Two of the most consistent champions of this decade, Twin B Joe Fresh and Super Chapter headlined the winners of the FanDuel Championships on Saturday, Nov. 14 at The Meadowlands in what could be the final pari-mutuel appearance for each Standardbred superstar.
Twin B Joe Fresh topped the mare pacing division again, winning the $214,286 FanDuel Championship Open Mare Pace (Grade 2) with a 1:49.1 performance for driver and co-owner Dexter Dunn.
Always B Naughty (Scott Zeron) left best off the gate with Champagne Room (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) settling into second and favourite Twin B Joe Fresh gliding easily in third for a moderate first quarter of :27. Twin B Joe Fresh paced up the outside lane to take over into the backstretch and coasted confidently to a :55.1 half.
Talk Curdy To Me (Todd McCarthy) left the pylons to push first over into the last turn while Dunn sat strongly with Twin B Joe Fresh as she posted three-quarters in 1:22.3. Talk Curdy To Me stepped up her charge in the stretch, but Dunn flashed a :26.3 last quarter with his charge and dusted that foe to the finish for a two-length victory. Rocket Deo (Tim Tetrick) ripped from last to snatch third from second-over Rodeo Drive Deo (Yannick Gingras) in fourth.
“It’s been the ride of a lifetime with her,” Dunn said. “Like she’s been her whole career, she’s so versatile. So I waited for the action early to settle and then I put her on the front. Once I told her in the straight she kicked away. Just a great thrill to win tonight with her. It’s so exciting when you can come down the straight and you hear the fans cheer for her. She deserves it. She’s number one, without a doubt.”
Chris Ryder trains the daughter of top sire Roll With Joe from the Captaintreacherous mare Fresh Breeze for himself and co-owners Dunn of Wrightstown, N.J., Peter Trebotica of Bordentown, N.J. and Barry Spak of Thornton, Pa. The win was her 44th in 64 starts. She became the second all-time money-winner among pacing mares with lifetime earnings of $4,438,513.
“The emotion is hard to describe,” Ryder said. “Now I’ve got to make a bad decision, whether to retire her or not. And that’s up in the air. It’s such a hard thing. I don’t want to race her just to prove some statistic. That’s not what’s important.”
Twin B Joe Fresh paid $2.10 to win.
Super Chapter, with driver Dexter Dunn, rebounded from a seventh-place finish in the Breeders Crown Open Trot last month at Eldorado Scioto Downs to capture the $428,571 FanDuel Championship Open Trot (Grade 1) by a head over Crown winner On To Norway in 1:50.2. Lexus Kody finished third.
In the FanDuel Open Trot, Lexus Kody, the event’s defending champ, took the lead for driver Gingras from post seven on the first turn and reached the opening quarter in :28. He continued to show the way to the half in :54.4, but Super Chapter had already started a first-over march from fourth after driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. began to advance from sixth with On To Norway as they headed toward the final turn.
Super Chapter was within two lengths of Lexus Kody as they reached three-quarters in 1:22.1 and continued to surge through the stretch to overtake the pacesetter. He then held off On To Norway for his sixth win in his past seven starts and eighth in 11 races overall this year, good for more than $1.8 million in earnings. The FanDuel was his fourth Grade 1 triumph of the season to go with the MGM Yonkers International Trot, Maple Leaf Trot, and John Cashman Memorial.
On To Norway and Super Chapter entered the FanDuel Open Trot Championship ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in the sport’s Top 10 poll.
“He’s such an amazing horse,” Dunn said about Super Chapter. “We got away in a spot where the speed was on down the back(stretch) and once Ronnie came, we had to move. He had every right for On To Norway to get past him tonight, but he’s just such an amazing horse and he was fighting like a tiger the last 50 [yards].”
Super Chapter, a four-year-old son of Chapter Seven-Lifetime Pursuit trained by Marcus Melander, will now head to stallion duty at Hanover Shoe Farms. For his career, he won 22 of 36 races and banked $4,312,453 in purses. He is owned by Jeff Snyder of New York, N.Y., Arthur Pronti of Jersey City, N.J., and breeder Hanover Shoe Farms of Hanover, Pa.
“He’s perfect,” Dunn said. “He races on any track, any way, and he’s got such a beautiful gait. He’s so much fun to drive; I’m really going to miss driving him. Every time I get to sit behind him it’s such a pleasure. He’s incredible. He’s just got everything you want.”
