Jordan Stratton gave Lyons Steel an aggressive drive and that proved to be the difference on Saturday, Sept. 13 at The Meadowlands, as the Jose Ramos trainee pulled off a 20-1 surprise in the featured $24,306 high-end conditioned pace.

Departing from post eight in the 10-horse field, Stratton had Lyons Steel on the go at the start before settling into the two-hole behind leader Rhyds Superfly Gb (Lauren Tritton), who had the lead at the quarter in :26.4.

Its Saturday Night (Mark Herschberger), the 5-2 favourite, was put in play at this point and rolled to the top, leading at the half in :55.3. On the far turn, Rhyds Superfly Gb vacated the pocket, forcing Lyons Steel to go three-wide as they went past three-quarters in 1:24.1.

With a quick burst of speed, Lyons Steel took over the lead just after the field straightened up in the stretch, and the 10-year-old gelded son of Rock N Roll Heaven-Lyons Luck completed his upset mission in 1:50.1. It was three-quarters of a length back to Its Saturday Night in second. Camara Moment (Colin Kelly) finished third.

“He leaves the gate so fast and he got good position,” said Stratton. “He flew home in :[25.4]. He’s been a really good horse his whole life.”

Owned by BD Racing LLC, Lyons Steel recorded his 61st career win from 264 starts, good for earnings of $936,945. He paid $43.20 to win.

It was Aug. 23 when Lauren Tritton became the first female driver in Meadowlands history to win three races on a card. Not satisfied with that, Tritton won four times on Sept. 6 to best her own mark.

With the single-card dash-win record now secure, Tritton broke into the record books again Saturday in another way. Her victory in 1:49.2 with Magnifico Hanover in the seventh race made Tritton the fastest winning female driver in Big M history. The record she broke was established on May 3, 2014, when Stacy Chiodo guided Mighty Young Joe to victory lane in 1:49.3.

Mark Herschberger and Brett Beckwith led the driver colony with three winners apiece. Beckwith now has 100 wins at The Big M this year, which has him at the top of the standings. Jake Leamon paced the trainers with two jaunts down victory lane. All-source handle on the 14-race program totalled $2,246,217.

Harness racing at The Meadowlands will now take a four-week break while Monmouth Park conducts a Thoroughbred turf meeting at the mile oval. The nine turf programs are scheduled for Sept. 19, 20, 26, 27; Oct. 3, 4, 10, 11 and 17. Post time is 7 p.m.

Harness racing returns on Saturday, Oct. 18, at 6:20 p.m.

(The Meadowlands)