To say things looked bleak most of the way for Gotwuteverittakes in the featured $36,000 high-end conditioned trot on Friday night (Nov. 26) at The Meadowlands is a huge understatement.

After all, the 7-1 outsider in the field of seven was dead last past the quarter and half as slight 2-1 second choice Double Account was sailing along on the front end while 2-1 favourite Hillexotic sat a two-hole trip.

But on this chilly evening with wind chills at the freezing mark that were accompanied by gusty winds, the front end was not the best place to be and driver Todd McCarthy was content to let the race unfold even though he really didn’t care for his chances given how things worked out.

“After the first quarter, I figured we might just have to settle for getting a cheque,” said McCarthy. “Last week, I asked him to go out of there a bit and he made a break.”

As the field made its way up the backstretch, Lucky Matter vacated the rail to provide a live tow for Gotwuteverittakes, and McCarthy had so much under the hood, he tipped the Ricky Bucci trainee three-wide shortly after reaching the far turn. With good momentum, he then quickly made his way toward Hillexotic, who had moved to the top after deuce-popping before three-quarters.

In deep stretch, Gutwuteverittakes gunned down Hillexotic by a nose as they hit the wire in 1:53.3. Get Legs was third.

A five-year-old gelded son of Bluto-Raysofgrace De Vie, Gotwuteverittakes returned $17.40 as the fourth choice in the wagering. He now has a dozen wins from 62 career starts and a bankroll of $261,550 for owner Bucci.

“On the wire, I knew we were getting close,” said McCarthy. “But at the top of the stretch, I didn’t think we’d be that close.”

A PAIR OF FOURS: Driver Yannick Gingras and trainer Edwin Quevedo had their way on the card, as each registered four winners. Gingras and Quevedo teamed up to win three, which included a sweep of the Late Daily Double ($12).

A LITTLE MORE: Some players who like wagering on The Big M’s multi-race bets that offer a low takeout of 15 per cent had a nice night. The 20-cent Pick-5 returned $1,578.20 while the Early 50-cent Pick-4 came back $8,942.95 thanks to Pirates Alley, who scored in a GSY Pace at odds of 32-1 for driver Tony Verruso. … No winning tickets were sold in the 20-cent Pick-6, creating a carryover of $5,172.93 for Saturday’s card. … Free past performances for all Meadowlands races are available by going to playmeadowlands.com. … All-source handle totaled $2,073,017. … Racing resumes Saturday at 6:20 p.m.

(Meadowlands)