Blatantly Good and driver Richie Silverman rallied four-wide to win the $117,000 Presidential final, the first showcase of the season for older pacers, Saturday night at Meadowlands Racetrack
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Starting from Post 8, Blatantly Good benefited from an active flow on the outer tier to work his way into contention. Silverman moved Blatantly Good four-wide around the final turn and they stormed home to a length victory over Jeremys Successor (Tyler Buter) in 1:50.1. It was another length behind to Western Shore, (George Brennan), who made the lead past the half and faded in the final strides. Sent off the 4-1 second choice in the betting, Blatantly Good paid $10.
"I was trying to get to where I could follow Tyler [Buter] with Jeremys Successor, but he left hard enough to get in front of Eric [Goodell and Cheyenne Knight]," Silverman said. "I was forced to be behind both of them and it worked out good for me. I had to fan [Blatantly Good] four-wide a little earlier than I would have liked, but he loves coming off cover. He's just a great horse. I really think Mark [Kesmodel] has done an unbelievable job to keep this horse as sharp as he has."
Trainer Mark Kesmodel and owner Jeff Bamond of Brick, New Jersey claimed Blatantly Good for $40,000 during his four-year-old season and he has since earned $350,000 for them. The six-year-old son of Albert Albert picked up his third win in four starts this season in the Presidential. Lifetime, he has won 30 of 91 and $507,069.
"I claimed him at Yonkers in 2008 and he's just taken off since," Bamond said. "Mark and everyone at the barn has done a great job with him. I can't be happier. He's a little versatile. He's done it on the front but off the pace, he's just been super. I'm just so excited - this is a dream come true for me. We'll sit down after this [to plan his schedule] and he'll be in all the [major stakes] races this year."
Pacinello stopped Real Image (Ron Pierce) at the wire to win the co-featured $90,000 Complex final for four and five-year-old pacers. Real Image fired to the front off the gate and quickly reclaimed position from Somethingsgotagive (Daniel Dube) before the half. He appeared to be en route to victory until the late-flying Pacinello got up by a nose in 1:52. Driven by Tim Tetrick, Pacinello paid $5.
"[The outer tier] wasn't really doing anything," Tetrick said. "John's horse [Campbell and Thanks For Stoppin] stopped and wasn't going anywhere. I was third or fourth over and it was really bad. Thank God, I had enough horse to get there. I thought [Real Image] was the horse to beat from the inside. He had a loose lead and had done everything his way. My horse had to race really well to catch him."
A four-year-old son of Little Steven, Pacinello was the star of his class in the California Sire Stakes last season for father-and-son Rick and Luke Plano. The Planos shipped Pacinello into trainer Jim Doherty's Meadowlands barn for last week's second leg of the Complex Series and he was an immediate winner despite a month layoff. Bred and owned by D&E Racing of Las Vegas, Nevada, the pacer has now won 17 of 34 career starts and $170,020.
"Luke called me and said he was a real nice horse to drive and that if you put him on a helmet, that he will pace home," Tetrick said. "He did everything Luke told me he would do, and was maybe even better than he said. He's super nice to drive and it shows he's got a lot of ability on the outside. He was pretty wide the whole last turn. He caught that horse and he probably wasn't supposed to."
Tetrick also captured the $22,500 Complex consolation with Circus Dreamer. The 3-1 popular choice advanced first up from fifth after the opening quarter and held off Music Again (Yannick Gingras) by a neck to win the in 1:52.4. The five-year-old son of Dream Away is trained by Bruce Saunders for Ellen Messing of Port Corners, New York.
It was a hard-fought victory for Real Joke in the $90,000 Clyde Hirt final, the last of the evening's three stakes events.
Driver Andy Miller and Real Joke reached the half in a brisk :55.3 seconds as they surged up to take the lead from Magicmaker Hanover (Tetrick). Real Joke faced pressure from Woodstock Hanover (Brennan) around the far turn and the two horses dueled through the lane until Woodstock Hanover eventually gave way. With Majestic Jackpot (Brian Sears) stoutly closing on the far outside, Real Joke gamely dug in for a half-length victory in 1:51. He paid $3.20.
Co-owners Brian Gordon, Toby Rekoon and Stewart Goldberg purchased Real Joke from Lindy Racing Stable on October 15, 2009. The son of Real Desire is perfect in four starts this season for trainer Julie Miller, driver Andy's wife.
"He was a horse we thought had a lot of ability and so far, he has been everything we could dream about," Gordon said. "I watched him race [at the Meadowlands] a few times. He looked like he had a lot of ability, but just needed to get to that next level. Frank Antonacci of Lindy Farms said he was a really nice horse but he just probably needs to mature a little bit. Andy and Julie Miller have done a terrific job bringing him to that next level.
"Tonight they came at him and he showed he's tough," Gordon continued. " No one was in his face the first two weeks [of the series], he had it his own way. Tonight when they looked him in the eye, he showed he's got a lot of heart. That's a true horse. We'll keep his light schedule this year and hopefully, next year we will have a good five-year-old."
Stand By Cam was quickest off the gate from Post 7 in the $20,000 Clyde Hirt consolation, but was shuffled back to fifth by the head of the lane. The four-year-old son of Cammibest, sent postward as the 7-2 second choice, managed to find his way through rivals by ducking to the inside to pull off a 1:52.4 victory for driver Brian Sears and owner-trainer Eli Scott, Jr.
In Open action, Poker Hat stole the show winning for the second time in four starts this year for trainer Jordan Rubin and owners Richard Lombardo of Solon, Ohio and Howard Taylor of Penn Valley, Pennsylvania.
Tarver Hanover (Brennan) put up the first quarter in :26.2 before race favourite Martha Maxine (Sears) tipped out from fourth and surged ahead in the backstretch. Yannick Gingras sent Poker Hat first up from fifth at the :54.4 half and matched strides with the leader at the three-quarters mark in 1:23.2. The 7-2 second choice pulled away down the stretch and managed to hold off 17-1 longshot Corky Baran (Dube), who rallied from second over and missed by a mere nose. Poker Hat stopped the clock in 1:50.4. Golden Receiver (Andy Miller) completed the triactor over Tarver Hanover.
The lion’s share of the $30,000 purse pushed Poker Hat's seasonal earnings to nearly $40,000. The six-year-old son of Cams Card Shark surpassed the $500,000 mark in career earnings with his 28th lifetime win.
To view Saturday’s results, click here.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)