The Meadowlands held the Grade 3 $173,611 Kindergarten Series finals for two-year-olds of each sex and gait on Saturday, Oct. 31.

Driver Yannick Gingras procured the golden seat for the Ake Svanstedt-trained Bentley Blue Chip to angle out and scoot by for a 1:52.2 win in the colt trot final. With 3-2 favourite Obiter Dictum (Dexter Dunn) breaking stride around the first turn, Gustav Vasa (Brett Beckwith) forged forward to the lead with Gingras perching Bentley Blue Chip in behind to a :27.3 first quarter. Gustav Vasa coasted up the backside to a :55.4 half and slowed proceedings through the last turn, prompting Captain Kenny J (Todd McCarthy) to angle out of third with Seven Pledges (Andrew McCarthy) grabbing his cover. But Gustav Vasa spun off three-quarters in 1:24.1, repelling all foes except Bentley Blue Chip, who tipped out and zipped past the pacesetter to snatch the win by 2-1/4 lengths. Seven Pledges rallied off cover to take third.

“He hasn’t raced very consistently because of different things with him, but he had trained good and showed more potential after each race,” Sarah Svanstedt of Team Svanstedt said. “Winning the final is just great. You don’t know before if you can win it or not even if you have a great horse. So we’re very happy about the end of the season for him.”

Ake Svanstedt trains Bentley Blue Chip, slated to start next in the Valley Victory on Nov. 14 at The Meadowlands, for his ownership of Ake Svanstedt Inc. and partners Blue Chip Bloodstock Inc., Tomas Andersson and Lennart Johansson. The colt by Walner-Dunk The Donato, making him a half-brother to world champion Plunge Blue Chip, has now won three races from nine starts and earned $144,496. Sent off as the third choice in the betting, he paid $11.40 to win.

Hl Kapara kept grinding as the leaders laboured in the lane, successfully reeling in the competition to land a 19-1 upset in the filly trot final. Leaving from post two, driver Tim Tetrick settled Hl Kapara into fourth as Athenas Girl (Dexter Dunn), making her first start since scratching sick from the Breeders Crown eliminations, pushed on the outside to take the lead by a :28.2 first quarter. Athenas Girl cruised unchallenged to a :57 half and mildly accelerated through the last turn as odds-on favourite Orinoco (Yannick Gingras) angled off the pylons from third. Past three-quarters in 1:25.2, Athenas Girl kept holding Orinoco and pocket-sitter Day One Dandy (Scott Zeron) at bay, though Hl Kapara ripped wide after sitting second-over and gathered enough steam to nail weary Athenas Girl at the line for the win by a length in 1:53.4. Day One Dandy took third.

“She lost an eye as a baby and I had to work with her and retrain her,” trainer Harry Landy said after the race. “With one eye she’s amazing, if she had two I don’t know how great she’d be. She was really good for awhile, but lately I felt her confidence come back up. I knew she would be great tonight. I would put her against any filly in the country right now—one on one, she would battle them down the stretch. She’s really got heart.”

A filly by Chapter Seven-Sels Choice, Hl Kapara collected her second win from nine starts and has now banked $160,743 for owner-breeder Share A Horse Inc. The filly, bound for the Goldsmith Maid on Nov. 14 at The Meadowlands, paid $40 to win.

In the final for pacing colts, Seine (Joe Bongiorno) was the fastest off the gate, followed by Aintmyfirstro Deo (Scott Zeron) settling behind him and big favourite Starstruck Dreamer securing the third spot out of post 10. Seine cut the first quarter in :28 and sailed unchallenged to a :56.3 half and to three-quarters in 1:24.2. But rounding for home, driver Todd McCarthy tipped out Starstruck Dreamer, who furiously ground down Seine to slide by for a neck win in 1:50.3. Aintmyfirstro Deo gave chase in third.

“We actually pulled his shoes last Sunday—that was going to be it for the year,” said trainer Noel Daley about the colt's start in the Breeders Crown final. “But I decided to put them back on and we threw him on the trailer to give him one more start. After he raced down there [in the Breeders Crown] he was bouncing off the walls, so I thought we might as well give him one more go. Any time you can get away with 10 starts, we’re pretty happy putting him away. He’s more like a thoroughbred—he doesn’t take a lot of work. He’s a very good horse.”

Starstruck Dreamer, a son of Captaintreacherous out of stakes-winning mare Scarlett Hanover, won his seventh race from nine starts, increasing his first-season earnings to $631,345. He is owned by Steve Wienick Racing LLC, Pryde Stables Inc., Jfoderatritchiecanamerica and Hyatt Holdings Inc. He paid $3 to win.

Joe Bongiorno guided Miss Dolce to victory in the filly pace final, sidestepping the efforts of early speeder Jk Simcha to score in a lifetime-best 1:51.2. Miss Dolce took the lead after Jk Simcha (Scott Zeron) cut a :27.1 first panel, but that opponent looped back around to retake the lead heading to a :56.1 half. Miss Dolce tracked from the pocket around the last turn and edged outside to attack after three-quarters in 1:23.4. Bongiorno implored his charge, who paced strongest to the finish to best Jk Simcha by three-quarters of a length with Perfect Kiss (Yannick Gingras) taking third.

“This was my first time driving her and I was honestly shocked when I saw the driver changes come out,” Bongiorno said after the race. “But I know she’s been sharp the last few starts and figured I’d put her in play tonight and it all worked out. I was very happy with the two-hole; [the connections] said she was better with a target. When [Jk Simcha] re-moved, I was more than happy to go a fair second quarter and take my shot in the lane.”

Miss Dolce is a Perfect Sting filly out of the Roll With Joe mare Beautiful Candy. With the filly's third win—all coming at The Meadowlands—from 12 starts, her bankroll pumped to $174,590. Val D’Or Farms and trainer Joe Holloway own the filly. She paid $7.60 to win.

Brad Chisholm, Dexter Dunn and Yannick Gingras tied atop the driver leaderboard with three wins each on the 13-race program. Mark Silva, Noel Daley and Bruce Lauer had a pair of victories apiece to top the trainers.

There will be a nice carryover for punters to shoot for Friday, Nov. 6 on the Late 20-cent Pick-5. After a sequence Saturday night that saw winners' odds of 5-2, 9-2, 25-1, 13-1 and 8-5, those with four correct selections collected $252.20. The carryover will be $17,328. The Late Pick-5 is offered on Races 8 through 12. 

All-source betting on the 13-race program totalled $2,370,842. Racing resumes Friday at 6:20 p.m. 

(Meadowlands Racetrack; photos clockwise from top left of Hl Kapara, Starstruck Dreamer, Miss Dolce and Bentley Blue Chip)