Thursday night's card of harness racing at the Meadowlands featured second leg action for the Super Bowl and the White Ruffles, a division of which was captured by a regally-bred mare
at surprisingly long odds.
Driver Jim Mettinis was a late substitution behind Easy De Vie, but the duo clicked with a late stretch rally to light up the toteboard at odds of 50-1 to capture her White Ruffles division in 1:53.4 for trainer Bruce Lauer and owner Bill Reepmeyer of Birmingham, Michigan. The win stands as a new lifetime mark for the daughter of No Pan Intended - Miss Easy, and also makes Easy De Vie the third fastest performer of her dam.
The other White Ruffles divisions were captured by first-time series winners Only The World (1:54.3, $3.40) and Tryst (1:53.4, $8.40), setting up for a wide-open final next Thursday.
After self-destructing mid-stretch last week as the public choice, Monsignor Flan atoned for his mistake in the first leg of the Super Bowl with a 1:55.2 score in the second leg for the brothers Miller - driver Andy and trainer Erv. The four-year-old homebred son of SJs Photo-Fox Valley Flan has shown flashes of brilliance when able to stay flat. Tanah Merah Farms holds the papers on Monsignor Flan, who will take a fair amount of public support in next week's $79,000 final.
Also looming as serious threats are Zeitgeist and Dolce Ducci. These two trotters will enter the Super Bowl final with unblemished records in the prelim legs after scoring wins in Thursday's second leg. For the second straight week, Zeitgeist was able to upset the favourite. The Henrik Lundell trainee will shoot for his fifth straight win next Thursday after pushing his current streak to four with a 1:56.1 score.
Dolce Ducci was an easy winner in 1:55.4 for the husband-wife team of Andy & Julie Miller. The Millers also own the son of Muscles Yankee-Self Indulgent now a winner of three straight and four of his last five.
Andy Miller also captured a leg of the Super Bowl with Willie Count in 1:56.2.
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