Improved by a last-minute sulky change, Hasty Pulse captured a division of Friday’s $88,864 Arden Downs stake for two-year-old filly pacers at The Meadows

. The Grand Circuit event, known as the Catherine Baker Knoll, was contested over four divisions, with Mothermayi Hanover, Tea Pot Hanover and Whatrugonnado taking the other splits.

After fellow recent Hall of Fame inductee Murray Brown co-owned The Meadows’ first stakewinner Friday, enshrinee Dave Palone showed the sulky savvy that got him to the Hall when he made a last-minute bike change, then guided Hasty Pulse to a wire-to-wire 1:54.1 win

Warming Hasty Pulse up, Palone noticed that the filly “dinged” the bike, and he remembered that when he drove her last at The Meadows, she also made leg-sulky contact. Palone asked for a bigger bike, put the now three-of-four filly on the lead in the race and cruised from there, despite going wide at a couple of points, the Quik Pulse Mindale filly raised her earnings over $48,000 for trainer Ron Burke and Winbak Farm.

Palone completed a double in the Knoll while putting a new mark of 1:54.2 on the Allamerican Native filly Mothermayi Hanover, taking full advantage of track geometry from Post 1 early, then stepping home in :55.4 to triumph for trainer Luis Porfilio, co-owner with Angela Porfilio. (Ironically, the only horse to beat the winner in three starts was – Hasty Pulse!)

The Meadows’ all-time driving leader also tried the engine in another Knoll division with Foxy Lady, keeping an early parked challenger out in the air, but when driver Brett Miller noticed Palone’s insistence on the top, he hustled the Western Hanover filly Tea Pot Hanover up from the rail to keep the pocket closed. 'Tea Pot' rode the two-hole to the lane, then tipped around Foxy Lady and went by easily to take a new mark of 1:54. Tim Pinske conditions the winner, now victorious in half her four starts, for Pinske Stables.

“It was like a chess match out there tonight,” said driver Eric Ledford after guiding the Allamerican Native miss Whatrugonnado to a hard fought 1:55.1 triumph in another Knoll division. Ledford let NY Yankees loop him out of the gate to the top, then moved to the front with the 1-2 shot. More strategy came as Fashion Gal came up to contest the early issue, with Ledford yielding and then regaining before the stands. Fashion Gal came back on in the stretch to her right, and NY Yankees to her left, but Whatrugonnado proved the Queen (and Ledford the King) in the end game for conditioner Rollie Mallar and the Anatolia Racing Stable Inc.

Shaking off the problems that have plagued her all season, Up Front Juansteen worked out a cozy pocket trip and captured a division of Friday’s $66,614 Arden Downs stake for three-year-old trotting fillies at The Meadows. Full Tank took the other split.

The event, known as the Ned McCarr, was part of Grand Circuit Week at The Meadows, which is highlighted by Saturday’s $500,000 final of the Delvin Miller Adios.

Up Front Juansteen won $108,286 at two and was considered a contender for divisional honours this year. But according to Kelly O’Donnell, who trains the daughter of Andover Hall-Yankee Dakota for Ed Mullinax and Murray Brown, the filly suffered a variety of woes that kept her out of the money in her first six 2010 starts.

“She’s a funny filly,” O’Donnell said. “Out of the clear blue sky, she’ll run. And then she tied up earlier this year, so we had that issue. Everything has to be perfect for her. She has the ability, and I think she’ll get better the older she gets. So if we can knock out a little money here and there and keep her sound, she should be a really good four-year-old.”

In the Ned McCarr, Up Front Juansteen and Tony Hall followed Ally-Gal Ridge, then blew by in the lane to down that rival by three-quarter lengths in 1:57.4. The first-over Perfect Photo was third, snapping her four-race win streak.

Full Tank put together a two-move effort for Dave Palone; the first burst carried her to a good seat in third while the second, uncovered bid sent her past the leader, Barham Hanover, and on to victory in 1:56.2, a career-best and just a tick off the stake record.

“She’s been racing against stakes-caliber horses or aged trotters. That toughens them up as well as anything,” Palone said. “Still, she surprised me. I wasn’t going to move her until I had to, but she was full of herself. She swelled up on her own and made my decision easy.”

Pearly Princess finished second, three-quarter lengths back, while Upfront OBs Janet shot the Lightning Lane for third. Bob Bencal trains Full Tank, who won for the seventh time in 15 lifetime outings, for Little E LLC, Arthur Geiger, David Stolz and Jason Settlemoir.

In a companion feature on Friday’s card, Kashs Caviar and Hoboken Sonny each won a division or the $73,008 Arden Downs Stake for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings, although their challenges came at different points in the race.

Kashs Caviar, on the point from the start, was confronted by a determined Freedom Ridge in mid-stretch. When Freedom Ridge edged in front, Ray Paver tried to rouse the homebred son of SJs Caviar-Ocala Cash but said the gelding took matters into his own hands.

“Nothing that I was doing was making a difference,” Paver said. “When he saw that horse go by him, he took right back off. He wasn’t responding to me.”

Kashs Caviar scored in 1:55.4, a neck better than the rallying Tough Call, while Freedom Ridge saved show. Danny Collins trains Kashs Caviar for Slaughter Racing Stable and Wayne Zollars.

Hoboken Sonny, on the other hand, was parked for the entire :28.3 first panel for trainer-driver Jack Parker, Jr. He was strong on the front, holding off the pocket-sitting MMs Lucky Boy by a length to prevail in 1:56.3. The closing Photo Rules completed the trifecta.

“He’s getting better all the time,” Parker said. “We’ll probably race him in a couple overnights before the Pennsylvania Stallion Series final at Pocono.”

It was an especially satisfying victory for Parker, who owns the SJs Photo-Yankee Minuet gelding with Neal Goldman and Richard Timbo, since he had to be persuaded by his wife Carol to ship to the stake. Parker himself was leaning to racing Hoboken Sunny in an overnight event at Harrah’s Chester. How does he feel about taking that sage spousal advice?

“This was my Hambletonian,” he said.

Palone drove four winners while Hall and Eric Ledford each enjoyed a three-bagger on the 15-race card.

(The Meadows)