Two-year-olds took the spotlight in four $176,056 Kindergarten Series finals at The Meadowlands on Saturday, Nov. 1.

Owner Ken Jacobs took home a pair of winner’s circle pictures as he swept the pacing finals with gelding Bookie J and filly Prtynproud Hanover.

Bookie J brushed early to the fore and endured through a sprint to the finish for a 1:51.2 victory in the final for pacing colts and geldings.

Bookie J eased off the pylons from third rounding the first turn and pushed towards early leader Rocknacious (Jason Bartlett) through a :28.1 first quarter. Bookie J cleared to command for Dexter Dunn into the backstretch and cruised steadily to a :57.1 half while Signal Caller (Andrew McCarthy), the 4-5 favourite, readied a first-over attack to the far turn.

Signal Caller surged up the rim through the bend as Dunn gradually accelerated with Bookie J. The two matched strides through three-quarters in 1:24.4 and into the stretch until Signal Caller levelled off nearing the final eighth. Toast Of The Town (Todd McCarthy) tipped off Signal Caller’s cover late and lunged after Bookie J, but Bookie J responded to the challenge and powered to the finish to bag the victory by a neck. Apocalypsebluechip (Joe Bongiorno) emerged from a shuffle for third.

“The two [Rocknacious and Apocalypsebluechip] got out of there pretty good and the pace sort of backed up, so I moved him a little earlier,” Dexter Dunn said after the race. “But he’s really been racing good this year and getting better all the time. I feel like every time I sit behind him he’s matured more and more. Early on in the year his gait wasn’t 100 per cent, a few steering issues, but [trainer] Chris [Ryder] and the team have got him sorted out. Tonight, he was perfect; he felt great. I think he’s going to keep maturing and be a nice three-year-old.”

Chris Ryder trains Bookie J, a son of Perfect Sting-Skyy, for Jacobs. The gelding notched his fourth victory from 11 starts and has accrued $291,546 in earnings. He paid $10.40 to win.

Prtynproud Hanover secured a pocket ride and pounced past weary pacesetter Darlins Angel to claim a 1:51.1 victory in the final for rookie pacing fillies.

Driver Yannick Gingras hoisted Prtynproud Hanover forward to take the top from 1-2 favourite Darlins Angel (Lauren Tritton) after a :26.2 first quarter. Once on the lead, Prtynproud Hanover settled and slowed, prompting Darlins Angel to pull outside and circle back to the front before a :55 half. Darlins Angel cruised through the last turn while Prtynproud Hanover swelled in the trail, with Gingras eventually nudging his charge to the outside passing three-quarters in 1:23.1. Prtynproud Hanover locked onto Darlins Angel in the stretch and charged smoothly in the final eighth of a mile to scoot away and win by 2-1/2 lengths. Fabulous Hanover rallied from second-over for second with Darlins Angel holding third.

Bongiorno trains Prtynproud Hanover, a filly by Downbytheseaside-Pretty N Fast, who now has six wins from nine starts and $145,873 earned. Sent off as the third choice in the betting, she paid $19 to win. 

Jacobs purchased the $13,889 yearling in late July out of the Andrew Fulton barn after she swept the Bucky Gray Jr. Memorial Pace at Ocean Downs. He said of the filly “I watched a couple of races, and I really fell in love with the horse. She’s got long legs, she’s just a pretty horse, and she has some go. I know she only beat half-mile horses, but I figured with her breeding she could go [1:]51 or [1:]52, [1:]53 as a 2-year-old. And they were good people too – they took care of the horse.”

Busy Miss Lissy S and Twin B Seven Sins sailed to victories in the trotting finals.

Sent off as the favourite in the filly bout, Busy Miss Lissy S, driven by Johnathan Ahle, took an easy spot in fourth on the pylons as Kate (Daniel Dube), All Time Trot S (Gingras), and outside-leaving Kickan (Todd McCarthy) lined up to take the group to a :27.3 first quarter. Kate took the early lead off the moderate quarter and strolled up the backstretch as Busy Miss Lissy S left the cones to advance on the leader into a :56.4 half.

Busy Miss Lissy S steadily gained on the outside and caught cover through the turn once All Time Trot S edged out of the pocket to press Kate to three-quarters in 1:25.4. Into the stretch, All Time Trot S took the lead, but Busy Miss Lissy S moved into charging position and marched to the wire under a strong hold in a lifetime-best 1:53.3. All Time Trot S finished second, beaten a neck, with Kickan finishing third.

The winner, a Denmark-bred daughter of Calgary Games-Hills Angel S, is now six-for-eight and scored her second victory in a row with Johnathan Ahle in the bike.

"We have started using [Ahle] the last couple of months," said co-trainer Sarah Svanstedt. "And he’s a great driver, so when it works out you better keep going with it. [This filly] has a great attitude and big heart – she’s very small, but she loves to race and that goes a very long way when they are two-year-olds.”

Panamera Racing owns Busy Miss Lissy S, who raised her first-season bankbook to $212,200. The Ake Svanstedt trainee paid $4.60 to win.

In the Kindergarten colt trot, Scott Zeron steered a masterful inside trip with the 87-1 shot Twin B Seven Sins to shock his nine opponents and their backers in a lifetime-best 1:53.3.

The Noel Daley-trained son of Chapter Seven-Affair Hall was placed well in third behind favourite Magic Punk (Ahle) and longshot Lindy Living (Dunn) heading past a :27.3 first quarter. After a :56.3 half and nearing the second turn, Highball Hanover (Andrew McCarthy) took to the outside to chase and entered a nose-to-nose duel with Magic Punk coming to three-quarters in 1:25.1.

Twin B Seven Sins hugged the inside turning for the finish and found room to pass Magic Punk and win by 1-1/2 lengths while AI (Gingras) made a strong bid down the centre of the track and got up for second. Magic Punk tired to third.

Zeron lauded the colt after driving him for the first time.

"He raced sensational," he said. "Noel told me ‘Don’t sleep on him because he can go with these horses.’ Having the rail helped out, I was sitting third at the quarter pole following two very talented horses, so it was just hoping my horse was good on this given day and he was.”

Patricia Stable, Caviart Farms, Allister Stables LLC, and L.A. Express Stable LLC own Twin B Seven Sins, now a five-time winner from 11 starts with $157,098 earned. Sent off as the third-longest shot in the betting, the colt paid $177.40 to win. 

In overnight action, Tom Horn extended his winning streak to five with a gate-to-wire score for driver Dave Miller and trainer Ron Burke. The sophomore son of Cattlewash-Dancinwiththestarz, a Kindergarten finalist at two, prevailed by a length in 1:50 over Courts On Fire (Gingras). Dont Drop The Ball (Boyd) was third. The winning gelding, owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, W.J. Donovan, David Miller, and J&T Silva- Purnel&Libby, paid $5 to win.

Ahle, Miller, and Gingras led the driver colony with two winners apiece. Burke topped the trainers with a pair of victories.

There were no winning tickets sold on the 20-cent Pick-6, creating a carryover of $7,950.24 for next Thursday’s card. Those with five correct collected $226.32.  All-source handle on the 14-race program totaled $3,198,548. 

Next week is the first of three this month with Thursday racing at The Meadowlands. That’s when live action resumes at 6:20 p.m. 

(With files from The Meadowlands; photo of Bookie J winning on Nov. 1)