1:26, then roared home in a swift final panel of :26.4 to take the $40,000 featured race by two lengths in a 1:52.4 final clocking. Prayer I Am [$16.80, $11.20] held second, while Corleone Kosmos [$8.40] and John Campbell got up for third.
Lucky Jim is undefeated since entering trainer Julie Miller's barn in January. His nine-race streak is a record for most consecutive wins in a single season by a trotter at the Meadowlands. Lifetime, the son of SJs Photo-Hawaiian Sierra has won 11 of 29 career efforts and $256,953 for owners David and John Prushnok of Punxsutawney and William Gregg of Indiana, Pennsylvania. He equaled the 1:51.3 world record for a four-year-old trotting gelding on a mile track shared by Flamewalker and Corleone Kosmos on March 8.
The elimination determined the nine horses to advance to the $190,000 Arthur J. Cutler Memorial next Saturday, May 16. The Cutler finalists, in alphabetical order, are: Arch Madness, Corleone Kosmos, Enough Talk, Lanson, Michaelrowyourboat, Misterizi, Mountbatten N, Prayer I Am and Swan Image, who accepted a bye into the final.
Lucky Jim kept his seasonal record spotless after winning the lone $40,000 Arthur J Cutler Memorial elimination for free for all trotters at the Meadowlands Racetrack on Friday, May 8.
The win was one of three for Andy Miller and gave Julie Miller a double on the 11-race program.
In the eighth race, a trio of North America Cup eligibles took the track and the pocket-sitting Light Up The Sky, driven by Brian Sears, used a :26.4 final frame to win by a neck over the pacesetter Circus Dreamer (Andy Miller) in a life’s best 1:53.
Light Up The Sky is rated at odds of 75-1 Trot Magazine’s 2009 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book. Woodstock Hanover (George Brennan) finished third while Pangiorno (Daniel Dube), ranked 60-1 in Trot’s Spring Book, finished fourth. Favourite Vintage Master (Tim Tetrick), rated 75-1 in the Spring Book, finished seventh.
Light Up The Sky, a son of Four Starzzz Shark, scored his fourth win in eight outings this year and fifth lifetime score for trainer and owner George Teague, Jr. The winner’s share of the $15,000 purse pushed Light Up The Sky’s bankroll to $42,530.
To view Friday’s results, click here.
(With files from NJSEA)