R Melina surged first-over while French Champagne fought on the lead to win their respective $171,233 divisions of the Del Miller Memorial at The Meadowlands on Saturday, July 13.

R Melina won the faster of the two Del Miller divisions with a 1:51.1 effort, holding off Buy A Round.

Senorita Palema (Tim Tetrick) sprinted from the pylon post to protect position into the first turn with Allegiant (Scott Zeron) tucking into the pocket and R Melina (Todd McCarthy) getting away third. By the first quarter in :27.2, Senorita Palema maintained her speed up the backside to a :55.3 half and continued to roll through the final turn. McCarthy moved R Melina out of third and marched forward with Buy A Round (Andy McCarthy) on his back moving to three-quarters in 1:24. R Melina put a head in front of Senorita Palema spinning for home and kept finding when pressed by Buy A Round through the lane to notch a half-length win with Date Night Hanover (Dunn) closing for third and Allegiant settling for fourth.

“I was holding my breath, and if I had a cardiologist back in the paddock when they were going to the gate, they probably would’ve just wheeled me out in an ambulance,” said trainer John Butenschoen with a smile. “She’s only made a few mistakes in her life, and she had the rail each time. When the gate gets going, she gets a little anxious. We messed around with her rigging, we schooled her at home [and] put her on the gate a bunch this last week. We got a nice, easy week, and in two weeks we’ll be back here and hope we can have some luck.” 

A three-year-old daughter of Chapter Seven out of the Explosive Matter mare Goodtogo Hanover, R Melina has now won 11 races from 19 starts and earned $658,630 for owners M&L Of Delaware LLC and Alabama Harness Associates LLC. She paid $14.60 to win.

French Champagne (pictured above) powered forward and lasted the distance to post a 1:51.4 win in the first division.

Driver Dexter Dunn pushed French Champagne forward out of post six and through a :28.1 first quarter to grab the lead into the backstretch from early leader Draw The Line (Yannick Gingras). French Champagne then coasted up the backside to a :56.3 half and through the far turn as Soiree Hanover (Tetrick) made a steady first-over advance out of fifth. Soiree Hanover reached French Champagne’s wheel at three-quarters in 1:25, but Dunn called upon his charge into the stretch and she easily rebuffed the challenge. French Champagne strode in a 2-3/4-length winner over Soiree Hanover while Chaparmbro (Zeron) rallied off a ground-saving trip for third and Draw The Line held fourth.

“I was pretty happy when I got the drive behind her when the proofs came out,” Dexter Dunn said after the race. “Driving for Ake [Svanstedt] and Sarah makes your job pretty easy.

"I thought about dropping into the three hole for a little bit, but the pace slackened enough that we kept pressing on. She felt strong once we got to the front; was relaxed, a little lazy, but when I asked her at the top of the straight she really got down great.”

Åke Svanstedt trains French Champagne, a three-year-old daughter of Muscle Hill out of the royally-bred French Cafe, for owner-breeders Marvin Katz and Al Libfeld. She has now won eight races from 14 starts, banked $451,064 and paid $3.20 to win. 

(Meadowlands)