The red-hot Joe Bongiorno won both divisions of the featured Exit 16W Pop Up Series, training and driving Federer and Best Chip in the $34,722 dashes for high-end conditioned pacers and sending out three winners in total on Saturday, May 30 at The Meadowlands.

Federer, a four-year-old gelded son of Captaintreacherous-Sweetest Emotion, left the gate quickly before yielding the top to 4-5 favourite Southwind Gendry (Yannick Gingras), who cut out fractions of :26.4, :54.3 and 1:23.2. “Gendry” took big-time pressure from Build The Wall (Vinnie Ginsburg) throughout the final three-eighths, which softened him up for the stretch drive.

With a little more than a 1/16th of a mile to go, Federer moved out of the pocket and was loaded with pace as he split Southwind Gendry (who was to his inside) and Build The Wall (outside) to go on to a thrilling three-quarter-length score in 1:50.3, which equalled his lifetime best. Water Sports Teen (Andrew McCarthy) closed with a rush to be second, with Kwick Sand A (Braxten Boyd) third.

“I wanted him to be more involved in the race tonight (as compared to recent starts at Pocono),” said Bongiorno. “He’s been pacing home really hard. I had him stirred up ready to leave tonight. He was a handful, but he got the job done in the stretch. Gendry is a really good horse, but he kind of pulls up through the turns and then he’ll sprint home, so I took my shot trying to keep my horse in there and it ended up working out well.”

Federer recorded his 10th lifetime win in 44 tries to up his bankroll to $229,994. He returned $5.60 to his backers as the 9-5 second choice in the betting.

Best Chip completed Bongiorno’s 16W sweep. He pressed to the lead in a :27 opener, then sat a three-hole trip through the half in :54.1 and three-quarters in 1:22.3 before moving off the rail to go after leader Downbythewater (Tim Tetrick). He still had work to do when the field straightened up for the drive, but in deep stretch, Downbythewater and the pocket-sitting 6-5 favourite Voukefalas (Braxten Boyd) briefly hooked wheels, allowing Best Chip to sprint past them both and hit the wire 1-1/2 lengths in front in a career-best 1:48.4. Downbythewater finished second, with Voukefalas settling for third.

“(Best Chip) is just a really nice horse,” said Bongiorno. “The sky's the limit for him. I have high hopes for this horse. For him to jump up the way he has and race against the likes of Voukefalas and Downbythewater? I believe that if Voukefalas gets up the rail, he would’ve had the jump on me and he might’ve been tough to beat tonight, but, like I said, I think my horse is just getting his legs underneath him and I think he’s going to be a very fast horse moving forward.”

Owned by El Dorado Stables, which also owns Federer, Best Chip racked up his eighth lifetime victory in 44 attempts and raised his earnings to $130,044. Those who backed the four-year-old horse by Heston Blue Chip-Place Your Best collected a $5 payout.

Bongiorno also harnessed winner Rocknroll Gold ($8), driving the seven-year-old A Rocknroll Dance-Queens Gold gelding to victory in 1:50.4. He finished the 14-race card with a training triple, bringing his seasonal total to 78 wins from 317 starts. His local win tally this year sits at 31, putting him in second, 11 wins back of leading conditioner Per Engblom.

The reinsman drove four winners on the day, tying with Yannick Gingras for top sulky honours.

Followers of Dave Little cashed plenty of tickets on the evening, featuring some attractive payouts. The Big M TV veteran gave out the Early Pick-4, which paid $193, but Little suggested a $1 base-bet ticket (total investment $36), which resulted in his fans cashing in for $386. He then completed a Pick-4 sweep, by giving out the version that spans Races 10 through 13, cashing in for $70.70 after another $1 base bet (investment $36).

Finally, his biggest hit came when he touted a 9-1 winner in the 13th race (Marcus Seelster, $20.40) and a 14-1 chance in the 14th (Lunatic Fringe, $30.20). “Little’s Late Double” returned $149, but those who played along with the regular simulcast show host cashed in for a total of $447, after he mapped out a $6 base-bet play (investment $36).

All-source handle on the 14-race program totalled $2,521,742. Racing resumes on Friday at 6:35 p.m.

(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack; photo of Best Chip winning on May 30)