Some of harness racing's top two-year-olds made late bids for divisional honours on Saturday, Nov. 14 at The Meadowlands in the lucrative finals of the Fall Four — comprised of the Valley Victory, Governor’s Cup, Goldsmith Maid and Three Diamonds.

Command Center sustained a first-over attack and inherited the lead in mid-stretch en route to victory in the $548,329 Valley Victory (Grade 1) for two-year-old male trotters.

In the Valley Victory, Command Center and driver Dexter Dunn got away third from the pole as 3-5 favourite Bentley Blue Chip (driven by Yannick Gingras) controlled early splits of :27.4 and :56 with Gustav Vasa (Brett Beckwith) tracking tightly from the pocket. With three-eighths of the mile remaining, Command Center took aim first-over and applied steady pressure to Bentley Blue Chip through the 1:24.3 three-quarters. In upper stretch, it appeared as though Bentley Blue Chip would rebuff his outside challenger, but Command Center took over the lead at the sixteenth pole when Bentley Blue Chip broke stride, and he evaded runner-up Gustav Vasa by 3-1/4 lengths for a career-best 1:53.1 win. Seven Pledges (Jason Bartlett) rallied from last to finish fourth, and was elevated to third over the breaking Bentley Blue Chip.

"He's always been a fast horse," said Marcus Melander, who trains three-time winner Command Center as well as Gustav Vasa. "He's a June foal, so we kept him in Kentucky and raced him easy. Then, he got a little sick after the Grand Circuit (at the Red Mile) and missed the Breeders Crown, so we figured we'd go for this race, and it played out good."

A son of Gimpanzee out of the Muscle Hill mare Mission Brief, Command Center was purchased for $704,225 by S R F Stable of Del Ray Beach, Fl., Holly Lane Stud East of Vero Beach, Fl., and Steve Stewart of Paris, Ky. from breeder Mission Brief Stable and has earned $463,417 from seven starts this season. As the 8-5 second choice, he paid $5.20 to win and led a Melander-trained exacta that paid $28.80.

The 428,571 Governor’s Cup (Grade 1) for rookie pacing males saw 3-5 favourite Eastie Boy and driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. follow up their 1:50.1 win in the Grade 2 Matron Stakes at Bally's Dover with an identical clocking over the Big M's one-mile oval.

After getting away third behind a :27.2 first-quarter duel between Seine (Joe Bongiorno) and Billy Hill (Todd McCarthy), Wrenn brushed Eastie Boy to the fore upon reaching the backstretch, and the pair were met by a stern first-over challenge from Hades (Tim Tetrick) through middle fractions of :55.2 and 1:22.1. while Seine drafted from the pocket. Turning for home, Wrenn asked Eastie Boy for all he had, and the Sweet Lou-Rockin Racer colt dug in through a :28 closing sectional to keep Hades a half length at bay. Seine finished a one-paced third.

"As the year progressed, he got better and better and he peaked at the right time," said Wrenn, who drove Eastie Boy for trainer Ron Burke. "The last couple months, he's been in top form, and he showed it tonight. He was awesome tonight."

"His last three starts, he got really good," said Phil Collura, who shares ownership in the homebred Eastie Boy with Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi. "I thought in the Breeders Crown if he got out a little earlier he would have won, but he was smoking late. He's just been getting better and better all the time.

"It's always fun when they're homebreds — Louprint and now this one. It's been a great run."

Eastie Boy, now a six-time winner who has earned $1,123,292 from 13 starts, paid $3.20 to win.

Freshman fillies Nevis Peak and Tempting Flames found vindication from Breeders Crown defeats in their respective Fall Final Four finals. Regally-bred Nevis Peak procured a pocket trip and pounced to snag the $552,614 Goldsmith Maid (Grade 1) for rookie trotting fillies in a 1:53.1 mile.

Leaving from post seven, driver Yannick Gingras sent Nevis Peak towards the top with 115-1 shot Rio De Janeiro (Joe Bongiorno) launching from the outermost draw towards the lead. Gingras looped around Rio De Janeiro after a :28 first quarter and then yielded command in the backstretch once favourite Kountry Plunge (Ake Svanstedt) tipped out of third to brush forward. Kountry Plunge planted onto the point passing a :56.3 half and strolled through the last turn to three-quarters in 1:24.4 as Two Day Hangover (Mattias Melander) carried stablemates Birr Castle (Scott Zeron) and Athenas Girl (Dexter Dunn) up the rim. Two Day Hangover retreated rounding for home, giving Nevis Peak clearance to swing outside for an attack. Nevis Peak overhauled Kountry Plunge in the lane for a 2-1/4-length win while Kindergarten champ HL Kapara (Tim Tetrick) rallied widest down the track for third and Birr Castle closed for fourth.

