I’m sticking with Well Said in the Meadowland Pace.

True, I’m not exactly stepping out on a limb here after his devastating mile in the North America Cup. But I picked him before the elims and after his fourth-place finish in the Burlington. As they say in the boondocks, “You’ve got to dance with them what brung you,” so I’m sticking with Well Said.

No doubt he’ll need all of his sizzling speed in the Meadowlands Pace, but he’s a special colt with plenty of pace. I like him. I like him a lot. With no disrespect to the others, I think he’s clearly the star pupil in his class and he’s ready to shine again at the Big M.

Of course, I’m not sure he’ll get another textbook trip as he did in the North America Cup, but great horses can overcome bad trips and still win. And I think Well Said has the potential to be a great one.

As I look at the Meadowlands Pace field, I see Well Said and the rest of ‘em.

That’s actually the way that I see the Hambletonian, which will be contested in another three weeks. I see Muscle Hill and the rest of ‘em. He’s even more of a star to me that Well Said. I was dazzled when I saw Muscle Hill win last fall. It wasn’t the time of his wins so much as how he did it.

Last fall his trainer Greg Peck called me and we had a long chat. I mentioned that Muscle Hill’s big brother Diesel Don was a top 2-year-old but didn’t come back strong as a sophomore. And T V Yankee, a brother to the second dam of Muscle Hill, set the world record for freshman trotters at 1:56 in 1982 and then never returned to form as a 3-year-old.

Greg was aware of these horses and he was determined to give Muscle Hill the long prep that he felt was necessary to sustain him through the sophomore trotting classics. We’ll get a better idea tonight about his fitness in the Dancer Memorial elims.

Now that I have effectively jinxed both Well Said and Muscle Hill, let the racing begin and may the best horses win.