Talk about a couple in perfect harmony.

Three times this year Yannick Gingras has driven the Trond Smedshammer-trained Walspea, and three times this year the pair have made it to the winner’s circle. On Friday, Sept. 4 at The Meadowlands, the prolific pairing took the fourth and final $55,556 preliminary leg of the Miss Versatility Series for open mare trotters in a dazzling lifetime-best 1:50.2.

“She’s a sweetheart and she’s got a lot of speed,” said Gingras, who also drove the four-year-old by Walner out of Speak To Me to victories on Aug. 8 in the Dr. John Steele Memorial and on May 23 in another Miss Versatility leg.

Woman Of Passion (Scott Zeron), a 71-1 longshot, took the field past the quarter in :27.1 before Walspea vacated the pocket to take over before the three-eighths, then reaching the half in :56. There were no anxious moments from there, as no foe got close as Walspea clicked by three-quarters in 1:23.2 on the way to a decisive 13/4-length score. Woman Of Passion finished second with 9-5 favourite Tactical Moni (Dexter Dunn), who stayed in the three-hole throughout, holding the show spot.

“[My mare] sat a two-hole Hambletonian Day [when she won the Steele]. She can do it either way. But with those fractions, I took my chance [moving to the lead],” said Gingras. “Obviously, at the half, I did have the jump on them and it worked tonight.”

As the 2-1 second choice, Walspea returned $6.20 to her backers. 

She now has 10 wins from 31 career tries and a bankroll of $646,285 for owners Purple Haze Stables of Fairport, New York and M3 Racing Stable of Berlin, Ohio.

The $100,000 USD (est.) Miss Versatility final is on Little Brown Jug Day on Thursday, Sept. 24 at the Delaware (Ohio) County Fairgrounds.

King Of The Wind was put on the point by trainer/driver Joe Bongiorno and went wire-to-wire in a $34,722 New Jersey Classic elimination for three-year-old colts and geldings on the trot. He took a new lifetime mark of 1:51.4.

Hambletonian winner Apex (Dexter Dunn), sent to the gate as the 1-9 favourite, sat a three-hole trip, came off the rail at the five-eighths and did not fire, ending up a well-beaten fourth.

“I was kind of reading the gate a little bit and there was really nobody going out of there, so I decided to take advantage of it and hoped to get covered up, but it didn’t work out that way and it ended up working out anyway,” said Bongiorno, who was named the Driver of the Week before the start of the program.

With some big money bet on Apex to place (there was no show wagering), King Of The Wind, a gelded son of Walner-Wind Stroll, paid $41.40 to win, and even more, $47.60, to place. 

He’s won seven of his 15 lifetime outings and is owned by the Florida-based El Dorado Stables.

The other elimination for three-year-old male trotters was won by the Marcus Melander trainee Nix Nacken in 1:51.3. Dexter Dunn drove the Muscle Hill-Nixie Volo gelding, a 3-1 shot who followed up his Beal Consolation triumph here winning by three-quarters of a length over the more popular betting picks, Magic Punk (Yannick Gingras) and Diabolic Hill (Todd McCarthy).

Another winner for Dunn and Melander, the Walner-You Ato Dream colt Free Scottie broke his maiden in an elimination for freshman male trotters, scoring in 1:54.4 as the 7-2 second choice.

It was another flawless performance from 1-9 bettors' choice Wall Of Fame, who stayed unbeaten in seven starts in an elimination for two-year-old filly trotters. The daughter of Walner-Saadet stopped the clock in 1:53.4 for trainer Julie Miller and driver Andy Miller. 

Trainer Nancy Takter sent out three winners on Friday's 14-race card including the other two freshman trotting filly elim winners. The popular Walner-Devilish Delight filly Rio De Janeiro earned her third consecutive win while taking a new mark of 1:53.2 with Bongiorno driving. Making her debut from the Takter stable, Special Orchid, a daughter of Walner and Special Honor, prevailed by a neck over favourite Orchestra in a new mark of 1:55 with Scott Zeron aboard the 5-1 shot.

The $20,833 eliminations for the two-year-old pacing fillies went to first-time winners Lite The Tunnel (Downbytheseaside-Dismissal) in 1:51.4 with Brad Chisholm aboard for trainer Brett Pelling and Real Choice (Courtly Choice-Realization) in 1:52 with Jason Bartlett between the wheels for the Nik Drennan stable. The former filly is a full sister to double millionaire Bythemissal.

After a 12-1 shot won the second race and a 14-1 chance the fourth, there were no winning tickets sold on the 20-cent Pick-5, creating a carryover of $28,782 for Saturday’s first Pick-5, which will be offered on races one through five. The estimated total pool is $100,000.

All-source handle on the 14-race program totalled $2,605,797 USD.

Live harness racing resumes on Saturday at 6:20 p.m.

(Meadowlands Racetrack & Standardbred Canada)