“She started out the year so awesome I was actually looking forward to the Hambletonian next year,” co-owner Larry Karr said in the winner’s circle. “She hit a few speed bumps along the way and bled a little bit, but they took their time with her getting her back. She raced great in the Mohawk Million, was unbelievable in the Breeders Crown and I’m so happy she got a marquee win tonight.”

Nevis Peak, a daughter of Walner out of 2020 Hambletonian winner Ramona Hill, competes for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC of Fredericktown, Pa., Crawford Farms Racing of Syracuse, N.Y., Brad Grant of Milton, Ont. and Larry Karr of Boca Raton, Fl. Burke trains the winner of three races from nine starts with $730,585 in the bank. She paid $8.40 to win.

Odds-on favourite Tempting Flames recovered from a harsh shuffle as the tempo collapsed but found clearance to spring back and emerge a 1:53.1 winner in the $428,571 Three Diamonds (Grade 1) for two-year-old pacing fillies.

Driver Jason Bartlett hustled Tempting Flames forward to clear control and parked 96-1 challenger Too Pink To Pass (Lauren Tritton) heading for a :27.1 first quarter. Second-over Cleveland Darby (Gingras) then looped three wide and crossed over to lead while maintaining speed to a :54.3 half. Cleveland Darby began to waver heading for the last turn, at which point Holy launched from a second-over seat to sweep by tiring rivals. Tempting Flames got bumped as Cleveland Darby backed out of contention, but Bartlett found a seam around as Holy clocked three-quarters in 1:24. Holy (Todd McCarthy) laboured in the stretch on an open-length lead that diminished once Tempting Flames split rivals and laid aim on the leader late. Tempting Flames zipped by at the inside in the final sixteenth and clinched a 1-1/2-length win over Holy and closing JK Alwaysbpositive (Tetrick), both of whom finished second in a dead heat. Loyal To The End (Andy McCarthy) took fourth.

“We got out of the gate really too quick,” Jason Bartlett said after the race. “I really wanted to follow Yannick’s horse, but obviously something went wrong in the last turn so we got ourselves in a really, really bad spot. It’s amazing she got stopped like that and was able to pick it back up and win the race. All credit to her.”

Michael Hitchcock trains Tempting Flames for owner William Hartt of Carmel, Me. Hitchcock, based in Ohio and a native of Maine, notched his first Meadowlands victory with the win by his Catch The Fire-Hotshot Temptress filly. Winning her sixth race from 11 starts, Tempting Flames has now banked $673,360.

“Mike — we grew up together in Maine racing at the fairs, Bangor, Scarborough,” Bartlett also said. “To share this moment with him, with Billy [Hartt] — I’m sure he’s watching and will critique that drive pretty good. I got to thank him and Mike.”

“To get a win here is pretty cool,” Mike Hitchcock said. “Training her down, she’s been just perfect. She’s been just a dream to have in the barn and she was great through the summer. We bought her last fall and it’s been a great ride with her so far. She’s very manageable, and to overcome that [trip] is pretty amazing.”

Tempting Flames paid $3.40 to win.

Yannick Gingras, Dexter Dunn and Big M's leading driver Brett Beckwith all won three races on the night to lead the driver colony. Gingras and Dunn combined to take six of the eight big stakes events on the program. Ron Burke and Marcus Melander topped the trainers with a pair of walks down victory lane apiece. 

Stefan Ferrara and Patrick O’Malley finished 1-2 in the 11th and final leg of the $1,000 Meadowlands Monthly Handicapping Contest. Ferrara finished the night with a bankroll of $461 and will have four entries in the $10,000 invitation-only contest final on Dec. 12 having won twice and finishing second twice in the qualifiers. O’Malley, who had a final bankroll of $432, will have three entries in the final. 

All-source handle on the 14-race program totalled $2,613,275. Live harness racing resumes Friday, Nov. 20 at 6:20 p.m.

(with files from The Meadowlands)