Bravo Angel S made the lead down the backside before holding sway to the wire to stay perfect in four seasonal starts after taking the Friday night, May 15 feature at The Meadowlands, a $37,671 high-end conditioned event for trotters.

The six-year-old daughter of Readly Express-Cilla Sisu left alertly from post seven in the eight-horse field to grab the three-hole as Miracle Maven (Yannick Gingras) led at the quarter in :27.3. Defending Dan Patch Driver of the Year Jason Bartlett moved the Per Engblom trainee off the rail soon after the quarter and blew by the leader before taking the field past the half in :55.4.

“With the reasonable quarter, I had to move her. She’s very quick,” said Bartlett. “Once she makes the front, she really relaxes.”

Bartlett and Bravo Angel A were on the point at three-quarters after a rated third fraction, stopping the tele-timer in 1:24.2.

“I knew if I could back the third quarter down, I didn’t really think the horses behind me were going to move too early because they were coming off qualifiers,” said Bartlett. “I know [my horse] can sprint once she turns for home.”

A final quarter of :27.2 finished the job, but not without some anxious moments, as the pocket-sitting Miracle Maven came calling with a rush in the final sixteenth.

“I was a little worried about Yannick’s horse. She did qualify very well and made [almost] $400,000 [USD] last year. She’s a nice mare," said Bartlett. "But we got everything our own way and she did finish it off."

She completed the mile in 1:51.4, hitting the wire a neck in front of Miracle Maven with Mr Mouton (Dexter Dunn) third. As the 4-5 favourite, Bravo Angel S returned $3.80 to her backers.

“My horse has come back this year really, really well. She’s always been racing – even last year – against the best trotting mares. She’s always right there with them when she draws inside. She’s started off the year great four-for-four and we’re very happy for the upcoming stakes races.”

After upping her lifetime stats to 14 wins from 54 tries, Bravo Angel S now has $437,218 in lifetime earnings for owner Consensus Racing Stable Inc. of Vero Beach, Florida. 

Joe Bongiorno led the driver colony with three winners, and tied with Andrew Harris atop the trainer leaderboard with two walks down victory lane.

All-source wagering totalled $2,549,673 USD on the 14-race card.

Racing resumes at The Meadowlands on Saturday at 6:35 p.m. The featured event is the $150,100 USD Arthur J. Cutler for some of the best older trotters in North America. FOX Sports 2 (FS2) will show the race live on a presentation that begins at 8 p.m. The Cutler has a post time of 10:33 p.m.  

(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)