Miller Stakes Winners Qualify At Big M
Meadowlands Racetrack hosted a short five-race qualifying session prior to Saturday evening's (May 20) card, with a couple of Team Miller's Grand Circuit stakes champions back in action.
Three-year-old trotting filly Overdraft Volo won her sophomore qualifying debut for the husband-wife team of Andy and Julie Miller. The Yankee Glide-Bank Of Newport filly carved out fractions of :27.4, :57.3 and 1:27.1 en route to a two and a quarter length victory in 1:55.2 over Amber Ella.
In addition to winning a division of the Bluegrass Stakes at The Red Mile last year, Overdraft Volo capped off her $150,000 freshman campaign winning the Kindergarten Final from post nine at The Meadowlands in a career-best 1:55.
Team Miller's three-year-old trotting colt Devious Man won his second qualifying race in 1:54.1. The Credit Winner-Miss Garland colt followed 2017 Dexter Cup champion Lord Cromwell through fractions of :28.4, :58.1 and 1:27 before out-finishing him with a 27-second final frame for the two and three-quarter length victory.
Devious Man was last year's New York Sire Stakes divisional champion and took his mark of 1:53.2 in an International Stallion Stakes event at The Red Mile en route to a $300,000 debut season.
Multiple stakes champion Darlinonthebeach recorded a 1:50.3 winning mile during the evening qualifying session for driver David Miller and trainer Nancy Johansson, with Artistic Major second and millionaire Venus Delight third. The tune up for the daughter of Somebeachsomewhere out of Darlins Delight followed an eight-place finish in the record-equalling Chip Noble Memorial on May 8 -- the first stakes start of her four-year-old campaign.
Four-year-old trotter Stonebridge Combat (1:53.2) and three-year-old pacing gelding Pointomygranson (1:54.4) were also qualifying winners on Saturday, both from the Chris Ryder stable.