Sent off as the 3-5 favourite, Super Chapter paid $3.20 to win.
Women Layer followed up his victory in the Potomac Pace on Nov. 8 at Rosecroft Raceway with a 1:47.4 win in the $428,571 FanDuel Championship Open Pace (Grade 1). Ervin Hanover finished second, three lengths behind the winner, and Calicojack Hanover was third.
In the FanDuel Open Pace, Women Layer and driver Yannick Gingras were a parked-out leader in a :27.1 opening quarter and maintained control from there, but not without facing pressure from first-over Ervin Hanover, driven by Dunn, to a half in :54.3 and three-quarters in 1:21. After rebuffing Ervin Hanover with his :26.2 third panel, Women Layer stormed home in :26.4 for the victory.
Trained by Virgil Morgan Jr., Women Layer has won 10 of 22 races this year and earned $767,816. For his career, the five-year-old gelded son of Sweet Lou-Loreenas Ruffian has won 35 of 61 starts and banked $1,886,188. He is owned by Let It Ride Stables Inc. of Boca Raton, Fl., Jeff Fought Racing of East Bernstadt, Ky., Larry Wills of Columbus, Oh. and Jesmeral Stable of New Rochelle, N.Y.
“He’s a pleasure to drive,” said Gingras, who has sat behind Women Layer in his last six races, with four wins and two third-place finishes. “He’s so sharp right now. I think it was an incredible performance tonight.
“He was a little bit anxious in the post parade and behind the gate, but once the gate left, he was perfect. If Dex came pretty hard, I probably would have let him go, but it seemed like the right move to leave him out. I believe in my horse. I think he might have won either way, but we had the ball in our court, and we decided to take it from there.”
Women Layer, the 1-2 favourite, paid $3 to win.
Following the race, a retirement ceremony was held for Prince Hal Hanover. The four-year-old son of Captaintreacherous-Percy Bluechip finished sixth in the FanDuel to conclude a career that saw him win 16 of 52 races, including the 2025 Adios (G1) among seven graded stakes, and earn more than $2.5 million. Trained by Dr. Ian Moore, he is owned by the Prince Hal Hanover Stable of Cambridge, Ont.
“I think he’s getting a little bit tired now and it’s time to say goodbye,” Moore said. “He’s off to Blue Chip Farms in New York tomorrow.”
As for Prince Hal Hanover’s best qualities as he heads to his new career, Moore said, “His heart and his desire and his speed and his gait – anything a trainer would ever want in a good horse, he possesses them all. I truly believe he’s going to make a top stallion, and New York seems it’s a great place to be right now.”
Warrawee Michelle, with Yannick Gingras in the bike for trainer Ave Svanstedt, was all in from start to finish to win the $214,286 FanDuel Championship Open Mare Trot (Grade 2) in a 1:51.3 effort. The five-year-old daughter of Walner out of the Yankee Glide mare Sound Check coupled with Gingras for the first time to win her 13th race in 41 starts.
With favourite Tactical Moni breaking stride for driver Dexter Dunn leaving the gate, longshot Women Of Passion (Todd McCarthy) took advantage and sped to the front with Gingras also cruising forward into a pocket seat. Gingras moved out of the pocket for the lead passing a :28 first quarter and moseyed up the backside with no challengers approaching to a :55.3 half.
Into the stretch off three-quarters in 1:24, Warrawee Michelle showed her class and accelerated with ease for a 1-1/2-length victory over Woman Of Passion. Bourbonista S (Zeron) rallied for third while R Dutchess (Tetrick) drifted in her stretch bid for fourth.
Warrawee Michelle potentially finished her racing career with this score, winding up with a lifetime bankroll of $2,543,817 for owner Ake Svanstedt Inc. of Wrightstown, N.J., Santandrea Inc. of Delray Beach, N.J. and Young Guns of New York, N.Y., the latter of which includes Meadowlands' owner Jeff Gural.
In the winner's circle, Gural said "She was racing terrible earlier in the year. We took her to the vet and then raced her here at The Meadowlands and the rest of the season was smooth sailing." Gural also said the future of the mare is uncertain. "She might become a broodmare. We don't know yet."
Warrawee Michelle paid $4.60 to win.
(with files from The Meadowlands; photo, clockwise from top left: Twin B Joe Fresh, Super Chapter, Warrawee Michelle and Women Layer)