The Friday night trotting feature at The Meadowlands was a $30,000 B-1/A-1/FFA event featuring Meladys Monet, who entered the contest off back-to-back wins.
He would get a challenge from Tirade Hanover, who entered the featured trot off a monstrous win in a $40,000 Four-Year-Old Open on Breeders Crown Saturday, where he won despite being parked the mile.
Sent off as the 2-1 second choice from post eight, Meladys Monet tracked the cover of 8-5 favourite Tirade Hanover while racing third over through fractions of :27.3, :56.2 and 1:25, before exploding in the stretch to score his third consecutive victory for trainer Kevin McDermott. The margin of victory was not nearly as comfortable as his two previous wins, this time scoring by just a nose over the upset-minded Upfront Billy, who narrowly missed at 60-1. Waiting On A Woman was third.
The winner was driven to victory by John Campbell for Melady Enterprises LLC of Pompano Beach, Florida.
The $20,000 B-2/B-1 Handicap for mare pacers saw Mattie Terror Girl get back to her best form, winning for the seventh time this season in 1:51. Mattie Terror Girl, who raced very well against the best Free For All mares earlier in the year, earned the confidence builder for Scott Zeron, giving him a driving double. Tony Alagna trains the mare for Big Als Stables Inc. of Woodbridge, Ont.
In other action, Martini With Muscle was a sharp winner in a non-winners of three trotting event in 1:55 for Yannick Gingras, who had a driving double, and trainer Christopher Freck. Martini With Muscle spent much of his three-year-old campaign facing the best of the sophomore trotting division and appreciated the class relief for owner Douglass B. Hutchins.
The most impressive win on the Friday program came in race eight, a C-1 pace for fillies and mares, where newly acquired That Woman Hanover, a $55,000 purchase at the Harrisburg Mixed Sale for Henrik Lundell and the Joi De Vie Farm, soared to an impressive 1:50.2 lifetime-best performance, winning by open lengths. Lundell noted prior to the race in a paddock interview with Wendy Ross that "this filly is in a much softer spot this week and I think she will race really well tonight." He couldn't have been more right.
The $.20 Cent Jackpot Super Hi-5 was hit for the first time, returning $40,502 for a $.20 cent ticket. The pool will start fresh again on Saturday, with first post time at 7:15 p.m. The Saturday program features the $500,000 finals of the TVG Free For All Championships.
(Meadowlands Racetrack)