Saving his patented burst of speed for just the right moment, Antognoni S emerged from the pocket off the far turn and got past leader French Wine nearing the wire before withstanding a furious late rally from Ron Burke-stablemate Lexus Kody to take the $41,667 Open Handicap for trotters at The Meadowlands on Friday, Nov. 6.
In a development that surprised no one, Lexus Kody, French Wine and Antognoni S were away quickly from the three outside posts in the seven-horse field. French Wine made the top while parked at the quarter in :28.2 with Antognoni S and Lexus Kody in close attendance.
French Wine was still on the point at the half in :56.2 and three-quarters in 1:23.4, but Antognoni S would get busy once they straightened away in the stretch.
Known for his ability to sprint, Antognoni S moved into the two-path from the pocket at the head of the stretch. He was in high gear, but did not pass a stubborn French Wine until there was a sixteenth to go. Lexus Kody came at him late, but Antognoni S held sway by a safe half-length in 1:51 to collect his 29th career victory from just 60 starts. Lexus Kody (Tim Tetrick) was second with French Wine (Jason Bartlett) third.
“He definitely can sprint. For a little while, he couldn’t really sprint, because for four or five starts he wasn’t himself,” said winning driver – and part owner – Yannick Gingras. “In the Breeders Crown elimination [when finishing third to Emoticon Legacy] and final [third to On To Norway] he was good, and he was good again tonight.”
As the 3-5 favourite, Antognoni S returned $3.40 to his backers.
Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi and FAC Racing are also owners of the six-year-old gelded son of Father Patrick-Bouncing Bax who has earned more than $1.2 million lifetime.
Due to an accident that took out several horses in the field, the eighth race on the card was declared a no contest by the judges.
The Meadowlands reported that drivers Brad Chisholm, Brett Beckwith, Joe Bongiorno and Anibal Borjas all got banged up in the spill, but none of them appeared to have sustained major injuries. All horses involved also appeared to be OK, according to The Meadowlands.
All wagers on the race were refunded with the exception of the 20-cent Pick-6 that began in that dash, with the first leg an “all.”
A 20-cent Pick-5 carryover of $17,328 led to Big M punters placing $95,585 of new money into the pool. After the low 15 per cent take out was applied to the new money (carryovers are not subject to the tariff), a negative take out was what the players were left with, as 103 per cent was paid back to those with tickets bearing the numbers 7-6-8-5-7/8. Winners' odds for the sequence were 16-1, 20-1, 15-1, 1-5 and 5-2. The payout was $10,952.72.
All-source wagering on the 13-race program totalled $1,772,849 USD.
Live action resumes on Saturday at 6:20 p.m.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)