The Jimmy Takter and Ron Burke stables dominated a star-studded Meadowlands Pace undercard at the Meadowlands Racetrack on Saturday night.

With his sights set on the Hambletonian, trainer Jimmy Takter has a barn full of talent and his three sophomore trotters served notice to the competition on Saturday night sweeping the top three spots in the final major prep, the $317,000 Stanley Dancer Memorial.

Undefeated in six stakes starts this year, Father Patrick (Yannick Gingras) led the way with Nuncio (John Campbell) following from the pocket and Trixton (Takter) coming on for third.

“This was basically the Hambletonian,” said Takter after the race. “I mean, who is coming?”

Leaving from post nine, Father Patrick and Gingras cleared to command over post seven starter Nuncio at the :27.2 first quarter mark and led the full field of 12 to the half in :56 and three-quarters in 1:24.3. Meanwhile, Muscle Network (Ake Svanstedt) tipped out from fourth providing cover to Trixton, who got away mid-pack from a trailing tier post. However, Muscle Network broke stride around the final turn leaving the three stablemates racing each other to the finish. Father Patrick sprinted home to win in 1:51.3 with Nuncio pulling the pocket to place less than a length behind and Trixton closing for third.

“He can race from the back and he’s probably a little bit better following horses. With the nine-hole in a 12-horse field, the last thing I wanted to do was get caught behind traffic," said Gingras of his strategy. “There was no excuse for anybody. Father Patrick beat them straight up.”

Father Patrick, a son of Cantab Hall out of Gala Dream, is owned by the Father Patrick Stable of East Windsor, New Jersey.

Team Takter headed right back to the winner's circle as three-year-old trotting filly Shake It Cerry captured the following $213,500 Del Miller Memorial Trot.

There was a three across battle into the first turn with Cooler Schooner (John Campbell) breaking stride at the inside and outsider Shake It Cerry pressing on to clear Heavens Door (Ake Svanstedt) before the :27.3 first quarter. Shake It Cerry got a second quarter breather, reaching the half in :57.4 and leaving driver Ron Pierce thinking "that I just stole the race." Shake It Cerry then scooted away from the field en route to three-quarters in 1:25.2. She had built up an insurmountable lead of five lengths entering the stretch and cruised home for the 1:53 career-best triumph with Heavens Door narrowing her leading margin to a length and a quarter. Designed To Be (Brian Sears) edged out another Takter trainee, Lifetime Pursuit (Yannick Gingras), in a battle for third-place honours.

The Donato Hanover-Solveig filly, who now has five wins in six seasonal starts after an award-winning freshman campaign, is owned by Solveigs Racing Partners of East Windsor, New Jersey. The winner's share of the purse sent her career bankroll over the $1 million mark.

“I think she’s coming into the Hambletonian Oaks just perfect," said Pierce. "Today she got a good workout, so I would say she’s coming into the Oaks in real good shape.”

The lightly raced Sandbetweenurtoes forged to the front down the backstretch and held off the late-closing three-year-old pacing fillies for a gusty win in the $212,150 Mistletoe Shalee.

Gallie Bythe Beach (John Campbell) cleared Weeper (Corey Callahan) into a :26.2 first quarter, but Sandbetweenurtoes and driver Brett Miller swept up from third to take over during the second panel. The new leaders reached the half in :54.3 as Table Talk (Tim Tetrick) was flushed first up from fourth with Uffizi Hanover (David Miller) picking up the cover. Sandbetweenurtoes raced to three-quarters in 1:22.1 and into the stretch with Table Talk looming on the outside and Weeper slipping up the pylons while the backfield began to fan wide. Swarmed from both sides by her rivals, Sandbetweenurtoes dug in to persevere by a neck in 1:49.3. Weeper edged out Table Table for the runner-up honours.

After making just one start at two, Sandbetweenurtoes remains undefeated in six races this year for Milton, Ont. owner Bradley Grant, who purchased the Somebeachsomewhere-Als Girl filly this past spring and placed her in Larry Remmen's care.

“She’s something else, for a filly who had only one start as a two-year-old,” said Miller.

Overlooked at the betting windows, Rocklamation was a repeat winner in the $178,450 Golden Girls for older pacing mares.

Aunt Caroline (Ron Pierce) worked her way to the lead off the gate over insider Somwherovrarainbow (Brian Sears) with the parked out Anndrovette (Tim Tetrick) rolling to the top in a sizzling :25.4 opening quarter. Somwherovrarainbow moved back out for the retake on the backstretch and the 4-5 favourite continued to lead through middle splits of :53.4 and 1:21.1 until being swarmed in the stretch. Her stablemate, Shebestingin (David Miller), applied first over pressure with Rocklamation perfectly placed second over by Gingras and ready to launch her attack in the stretch. She did just that, storming home to prevail in a career-best 1:48.3 over fellow late-closers Drop The Ball (Corey Callahan) and Jerseylicious (Brett Miller).

Rocklamation lowered her lifetime mark by one full second, which she had taken in a division of the Golden Girls in 2013. She paid $26.80 for the 12-1 upset.

“My mare’s a hard knocker,” said Gingras in the winner's circle. “She’s getting up there in age, but she’s such a sweetheart.”

