Fresh off the claim and a 1:50 Canadian season's record performance last weekend, Dinner At The Met rallied onto the scene late to defeat a field of Preferred pacers at Mohawk Racetrack on Saturday night (April 22) for trainer/driver Travis Cullen.

Alexas Jackpot (James MacDonald) blasted off the gate from the outside post seven to get the first call, with Nickle Bag (Trevor Henry) parked and pressing from post four. Nickle Bag eventually cleared to command after the :26.2 first quarter while 3-5 favourite American Virgin (Doug McNair), also parked from the start, progressed up to second-place by the :54.4 half-mile mark and continued to challenge outside the leader past three-quarters in 1:23.1.

Nickle Bag and American Virgin battled head-to-head down the stretch, with Alexas Jackpot finding room along the pylons to squeeze through inside. The dead-game American Virgin struck the front in deep stretch, but early trailer Dinner At The Met stormed home from the back of the outer tier to prevail amidst a blanket finish in 1:51.1.

American Virgin finished three-quarters of a length behind in second while Erle Dale N (Jody Jamieson) closed for third-place honours. Mach Code (Sylvain Filion) matched strides with Alexas Jackpot in a dead-heat for fourth. Rockin Wizard (Louis-Philippe Roy) and Nickle Bag completed the field, which spanned just two and a half lengths at the wire.

Sent postward at odds of 6-1, Dinner At The Met was the third wagering choice and returned $15.70 to win.

The six-year-old Metropolitan-Grabbersome gelding has won four of his last five starts, with half of those wins while racing for the Cullen stable. He's been claimed in five of his last eight starts, including last time out with a $30,000 price tag.

Dinner At The Met now has 27 career wins and 24 other top-three finishes from 113 races. The lion's share of the $34,000 purse pushed his bankroll to $290,592 lifetime.

In other action, Robert Key's homebred four-year-old pacer First Car ($8) extended his win streak to five as he prevailed from the pocket in 1:51.3 in a $20,000 conditioned event. Rod Boyd trains the Mister Big-Beautinaful son, who was driven by Phil Hudon.

To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Mohawk Racetrack.