Ontario Sires Stakes graduate Warrawee Needy made his four-year-old debut a winning one in the $35,000 first leg of the Aquarius Series at the Meadowlands Racetrack on Saturday evening.

Mark MacDonald steered the son of E Dees Cam out of Great Memories to a 1:50 triumph for trainer Mark Ford and leasee Carl Jamieson of Rockwood, Ont.

Exit 16W Series champion Mr Dennis (Andy Miller) fired to the lead early forcing outside assignee Bakin On The Beach (John Campbell) into the two-hole.

However, Mr Dennis' lead was short-lived as 6-5 favourite Escape The News (Yannick Gingras) rushed up from third to take over past the :27.3 opening quarter mark with second choice Warrawee Needy hot on his heels. Warrawee Needy cleared to command down the backstretch and opened up two lengths on his foes by the :55.2 half-mile mark.

As Warrawee Needy led the way past three-quarters in 1:23, I Fought Dalaw (Corey Callahan) advanced first over with One Through Ten (David Miller) rallying three-wide as his cover began to fade.

But no one could catch Warrawee Needy in the stretch as he powered home in :27-seconds to score by one and a half lengths. Escape The News finished second and Bakin On The Beach was third.

Warrawee Needy paid $5.60 to win.

The 2011 O'Brien Award winner notched his 14th career victory and pushed his bankroll to $846,925.

He has been nominated to the Meadowlands Free For All Championship Series.

Later on the card another Canadian-owned pacer was in the spotlight as Resistance Futile completed a sweep of the Junior Trendsetter Series.

Overcoming the outside post 10 starting spot, sophomore colt Resistance Futile and driver Andy Miller won the $48,000 series final in 1:51.3 for trainer Robbie Siegelman and owners Robert Burgess of Campbellville, Ont., Karin Olsson Burgess of Milton, Ont., the Champagne Stable of Toronto, and James Walker of Port Perry, Ont.

A Bettor World (David Miller) put up a :26.3 opening panel before taking a second quarter breather. Meanwhile, his stablemate Axiom Hanover (Corey Callahan) was flushed first over from fourth with Resistance Futile picking up his cover en route to the :56.2 half.

Axiom Hanover moved up to pressure his barn buddy as they approached the third quarter mark in 1:25.1, but Resistance Futile rallied three-wide into the stretch and soared past the top two for the one and a quarter length victory with a :26-second final kick. Axiom Hanover stayed for second while Terror High (Ron Pierce) came on for third.

Resistance Futile paid $2.80 to win as the odds-on favourite.

"I was a little worried about what was going to happen early in the race [from post 10]," commented Miller in the winner's circle. "I just wanted to get him into a good spot without using him too much.

"I wanted to get carried close enough at the top of the lane," he added. "If I was within two or three lengths [of the leader] I didn't think anyone could sprint with him."

The Real Desire-Capelo Rose colt is now three-for-four this season. He sports four wins from 11 starts on his career record with earnings doubling to $48,040.

Siegelman said that Resistance Futile was a pleasure to have in his barn while racing at The Big M for the Ontario-based Blair Burgess stable.

"He was really a gift," said Siegelman. "He's just a really nice colt that's learning and still developing. He was probably one of the easiest horses we've had to work with in a long time."

The Pennsylvania Sire Stakes eligible colt is expected to return to Canada following his Junior Trendsetter victory. He has also been nominated to the Meadowlands Pace along with runner-up Axiom Hanover.

In other action, Canadian brothers Simon and Rene Allard teamed up for three wins on Saturday's card. The duo won with Odin Blue Chip ($4.40), owned by his trainer and Wheelhouse Racing Stable of Mississauga, Ont.; Veal Marsala ($6.60) for Michel Allard of Saint-Esprit, Que., Gest Millenium 2000 Inc. of Trois-Rivieres, Que., and Jean Guy Bruneau, Montebello, Que.; and D Gs Woodstock ($7.40) for owner Yves Sarrazin of La Presentation, Que.

In wagering news, it was another sensational night at the Meadowlands. The total handle of $3,614,298 was an increase of $706,187 or 24 per cent from the same day in 2012.

To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Meadowlands Racetrack.