Ron Burke trains the six-year-old Rocknroll Hanover-Art Sale mare, who is approaching the $2 million earnings milestone. She is owned by J And T Silva Stables, Stable 45 and Our Horse Cents Stables.

Burke swept the stakes for older pacers as even-money favourite Sweet Lou captured the following $463,300 William R. Haughton Memorial with his stablemate Bettors Edge finishing second.

Bettors Edge (Matt Kakaley) out-sprinted Bolt The Duer (Mark MacDonald) to the lead through a first quarter in a scorching :25.3, but Captaintreacherous (Tim Tetrick) brushed up from third with Thinking Out Loud (John Campbell) hot on his heels and edging three-wide. Captaintreacherous cleared to command before the :53 half-mile mark with Thinking Out Loud applying heavy pressure to three-quarters in 1:21 and Sweet Lou positioned second over by Ron Pierce. Captaintreacherous put up a fight as his rivals closed in, but couldn't fend off the hard-charging Sweet Lou and Bettors Edge, who slipped up the pylons to place. Sweet Lou earned his third straight sub-1:48 victory as he hit the wire in 1:47.1. Captaintreacherous settled for third.

The five-year-old son of Yankee Cruiser and Sweet Future extended his win streak to six in open stakes company for owners Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, Lawrence Karr and Phillip Collura.

“Ronnie had been using the same move every week where he brushes up the backside and bottoms them out,” said Burke. “I was wondering what would happen if we couldn’t do that. What I liked best was at the wire he was just starting to stretch out. I was very happy with him and Bettors Edge."

Reigning Horse of the Year Bee A Magician earned the first victory of her four-year-old campaign in the $40,000 third leg of the Miss Versatility Series for older trotting mares.

Classic Martine (Tim Tetrick) and Perfect Alliance (David Miller), opening leg winners in the series, lined up in first and second into a :26.3 quarter. As Perfect Alliance was making her move around the leader down the backstretch, the parked outsider, Maven (Yannick Gingras), rolled wide to grab command. Maven reached the half in :55.2 with Bee A Magician and Brian Sears moving underway from fifth and flushing out cover in the form of Dorsay (Corey Callahan). Maven continued to lead the field past the 1:24.3 three-quarters with Dorsay inching closer down the lane, but Bee A Magician sprinted her final quarter in :26-seconds to win in 1:51.1 with Charmed Life (Brett Miller) rallying off her back on the grandstand side to finish just a neck back in second. Dorsay finished three-quarters of a length behind in third.

Bee A Magician is trained by Richard 'Nifty' Norman for owners Melvin Hartman of Ottawa, Ont., Herb Liverman of Miami Beach, Florida and David McDuffee of Delray Beach, Florida. After going undefeated in 17 starts during her sophomore campaign, the Kadabra-Beehive mare started her four-year-old season with three runner-up finishes in her four prior starts, including a second to Your So Vain while racing against the boys in the Hambletonian Maturity.

Two-year-old New Jersey-sired trotters kicked off Meadowlands Pace Night with Guess Whos Back and filly Mission Brief winning their respective $100,000 New Jersey Sires Stakes Finals.

Guess Whos Back stormed home from off-the-pace to capture the two-year-old trotting colt final in a career-best 1:56.1 with Brian Sears aboard for trainer Nikolas Drennan. The Muscles Yankee-Shes Gone Again colt is owned by Joseph Davino of Clarksburg, New Jersey and Brad Shackman of Calgary, Alta.

Heavy 1-5 favourite Mission Brief broke her own NJSS record of 1:55.1 with a 1:53.3 wrapped up victory in the final for freshman trotting fillies with Gingras along for the ride. The Muscle Hill-Southwind Serena filly is owned by trainer Ron Burke's Burke Racing Stable, Our Horse Cents Stables, J And T Silva Stables and Weaver Bruscemi.

"We've know all along she's very talented, it's just keeping her head on straight," said Burke of the filly that won by more than 13 lengths. "She's so willing on her own, we're really going to have to keep her under control."

Driven by Scott Zeron, Western Ideal offspring swept the $100,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes Finals for two-year-old pacers, which concluded the Saturday stakes action.

The favoured Tony Alagna trainee, Artspeak, journeyed first over in the two-year-old pacing colt and gelding final for his second straight win in as many starts. The Western Ideal-The Art Museum colt took a new mark of 1:52.3. He's owned by breeder Brittany Farms of Versailles, Kentucky, Marvin Katz of Toronto, Ont., Joe Sbrocco of Brecksville, Ohio and In The Gym Partners of Staten Island, New York.

Favourite Stacia Hanover also kept her perfect record untarnished in three starts with a career-best 1:53.4 triumph in the freshman pacing filly final. Steve Elliott trains the Western Ideal-Stolly Up Bluechip filly, who was a wire-to-wire winner, for David Van Dusen and Michael Cimaglio.

Total handle for the 13-race program was $4,288,237, compared to the $4,311,546 wagered on the 14-race card in 2013. By comparison, handle through 13 races last year was $4,096,588.

For a recap and replays of tonight's featured $776,000 Meadowlands Pace, click here.

(With quotes from Meadowlands Racetrack)

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