Despite being out of action since December, Periculum demonstrated mid-season form in his seven-year-old debut as he rolled to a 1:49.4 win to defend his title in the $205,616 Grade 3 Arthur J. Cutler Memorial Open Trot on Saturday, May 16 at The Meadowlands.

The son of Muscle Hill-Amour Heiress was in no hurry in the race's early stages, taking back from an early logjam in which French Wine (Jason Bartlett) pushed clear of Aetos Kronos S (Dexter Dunn) at the end of a :27 first quarter.

"It looked like there was a lot of excitement going into the first turn, and I didn't want to be part of it," said Periculum driver Scott Zeron after the race.

He activated Periculum out of sixth as 2025 Trotter of the Year Lexus Kody (Yannick Gingras) pushed to the fore midway up the backstretch and seized control from French Wine at the :54.4 half. Meanwhile, Periculum had gained steadily in the breeze before flushing stablemate Aetos Kronos S off the pegs with 7/16ths to go, setting up a covered trip through the far turn. Aetos Kronos S ground forward to take a narrow lead from Lexus Kody just past the 1:23.2 three-quarters, but his biggest challenge was on his helmet as the field turned for home.

"We were able to pick up great cover," said Zeron. "Once we shuffled three-wide, my horse put his head down and went forward."

In mid-stretch, Zeron fed Periculum racetrack, and the defending Cutler champ vaulted off his stablemate's cover and unleashed a :26.1 sprint home to win going away by 2-1/4 lengths and miss his lifetime mark by a fifth of a second. Aetos Kronos S finished second. French Wine saved third from a failing pocket.

Marcus Melander, who trains Periculum for Brixton Medical Inc. and Holly Lane Stud East Ltd., opted to give his star trotter a second qualifier in preparation for his seasonal debut, as opposed to a single prep as was the case in 2025.

"Last year, even though he won (the Cutler), he could have been a bit sharper," he said. "I figured we'd take two qualifiers this year. He was very good last week, and he's very good when he races week to week."

Periculum now has 17 wins and $2,849,474 in career earnings from 64 starts. He paid $3.80 to win as the 4-5 favourite.

The Arthur J. Cutler Memorial is named for the New York City restaurateur who founded Carmine's Italian restaurant in Times Square, named in honour of driver Carmine Abbatiello.

Following the race, Jeff Gural, chairman and CEO of The Meadowlands, spoke of his friendship with Cutler and their trips to the racetrack.

"He would go to the restaurant, walk inside and take about $2,000 out of the cash register, and he'd be even for the night and I'd be broke," Gural quipped. 

He also recalled his experience owning horses together with Cutler.

"He would park in the garage near my office (in Manhattan), and we would meet and head to The Meadowlands. We owned a mare, Cyclone Beauty, and she had a filly, Cyclone Annie. A few days after [Cutler] died, Cyclone Annie was here in the final of the (1997) New Jersey Sire Stakes. One by one, the horses broke, and God carried Cyclone Annie over the finish line."

The undercard featured four divisions of the Garden State Trot. In the $65,753 dash for three-year-old fillies, Madam Cheval worked out a second-over trip, displayed good trot after tipping with a little more than an eighth to go, then held off a late-charging Emmas Mystery Ccl (Tyler Buter) by a head to record her second career win in 13 tries. R Candy (Braxten Boyd) was third. The winning Nancy Takter trainee, a daughter of Walner-Shake It Cerry who was driven by Tim Tetrick, stopped the clock in a lifetime-best 1:53 for owner M Biasuzzi Stable Inc. She returned $8 to win as the 3-1 second choice.

Takter completed a sweep of the Garden State’s two divisions – this one for $61,644 – for sophomore fillies with Leading Lady. The 2-5 favourite tracked the action early from fourth in the five-horse field (there were two scratches), moved into contention nearing the far turn, and then exploited the wonky steps of leader Isabella Bi (Ake Svanstedt) nearing the wire to record a neck win in a lifetime-best-equaling 1:53.1. Diamond Bay (Tyler Buter) finished third. Driven by Matt Kakaley, Leading Lady, a daughter of Walner-Muscle Dolly, is now four-for-eight lifetime for owners Black Horse Racing, Marvin Katz and Herb Liverman. She returned $2.80 to her backers.

In the $61,644 first Garden State dash for three-year-old colts and geldings, the Marcus Melander-trained American Power sat the four-hole to the five-eighths before moving to the outside, was up to challenge leader Southwind Alamo (Tim Tetrick) with a little more than an eighth to go, and powered his way to a half-length victory in a lifetime-best 1:52.3. Gabes Luck (Scott Zeron) finished sharply for second over Southwind Alamo. The exquisitely well-bred American Power, by Walner-Ariana G, was driven to his fourth win in 13 lifetime outings by Dexter Dunn. The colt, owned by M Biasuzzi Stable Inc, returned $3.80 as the 4-5 public choice.

In the second division for sophomore males, which sported a purse of $57,534, the Tom Fanning-trained Practical Man worked out a pocket trip behind 3-5 favourite Never Say Die (Dexter Dunn) and skimmed the cones late to pick up his third career win in 14 starts by three-quarters of a length. Ice Fall (Scott Zeron) closed for third. The winning time of 1:53.4 was a lifetime best for the son of Tactical Landing-Fashion Athena, who is owned by Joe Smith. The 5-1 third choice, who was driven by Jordan Stratton, returned $13.20 to win.

Tetrick, Joe Bongiorno and Tyler Buter topped the driver colony with a pair of winners each on the 14-race card. Takter and Melander each scored twice to lead the trainers. 

Followers of Ken Warkentin wore out a path the windows, as The Big M's track announcer selected seven winners on top, including Sergeant Walt ($14.20) in the first race and A Little Kick ($3.80) in the second to complete an ice-cold early daily double that returned $39.80. 

All-source betting on the 14-race program totalled $2,684,078. Racing resumes Friday at 6:35 p.m.

(Meadowlands Racetrack)